Glacier National Park Trip Day 3: Conrad Mansion and Hungry Horse Dam
After two very early morning starts and a 10 mile hike the day before my husband and I were looking for something a bit easier when we stumbled upon the Conrad Mansion Museum. We thought it sounded interesting.
It didn't open until 10 so we spent a lazy morning watching movies (my husband)/ working on the blog (me). We arrived just a few minutes after 10 and missed the first tour of the day. So we had nearly an hour wait until the next tour. Our tour ended up being HUGE and at times we all could not fit in the room! This made for limited photo opportunities but I tried my best.
The house was built in 1895 by Charles Conrad who was the founder of Kalispell and made his fortune in trade and freight on the Missouri river. Him and his wife had 3 children; only one of which lived long enough to have children of their own.
The house and grounds are beautiful! Though there was once a carriage house and a stable yard that were sold off many years ago.
Inside the house there is some real incredible craftsmanship. And lots of unique features.
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| Like these indoor stained glass windows! |
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| the house was built around this bookcase |
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| all the wood is original and with the exception of the floor has never been restored |
The rosewood piano, hand painted linen walls, and priceless works of art are all original to the house.
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| This radiator heated warming stove was used to keep hot foods warm in the dining room |
My favorite room was probably the indoor garden.
All the bedrooms were upstairs and in the open hallway space there was a game/billiard room.
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| This was a guest room |
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| The older son's room; his wife eventually left to go star in silent movies. |
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| the master bedroom |
The master bedroom had a balcony overlooking the open stairs and both the master bedroom and the daughter's room had beautiful stained glass windows that opened over this same area.
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| We even got to tour the 3rd floor where they stored seasonal items, had the children's playroom, the father's study, and the washer/dryer. |
All in all it was a very informative tour. The remaining heir and daughter that donated the house was one of the first to tour it after the house was restored and she said it looked just like it did when she was growing up. She also contributed a lot to the stories and historical accuracy of the museum.
We drove back to Hungry Horse and could see a bit of the mountains in the distance.
We ate a quick lunch at Paul Bunyan Bar and Grill that was very good; we each got sandwiches and fries. Then we went to check out the Hungry Horse Dam. My husband used to own a small hydroelectric dam so we tend to check them out whenever we can.
This dam is a U. S. Army Corp of Engineer dam and it had a mini museum/ information center we toured first. The dam is one of the largest concrete arch dams in the U. S and one of the highest dams in the world with water dropping 490 feet.
We walked out on one side of the dam and returned on the other.
It was delicious!. It was an a la carte steak place so we each got a steak and split a side of asparagus and a side of potatoes between the two of us.
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| we had popovers to start |
Others in this series:
Glacier trip days 1 & 2: Huckleberry Patch & Grinnell Glacier Hike
Glacier trip day 4 part 1: Scenic boat ride of Lake McDonald
Glacier trip day 4 part 2: Hiking trail of cedars & Avalanche Lake
Glacier trip day 5: North Fork & Bowman Lake
Glacier trip days 6 & 7: St Mary's & Virginia Falls & Coming home
Linking up with: Spread the Kindness,
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The mansion and the grounds are beautiful! Thanks for sharing some history of the house/family (the man's name was not familiar to me?) and photos from the tour.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea who he was until we arrived and I googled the family name!
DeleteWhat a cool museum and beautiful area and that restaurant looks like winner too!
ReplyDeleteWe had some really delicious meals the whole week.
DeleteVery interesting sites!
ReplyDeleteIt was a wonderful break from hiking.
DeleteYour photos are so beautiful! I'd love to visit that mansion!
ReplyDeletexo,
Kellyann
Aw, thank you!
DeleteThe house is so beautiful, and it sounds like y'all had a wonderful time.
ReplyDeleteWe really did.
DeleteWe always love those kinds of house tours...and how cool to see the dam.
ReplyDeleteOXOX
Jodie
It was really neat.
DeleteIt sounded like you needed an easier day after all the hiking!
ReplyDeleteSuch a shame the tour was so crowded at the Conrad Mansion Museum but it sounds such an interesting place to visit. It really is beautiful, the grounds too!
We definitely did. It was so hard to move/walk after that long hike. We really needed an easy day.
DeleteOh my goodness, that woodwork is amazing. I'm still swooning!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it beautiful! I loved all that woodwork.
DeleteWow, that is such a beautiful house! And the garden too. I would love to walk around there.
ReplyDeleteThe gardens were beautiful and I was so surprised to see so much still in bloom in September.
DeleteI love to tour old homes when traveling. You learn so much about the area that way.
ReplyDeleteI felt like I learned a lot about the history of the area for sure; I knew nothing about how or why Kalispell became the hub it did.
DeleteThere is so much beauty there, natural and design. I am such a sucker for fabulous historic homes. I wouldn't have wanted to leave.
ReplyDeleteI am too! I love seeing all the little details. This house had a cute mailbox system the kids used to communicate with their 2 grandmothers that lived with them.
DeleteBuilding a house around a bookcase makes perfect sense to me : )
ReplyDeleteMe too!
DeleteThis is a beautiful and well preserved historic mansion! I enjoyed your photo tour. Your dinner looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It sounds like they put so much work into it to get it all organized and settled for the tour.
DeleteI love touring old homes...well, mansions. I'm always amazed at the things some places have and others don't. It always seems like the beds are so small.
ReplyDeletehttps://marshainthemiddle.com/
Yes! I always think that too; though these did seem like full size mattresses but the sleigh beds were SO high on the ends!
DeleteThat mansion is incredible. That's so cool that they still had so many of the original pieces and artwork in it. The piano is my favorite part. It is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteIt really was so neat to see and hear how much was original to the house; I'm sure it didn't hurt that they were gifted it from the daughter herself who had inherited it from her parents.
DeleteI loved seeing pictures of this house! So fun to find this to do there. Kalispell is such a cute town. I remember even thinking how pretty the Target was :).
ReplyDeleteWe never even saw the Target! We didn't spent much time in Kalispell since we were stationed out of Hungry Horse
DeleteThat mansion is stunning. I especially love the staircase and area around it. That’s so cool that he used to own a dam. I’ve never had a popover, but it looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteI loved the staircase the best too and the arches with the built in benches were so neat.
DeleteWhat an informative day you had - capped off by a yummy dinner! Sounds like a great way to spend a day after the one you'd had before!
ReplyDeleteThank you! We really needed the quieter, more restful day.
DeleteThe woodwork is just beautiful, and love the indoor garden room too!
ReplyDeleteI could not get over that beautiful woodwork.
DeleteThat looked like the perfect activity after that first day of hiking! I love all that woodwork and seeing the clothing and other period things in the mansion. The dam looked cool too!
ReplyDeleteIt really was quite neat and just the perfect day of rest after that first day of hiking.
DeleteA beautiful mansion inside and out, and the gardens are so gorgeous too! Great stop at the dam too!
ReplyDeleteIt was fun and a wonderful break from hiking.
DeleteSo much history and lovely homes. Love the gardens. So happy you have shared at Love Your Creativity.
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting!
DeleteFantastic! The house tour sounds neat, I like to learn about times gone by.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing with Sweet Tea & Friend's this month.
I do too!
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