Charles E. Conrad was an influential and prominent businessman who helped found Kalispell in 1891. Conrad was born in 1850 in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia near Front Royal. He was one of 13 children; he was the third oldest child, the second oldest son.
After the Civil War, Conrad and his older brother William left Virginia and arrived at Fort Benton, Montana Territory in 1868. Working for I.G. Baker & Co., the brothers made their fortune in shipping and freighting enterprises. With the advent of the transcontinental railroads, in 1888-1891 the brothers sold their business interests and left Fort Benton. They went on to found numerous businesses including Conrad Brothers, Inc., the Conrad Banking Company of Great Falls, Kalispell Townsite Company, Conrad National Bank of Kalispell, Conrad Price Cattle Company, Conrad Circle Cattle Company, and Queen of the Hills Mining Company.
Conrad worked with railroad magnate James J. Hill to locate a division point of the Great Northern Railway in the Fathead Valley. Putting up his own money, Conrad formed the Kalispell Townsite Company with three others. He platted the new town and began to sell lots by spring of 1891. When the railroad's east and west tracks met in Kalispell on December 31, 1891, the town was booming.
At the time, the county seat for this area was located in Missoula. Distance was a problem. Conrad along with other leading citizens vigorously lobbied the state legislature to establish the formation of a new county seat out of the Fathead area, carving it out of the existing Missoula County. In 1893, the new County of Fathead was formed and in 1894, the citizens picked Kalispell as the county seat.
Conrad played an important role in preventing a threatened extinction of the great western buffalo herds. He bought 50 head and started his own herd. They grazed on the hills north of Kalispell which is now aptly called Buffalo Hills Golf Course. His herd also supplied the nucleus of the National Bison Range herd in Moise and the Canadian herd in Banff.
Conrad and his wife Alicia had three children. Conrad died in 1902. His family home, located 330 Woodland Avenue, was designed by noted architect Kirkland Cutter. The home and its contents were donated to the city of Kalispell in 1974 by Conrad's youngest daughter. In 1976, the Conrad Mansion National Historic Site Museum opened for public guided tours.
Written by Mary Mires
After the Civil War, Conrad and his older brother William left Virginia and arrived at Fort Benton, Montana Territory in 1868. Working for I.G. Baker & Co., the brothers made their fortune in shipping and freighting enterprises. With the advent of the transcontinental railroads, in 1888-1891 the brothers sold their business interests and left Fort Benton. They went on to found numerous businesses including Conrad Brothers, Inc., the Conrad Banking Company of Great Falls, Kalispell Townsite Company, Conrad National Bank of Kalispell, Conrad Price Cattle Company, Conrad Circle Cattle Company, and Queen of the Hills Mining Company.
Conrad worked with railroad magnate James J. Hill to locate a division point of the Great Northern Railway in the Fathead Valley. Putting up his own money, Conrad formed the Kalispell Townsite Company with three others. He platted the new town and began to sell lots by spring of 1891. When the railroad's east and west tracks met in Kalispell on December 31, 1891, the town was booming.
At the time, the county seat for this area was located in Missoula. Distance was a problem. Conrad along with other leading citizens vigorously lobbied the state legislature to establish the formation of a new county seat out of the Fathead area, carving it out of the existing Missoula County. In 1893, the new County of Fathead was formed and in 1894, the citizens picked Kalispell as the county seat.
Conrad played an important role in preventing a threatened extinction of the great western buffalo herds. He bought 50 head and started his own herd. They grazed on the hills north of Kalispell which is now aptly called Buffalo Hills Golf Course. His herd also supplied the nucleus of the National Bison Range herd in Moise and the Canadian herd in Banff.
Conrad and his wife Alicia had three children. Conrad died in 1902. His family home, located 330 Woodland Avenue, was designed by noted architect Kirkland Cutter. The home and its contents were donated to the city of Kalispell in 1974 by Conrad's youngest daughter. In 1976, the Conrad Mansion National Historic Site Museum opened for public guided tours.
Written by Mary Mires
Visit at www.conradmansion.com
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