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Home My WebLink About 625 E Tamarack 2020/ Benepe Elevator Wharehouse MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD For the Montana National Register of Historic Places Program and State Antiquities Database Montana State Historic Preservation Office Montana Historical Society PO Box 201202, 1410 8th Ave Helena, MT 59620-1202 Property Address: 625 E TAMARACK ST Historic Address (if applicable): City/Town: BOZEMAN Site Number: 124; 24GA1100 (Northern Pacific/Story Mill HD) (An historic district number may also apply.) County: GALLATIN Historic Name: Benepe Elevator Warehouse Original Owner(s): Frank L. and Jenetta Benepe Current Ownership Private Public Current Property Name: Owner(s): Robert W Arnold Owner Address: 605 N Rouse Ave, Bozeman, MT 59715-2924 Phone: Legal Location PM: Montana Township: 02S Range: 05E NE¼ SW ¼ SE ¼ of Section: 6 Lot(s): Lots 5 - 7 Block(s): 103 Addition: Northern Pacific Add (NPB) Year of Addition: 1883 USGS Quad Name: Bozeman Year: 1987 Historic Use: Commercial Warehouse Current Use: Storage Construction Date: 1900 Estimated Actual Original Location Moved Date Moved: UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov NAD 27 or NAD 83(preferred) Zone: 12 Easting: 497859.3 Northing: 5059482.1 National Register of Historic Places NRHP Listing Date: 3/20/1996 Historic District: Northern Pacific/Story Mill Historic District NRHP Eligible: Yes No *Property meets the City of Bozeman’s definition of an eligible property (see below) Date of this document: 9/28/2020 Form Prepared by: E. Sakariassen, S. Wells, Metcalf Archaeological Consultants, Inc. with C. Alegria and C. Hendry, Extreme History Project Address: Metcalf Archaeological Consultants, Inc., Bozeman, MT Daytime Phone: 406-219-3535 MT SHPO USE ONLY Eligible for NRHP: □ yes □ no Criteria: □ A □ B □ C □ D Date: Evaluator: Comments: Site contributes to the NRHP-listed Northern Pacific/Story Mill Historic District (24GA1100) MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 2 Architectural Description Property Name: Benepe Elevator Warehouse Site Number: 124 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Architectural Style: Other (specify) If Other, specify: Vernacular Property Type: Commerce Specific Property Type: Retain antique store Architect: Unknown Architectural Firm/City/State: Unknown Builder/Contractor: Unknown Company/City/State: Unknown Source of Information: N/A This site is the historic Benepe Grain Elevator Warehouse and is considered a contributing element within the Northern Pacific/Story Mill Historic District (24GA1100; Strahn 1994). The site is a large 2.5-story wood-framed warehouse/barn built in c. 1900. It has a rectangular footprint and an asymmetrical gable roof. The building has a stone foundation and the roof is clad in ribbed sheet metal. The exterior walls are clad in original horizontal wood siding. The building has been remodeled and is currently used for private storage. The exterior ornament that has been added is kitschy in nature, salvaged Victorian bric-a-brac. Many alterations have been made to the original fenestration, which was likely limited to barn doors and grain openings. Current fenestration includes modern vinyl sliding windows, fixed lites, and rehabilitated leaded and art-glass windows. The primary entrance to the building is located above grade on the west elevation. The entry is accessed by a ramp and consists of a vinyl roller garage door. The doorway has a shed-roofed awning above it, with decorative wood brackets. Above the opening is a segmented-arch window opening containing a large art-glass window. Immediately to the north is a two-over-two-lite fixed barn window. Further north on the west façade are two entrances: one is an ornately decorated pair of side-hung wood doors with a carved surround. This entry is accessed by a concrete stoop. The other opening is a side-hung wood door that has been partially boarded up with plywood. The south gable end contains a centered standard-door entry. The entry is accessed by a flight of wood steps with a metal railing. The door itself is a modern steel paneled door with a fixed lite. To the west of the door is a small, fixed window. To the east of the door is a large, fixed picture window with side lites and, at the extreme east end is a cluster of four single-lite fixed windows, two of which have diamond-patterned panes. In the upper story, there is a centered fixed lite, flanked by shuttered square openings. The apex of the gable contains nautically themed bric-a-brac detailing. A large decorative cupola sits atop the building’s roof. The east and north elevations were not visible from the public ROW. To the east is a retired wood railcar (caboose). To the west is a small gravel parking space. The building was once part of the Benepe Grain Elevator complex in the late 19th/early 20th century. Associated structures are no longer extant. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 3 History of Property Property Name: Benepe Elevator Warehouse Site Number: 124 HISTORY OF PROPERTY This property is located within the Northern Pacific Addition which was platted by John V. Bogert, Trustee, proprietor of the Northern Pacific Addition, on August 7, 1883. The warehouse building on this property was built prior to 1898 as it can be seen in a “Bird’s Eye View of the City of Bozeman, Gallatin County, 1898” illustration drawn by Augustus Koch. This warehouse building is included as Feature #9 within the Northern Pacific/Story Mill historic district and was associated with Frank Benepe’s Grain Elevator (Strahn 1994:Section 7, page 5). The grain elevator was built in c.1884 so the warehouse may have been built at approximately the same time. The grain elevator was struck by lightning and burned in 1924 (Bozeman Daily Chronicle 8 July 1924). The National Register of Historic Places Registration form (Strahn 1994) states: Standing on the corner of East Tamarack and Front Street, directly across from the Northern Pacific Passenger Depot is the Benepe Grain Elevator Warehouse. This interesting barn-like wood frame structure with a simple gable roof and a stone foundation was once a part of the Benepe Grain Elevator complex which occupied this site in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. Now free-standing, the structure possesses four large loading ports that face a former rail spur as well as an interesting ghost sign on its eastern elevation. From 1904 to 1912 the warehouse was used for hay storage (Sanborn Map Company, 1904, 1912) and from 1927 until at least 1943, pea seeds were stored here (Sanborn Map Company 1927, 1943). Frank L. Benepe purchased this property from John V. Bogert on June 21, 1889. On May 1, 1903, the property transferred to the Benepe-Owenhouse Company, and on June 27, 1906, they in turn sold it to the Benepe-Stanton Grain Company. On September 25, 1908, the property transferred to the Benepe-Berglund Grain Company, which was a successor firm of the Benepe-Stanton Company. Mr. Stanton left the company to take a position as railroad commissioner. Mr. Berglund was formerly with the Manhattan Company in Manhattan, Montana and was familiar with the grain business. Frank L. Benepe was a pioneer grain merchant in Bozeman. Frank Benepe, Jr. (son of Frank L. Benepe) and Harry Benepe (a nephew of Frank L. Benepe) were also associated with this firm (The Butte Miner 01 August 1908). On November 14, 1912, the property was transferred back to Frank L. Benepe due to the suicide of his partner, Peter Berglund. Berglund, who was vice-president and general manager of the Benepe-Berglund Grain Company, committed suicide in a Butte hotel on September 27, 1912 at the age of 35 years. The suicide by gunshot was allegedly precipitated by the county attorney charging Berglund with the “misapplication of the firm’s money” (The Butte Miner 28 September 1912). Frank L. and Jeanetta Benepe sold the property to the Northern Pacific Railway Company on January 3, 1933. The Burlington Northern Railroad Company formed in 1970 with the merger of the Northern Pacific Railway and three other railroad companies. Frank L. Benepe was born in New Philadelphia, Ohio on January 3, 1851 to Seth W. and Sarah H. (Howe) Benepe (Findagrave.com 2004). He started west in the spring of 1877, after hearing of the discovery of gold in the Black Hills. He made his way to Bozeman, arriving on September 11, 1877 (Bozeman Daily Chronicle 1935) and became a teacher at a country school. After teaching for two years he established the Benepe and Davidson Company in 1879. This business supplied agricultural implements and farm machinery for the region. Benepe bought out John B. Davidson’s interests by 1883 and organized the Bozeman Implement, Harness and Carriage Company in 1890. In 1892, Benepe partnered with E. J. Owenhouse, changing the firm name to Benepe-Owenhouse Company. Benepe had grain interests throughout the Gallatin valley. “By the end of the nineteenth century it is reported that Benepe bought and sold more grain than any other person in the county” (Montana State University Special Collections and Archives 2009). Benepe had a large ranch in Gallatin Valley where he raised grain and stock. He also owned a stock farm in the valley where he raised Hereford cattle. He served as mayor of Bozeman for two terms and was the director of the Bozeman Silver Cornet Band in the late 1880s. Frank Benepe married Jeanetta “Nettie” Trent on December 19, 1882 at the home of Nelson and Ellen Story (The Helena Weekly Herald 28 December 1882). Jeanetta Trent was born in Leavenworth, Kansas on February 16, 1861 to Matthew and Frances (Doyle) Trent (Findagrave.com 2004). Frank and Jeanetta Benepe lived in Los Angeles, California for the last 43 winters of Frank’s life. While there, he was the president of the Montana State Society or the Montana Society of Southern California for 12 years (The Los Angeles Times 29 January 1935). Frank Benepe died on January 28, 1935 in Los Angeles, California and was buried in Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bozeman (Ancestry.com 2013; Findagrave.com 2004). The Northern Pacific Railway Company transferred the property via a quit claim deed to the Glacier Park Company on November 1, 1988. The Glacier Park Company transferred the property via a quit claim deed to David Wheeler on August 31, 1989. On January 24, 1990, David Wheeler sold the property to Timothy Rathbun, and on May 7, 1992, Rathbun sold it to Robert W. Arnold. On March 24, 2020, the property was transferred to Robert W. Arnold, Jr. and Pamela Jamgochian Arnold via a quit claim deed. Robert W. Arnold, Jr. and Pamela Jamgochian Arnold are the owners of the property as of September 2020. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 4 History of Property Property Name: Benepe Elevator Warehouse Site Number: 124 Table 1. Chain of Title, 625 East Tamarack Street, Bozeman, Montana. Grantor Grantee Date of Instrument Type of Instrument Property Description/Comments Reference USA William B. McAdow 02 May 1871 Patent SE ¼ Section 6 T2S R6E D: 3/93 William B. and Florence V. McAdow John V. Bogert 15 November 1882 Deed Same (except tract deed to NPRR for ROW and Depot and other lot) D: 3/123 John V. Bogert Frank L. Benepe 21 June 1889 Deed Block 103, Northern Pacific Addition D: 12/13 F. L. and Jenetta Benepe Benepe- Owenhouse Company 01 May 1903 Warranty Deed Same D: 14/169 Benepe-Owenhouse Company Benepe-Stanton Grain Company 27 June 1906 Deed Same D: 36/463 Benepe-Stanton Grain Company Benepe-Berglund Grain Company 25 September 1908 Deed Same D: 40/22 Benepe-Berglund Grain Company Frank L. Benepe 14 November 1912 Deed Same D: 48/60 Frank L. and Jennetta Benepe Northern Pacific Railway Company 03 January 1933 Deed Same D: 76/617 The Burlington Northern Railroad Company formed in 1970 with the merger of the Northern Pacific Railway with three other railroad companies. Burlington Northern Railroad Company Glacier Park Company 21 November 1988 Quit Claim Deed Blocks 103 and 105, Lots 1 – 6 and 17 – 28, Block 104, NP Addition D: Film 106/208 Glacier Park Company David Wheeler 31 August 1989 Quit Claim Deed Block 103, Northern Pacific Addition D: Film 108/648 P. A. Herring Timothy Rathbun 20 November 1989 Quit Claim Deed Same D: Film 109/2063 Brian K. Gilbert Timothy Rathbun 22 December 1989 Quit Claim Deed Same D: Film 109/2061 David Wheeler Timothy Rathbun 24 January 1990 Warranty Deed Same D: Film 109/2065 Timothy Rathbun Robert W. Arnold 07 May 1992 Warranty Deed Lots 5 – 7, Block 103, Northern Pacific Addition D: Film 123/2813 Terri J. Sullivan Robert W. Arnold 04 June 2009 Quit Claim Deed Same D: #2400896 Robert W. Arnold Robert W. Arnold, Jr., and Pamela Jamgochian Arnold 24 March 2020 Quit Claim Deed Same D: #2677129 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 5 Information Sources/Bibliography Property Name: Benepe Elevator Warehouse Site Number: 124 INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Ancestry.com 2013 California, Death Index, 1905-1939 [database on-line]. Ancestry.com Operations Inc., Provo, Utah. Electronic document, https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=5187&h=457742&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=61255f, accessed September 19, 2020. Bozeman Daily Chronicle [Bozeman, Montana] 1924 “Benepe Elevator is Struck by Lightning.” 8 July 1924. Bozeman, Montana. 1935 “Frank Benepe Dies Suddenly.” 1935. Bozeman, Montana. The Butte Miner [Butte, Montana] 1908 “New Grain Firm.” 01 August. Butte, Montana. Electronic document, https://www.newspapers.com/image/348530452/?terms=Benepe%2BBerglund%2BGrain%2BCompany, accessed September 8, 2020. 1912 “Manager of Grain Concern Ends Life with a Bullet.” 28 September. Butte, Montana. Electronic document, https://www.newspapers.com/image/348830110/?terms=Benepe%2BBerglund%2BGrain%2BCompany, accessed September 8, 2020. Findagrave.com 2004 Frank L. Benepe, Sr. (Jan 1851 - 1935). Electronic document, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/51223397/frank-l.-benepe, accessed September 19, 2020. 2004 Jeanetta Trent Benepe (16 Feb 1861 – 14 Apr 1955). Electronic document, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/51337163/jeanetta-benepe, accessed September 19, 2020. Gallatin County Clerk & Recorder 1864-2020 Gallatin County Deeds. Gallatin County Clerk & Recorder, Bozeman, Montana. The Helena Weekly Herald [Helena, Montana] 1882 “Frank L. Benepe was Married.” 28 December. Helena, Montana. The Los Angeles Times [Los Angeles, California] 1935 “Early Plains Settler, Gen. Story’s Uncle, Dies.” 29 January. Los Angeles. Electronic document, https://www.newspapers.com/image/380586773/?terms=Frank%2BBenepe, accessed September 19, 2020. Montana Cadastral 2020 Montana Cadastral Mapping Project. Electronic database maintained by the Montana State Library, available online http://svc.mt.gov/msl/mtcadastral, accessed September 19, 2020. Montana State University 2009 Special Collections & Archives. Collection 630 Frank L. Benepe Records, 1880-1893. Electronic document, http://www.lib.montana.edu/archives/finding-aids/0630.html, accessed September 19, 2020. R. L. Polk & Company 1904-2012 Polk’s Bozeman (Gallatin County, Mont.) City Directories. R.L. Polk & Co., Kansas City, Missouri. Sanborn Map Company 1884-1943 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Bozeman, Gallatin County, Montana (Jul 1890, Nov 1891, Jan 1904, Sep 1912, Sep 1927, Sep 1943). Sanborn Map Company, New York, New York. Strahn, Derek 1996 Northern Pacific/Story Mill Historic District, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Document on file at the Montana State Historic Preservation Office, Helena. Electronic Document, https://www.bozeman.net/home/showdocument?id=5635, accessed September 8, 2020. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 6 Statement of Significance Property Name: Benepe Elevator Warehouse Site Number: 124 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES NRHP Listing Date: 3/2020/1996 NRHP Eligibility: Yes No Individually Contributing to Historic District Noncontributing to Historic District NRHP Criteria: A B C D Area of Significance: Period of Significance: STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE This site is the historic Benepe Grain Elevator Warehouse, a large 2.5-story wood-framed warehouse/barn that was built c. 1900. It was included in the 1996 nomination of the Northern Pacific/Story Mill Historic District to the NRHP as a contributing element (Strahn 1994). Sec. 38.700 of the Bozeman Municipal Code defines an eligible property as one that meets the criteria for inclusion in the NRHP or State Register either 1) individually or 2) as a contributing building to an existing or potential historic district. This site has been evaluated against the NRHP Criteria. It is listed in the NRHP as an eligible/contributing site within an existing historic district. The site retains sufficient integrity to convey its significant historic association and maintain its NRHP-listed status. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 7 Integrity Property Name: Benepe Elevator Warehouse Site Number: 124 INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) Alterations to this property are extensive but mostly limited to altered and replaced fenestration. Other aesthetic additions such as the decorative turned gable pieces are reversable. These alterations affect integrity of materials, design, and feeling. Overall, the site retains sufficient integrity to convey historic character. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 8 Photographs Property Name: Benepe Elevator Warehouse Site Number: 124 Feature # 1 Facing: N Description: Property 124. Oblique view. (Image #1721, 10/17/2019. SLW) Feature # 2 Facing: W Description: Property 124. Oblique view with caboose in foreground. (Image #1723, 10/17/2019. SLW) MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 9 Photographs Property Name: Benepe Elevator Warehouse Site Number: 124 Feature # 1 Facing: S Description: Property 124. Oblique view. (Image #1724, 10/17/2019. SLW) Feature # 1 Facing: E Description: Property 124. Oblique view. (Image #1726, 10/17/2019. SLW) MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 10 Site Map Property Name: Benepe Elevator Warehouse Site Number: Benepe Elevator Warehouse MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 11 Topographic Map Property Name: Benepe Elevator Warehouse Site Number: 124