Livingston's West Side Residential Historical District.

This afternoon I decided to combine a little exercise for myself and my dogs with a quest for historical information to pass along. Our outing took us to the West Side Residential Historical District here in Livingston. I have been meaning to walk along Yellowstone Street to read all the historical plaques and today turned out the be the perfect day for it.

Yellowstone Street is probably the best known street in our little town. On the southern end of the street, leading from the main highway to Yellowstone River, lie some of the nicest old homes in town. Nothing says elegance to me more than wrought iron fences and stately stone or brick homes. For the youngsters in Livingston, Yellowstone Street has a different appeal, it is “the” place to go trick-or-treating on Halloween.
All of the homes along the street are interesting to look at, their historical register plaques telling of their architectural design and the history of the people who designed, built and resided in them. There are examples of Queen Anne, Italianate, and Colonial Revival. While all of the architectural stuff is interesting, the best part is the stories of the men and women who lived there.

I think my two favorite houses of those we saw today were the Hefferlin house at 224 South Yellowstone and the brick house at 128 South Yellowstone. If you have been following this blog, the name Hefferlin will sound familiar.  In my August 2, entry I mentioned Gary Fish portraying Charles Hefferlin during the Cemetery Walk. I learned a little more of the Hefferlin family by reading the plaque on the family home. The brick home at 128, was, for a time, the Lott Birthing Hospital, run by local nurse, Edith Lott. I am hoping to find out more about the history of birthing hospitals in the 1920’s.

For more information about the West Side Residential Historical District or any other site in Montana on the National Register of Historical Places, you can go to the Montana Historical Society Research Center’s website and click on the Montana History Wiki. http://mhs.mt.gov/research/