Celebrating History: Big real estate transaction

Emily Mayer

Havre continued its expansion of homes and businesses in 1915. Having been incorporated only 22 years prior, the fledgling town once dotted with canvas tents in its infancy, and its downtown core nearly destroyed by fire in 1904, Havre was a very progressive and forward thinking little town, whose population received a great boost during the Homestead years

With more people moving in comes the need for more housing, and the following column found in the March 13, 1915, issue of The Havre Plaindealer shows nothing but optimism for the future:

LARGE TRACT CITY LAND TRANSFERRED

Dr. J. A. Wright Purchases the DesCelles Addition.

Activity in Havre real estate for 1915 was given great impetus on Thursday of this week, when Dr. J. A. Wright of this city closed a deal whereby he takes over the property of Gus DesCelles. All the DesCelles property except the home on Second avenue, was transferred. The consideration was $50,000.

It is the intention of the purchaser to plat the property, which is estimated at about eighty acres, into town lots and place them on the market. On account of the very desirable location, it is believed there will be a rush to secure home sites in the new addition.

Dr. Wright has previous experience in adding residence property to the city, having only a few years ago purchased the McDevitt tract south of town, which now makes up the best residence district in Havre. Dr. Wright will devote the same untiring effort in the work of building up the new section with substantial monuments in the shape of costly and beautiful homes.

The DesCelles land in question is located west of Third Avenue beginning about Fourth Street. Parts of the Havre Residential Historic District and the West Side are in this location, which is an oddly shaped parcel of land. Gus DesCelles (or DeCelles in some publications) was one of Havre’s first pioneers.

Also in the Plaindealer under its “The Social Whirl” column, we find:

Dinner for School Board

The young ladies of the home economics-class of the high school, under the direction of their instructor, Miss Georgia Cullum, entertained Superintendent of Schools N. C. Abbott, and the members of the school board at a beautifully appointed dinner on Monday evening last. A menu of the most delicious edibles was set before the company and perfectly served by the class. Miss Cullum won herself great praise as a teacher in her department. The members of the school board are Messrs. James Holland, Sr., Warren Smith, Walter MacKenzie, E. C. Carruth, C. C. Brundage and W. S. Hedge.

Of course, there is more drama concerning the location of a new Hill County Courthouse During its March 1 regular meeting, The Hill County Democrat reported Commissioner Abraham Crosson presented the following resolution, complete with misspelling:

BE IT RESOLVED THAT, Whereas, a controversy has arisen over the selection of a site for the location of the Hill County Court House about to be erected, and is now a restraining order against this board restraining it from proceeding farther with the present site, and

WHEREAS, the said controversy has gotten into the courts and there is now a restraining order against this board restraining it farther with the present site,

WHEREAS, different opinions prevail as to the site that should be selected, and

WHEREAS, it is a matter that every taxpayer of Hill county is interested in,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that it is the sense of this Board that the question of selecion of a court house site in the city of Havre be submitted to the taxpayers of Hill County by vote, and that the site be selected that is designated by a plurality of votes for any one site, and that such vote include the authority of the commissioners to expend more than $10,000.00 if necessary, for the purchase of the site selected by such plurality vote.

The clerk is hereby directed to call for a vote on the above resolution. Abe Crosson voting “yes”, Jos. Berthelote, voting “No”, Ever Nielsen voting “No”.

In the editorial column, the Democrat stated yet another opinion on the subject of the courthouse location:

After county surveyor Daoust gets that court-house site surveyed the pessimists will see how sadly mistaken they were in their estimate of how much it would cost to level that site down.

In the March 12, 1915 issue of the Hingham Review, we find the following on one of its buildings:

Take a look at the interior of the Hotel Spaulding. This well known hostelry has been remodeled and completely renovated by the new management. No pains or expense has been spared by either the Belchers or Spauldings in making it home-like and comfortable.