Old Lokensgard house a great sample of Federal style

The Federal style of architecture was popular around 1780 to 1820. Also known as the Adam style, this style is defined by use of classical elements. The exterior of the home contains a central entryway, usually pedimented, and is flanked by multipane sash windows. The exterior is symmetrical. The interior revolves around a central hallway and contains many classical motifs like urns, Greek and Roman figures, dentil moldings and columns of the classical order.

Havre's example of this style is also one of its nicest homes. Located at 520 Second Ave., this stately structure was built by Kenov Lokensgard. He married H. Earl and Margaret Clack's first daughter, Josephine, and they built their home next to the Clacks'. The Lokensgards' attention to detail and concern for surrounding homes is very evident in the fact that it looks like it is as old as the rest of them, but in fact was constructed in 1948.

The Havre Historic Preservation Commission is working toward achieving its goal of forming a joint city/county preservation commission. It is hoped that this partnership will enhance our mission of educating our citizens about historic preservation and how it can benefit Hill County and Havre in many ways. One does not have to leave the county to find exciting history or beautiful historic buildings; we have them right here for you to enjoy, study and help save for the next generation to pass on to the future.

We have started conducting our guided walking tours of the Havre Residential Historic District. The tours take place every Saturday at 7 p.m., weather permitting, and cover a portion of the district. Tours begin and end at the Heritage Center and are free of charge, but we do accept donations. We will continue to conduct the tours through Festival Days weekend, which is Sept. 19-21 this year. We offer the tours as a service for our citizens and visitors as well as trying to raise some money for the commission, and in keeping with our goal of educating the public about historic preservation.

We have also started cleaning up the grounds around the Heritage Center.

We extend a hearty Montana thank you to the Les Bender family, which has donated funds to the commission to plant flowers around the Heritage Center in memory of Bender's father. Maintaining the Heritage Center grounds will hopefully become an ongoing and welcome project for many years to come on the part of the Preservation Commission. Plans include yearly planting of annuals and perennials and eventually placing new sod where it has been worn down. This fall, we will be dividing the day lilies and irises and planting them more evenly in the flowerbeds so it does not look so crowded and overgrown.

We have some great projects we are working on for the future and hope you will attend and participate in them. If you are interested in historic preservation, please call me at 265-6233. The commission meets the third Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. in the Heritage Center meeting room, and its meetings are open to the public.