{"id":3214,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:40:15","latitude":48.1930137228331432197592221200466156005859375,"longitude":-114.305341243743896484375,"title":"Colby/Boorman Residence","subtitle":"East Side Historic District","fullsize":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/6ce4e009c1816452048fcfc7c34fae29.jpg","address":"645 Fourth Avenue East, Kalispell, Montana","all_locations":[],"zoom":19,"creator":["Historic Montana"],"description":"Postal clerk (and later assistant postmaster) Ora Colby and his wife Alice built this six-room, Craftsman style home circa 1908. The building’s locally quarried stone foundation and open front porch connect the residence to its natural surroundings. Nature makes its way into the home’s interior through the decorative use of wood, including wooden pillars in the foyer and ornate, exposed wood beams on the living room ceiling. Albert and Mary Boorman purchased the residence in 1922, the same year Albert was elected mayor. A pioneer in forest-fire prevention, Albert “worked in everything in lumber from stump to car” before becoming secretary of the newly formed Northern Montana Forestry Association (NMFA) in 1911. At the time, property owners were individually responsible for fighting fires on their land. Membership in NMFA offered forest owners fire protection for one-half cent per acre. By 1938, NMFA was responsible for firefighting on about 2.5 million acres in both private and public forests. When Albert retired in 1946, his son Maurice succeeded him. Maurice and family also inherited the family home; he and his family continued in residence until 1980.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":["<a href=\"https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/327a1cd2-8c29-4b4d-aef9-85fda060a8a9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Read more about the East Side Historic District</a>","<a href=\"https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/bf86f980-7198-4b0a-90c5-671ee0bbda46\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">See more pictures of the East Side Historic District</a>"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/6ce4e009c1816452048fcfc7c34fae29.jpg":{"id":4924,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Colby/Boorman Residence, Kalispell, MT","description":"View of facade | Montana Historical Society | Oct 2020 | Owner photo","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/6ce4e009c1816452048fcfc7c34fae29.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/2b1b5d441e1afc82bf264c1e38409de0.jpg":{"id":4925,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Colby/Boorman Residence, Kalispell, MT","description":"View of facade | Montana Historical Society | Oct 2020 | Owner photo","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/2b1b5d441e1afc82bf264c1e38409de0.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/d16aa3299ab8a96de79966bd3813e3b9.jpg":{"id":4912,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Colby/Boorman House, 645 4th St. East, Kalispell, MT","description":"View of facade | Google Maps | Sept 2015 | Google Street View: Image capture ","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/d16aa3299ab8a96de79966bd3813e3b9.jpg"}}}