{"id":428,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:40:07","latitude":48.19157500000000027284841053187847137451171875,"longitude":-114.30991760000000567742972634732723236083984375,"title":"Ford Residence","subtitle":"East Side Historic District","fullsize":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/a422658ef7e5c430f515b972e4acf683.jpg","address":"728 1st Avenue East, Kalispell, Montana","all_locations":[],"zoom":17,"creator":["Montana National Register Sign Program"],"description":"Stockman and real estate developer James A. Ford arrived in Kalispell with the Great Northern Railway in 1891. In 1898, he built a two-story business block at the corner of First and Main. On the second floor was a rooming house, where he lived with his two sisters. In 1923, the siblings moved into this fine Craftsman style residence, where Ford made his home until his death in 1934. The stylish home provided the Fords with ample living space; among other amenities, each of the five bedrooms boasts a walk-in closet. The home’s design closely resembles that of a mail-order house, “the Vincennes,” sold by Montgomery Ward and Co. Montgomery Ward was one of several companies that sold house plans and supplied precut lumber and other material for builders to quickly assemble on site. The Vincennes’ classic Craftsman style features include its wide overhanging eaves, exposed rafter tails, bracketed cornices, multi-pane windows, and full-length front porch. Clustered columns supporting the broad porch beam provide the design’s most striking feature, adding elegance and dignity to the inviting front facade.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"Private","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":["<a href=\"https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/327a1cd2-8c29-4b4d-aef9-85fda060a8a9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Read 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 photos of the East Side Historic District</a>"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/a422658ef7e5c430f515b972e4acf683.jpg":{"id":4571,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Ford Residence","description":"Ford Residence. Front to side view of the house, facing southwest on 1st Avenue East. | Montana State Historic Preservation Office | Oct. 1980 | Photographer unidentified","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/a422658ef7e5c430f515b972e4acf683.jpg"}}}