Fred F. Willson

• Name — Fred Fielding Willson • Born — 11 November 1877 • Birthplace — Bozeman, Territory of Montana • Died — 13 August 1956 • Place of death — Bozeman, Montana • Education — Columbia University

He was born in Bozeman, Montana, on November 11, 1877, the son of American Civil War general Lester S. Willson and Emma Weeks Willson. After attending Bozeman public schools and the Bozeman Academy, he studied at Montana State College, for which he later designed buildings. Willson designed buildings on campus such as Hamilton Hall, the Student Union Building, the heating plant, Herrick Hall, the Chemistry Building, and Fort Ellis Ranch House. He left Montana State as a junior to attend Columbia University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in architecture in 1902.

After graduating from Columbia, Willson worked in Helena, Montana, for architect C.S. Haire for two years. In November 1904, to broaden his architectural experiences, Willson started an extended tour of Europe, including France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. He documented his impressions of European architecture and daily life in Europe during the early 20th century in his personal diaries. While in France, he studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. Willson returned to New York in 1906 to work for the architecture firm Visscher & Burley. In late 1906, took charge of the offices of architects Link & Haire in Butte, Montana, where he worked until returning to Bozeman in 1910.

Fred Willson played a significant role in the architectural face of downtown Bozeman and surrounding residential areas. His European experience significantly influences his designs which include representatives of multiple architectural styles—Georgian, Mission Revival, Art Deco and Craftsman. In 1927 Willson designed a new, three-story structure for Eagle's Store on the site of the original store built in West Yellowstone, Montana, in 1908. Willson donated his expertise in order to promote the National Park Service rustic architectural style. Between January 1910 and 1928 Willson worked as an architect under his own name. Between 1928 and 1932 he was in the partnership of Shanley, Willson & Hugenin. From 1932 until his death in 1956, Willson again was an independent architect. Many of his buildings are landmarks in downtown Bozeman—the Gallatin County Court House, the Baxter Hotel, the Hamill and Blackmore Apartments. The Willson Middle School, originally the Gallatin County High School, was his design and now bears his name. An early design was the Gallatin County Jail (1911), which still remains today housing the Gallatin Historical Society and Pioneer Museum on Main Street. In a 1954 address at Montana State University, Willson expressed his architectural philosophy: Fred F. Willson, MSU Knowledge Quest, 1954

Willson was active in the Bozeman community and in professional organizations. He served as a member of the city council and the city commission. He was a member of the Montana State Board of Architectural Examiners for Licensing, a Masonic Lodge and local Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks member. He also served as the regional director of the American Institute of Architects. Fred Willson married Helen Fisher on October 15, 1913. They had three children: Lester, Virginia and Beverly. Willson died in Bozeman, Montana, on August 13, 1956. He is buried in the Willson family plot, Sunset Hills Cemetery, Bozeman.

Source: • Barrett Hospital, Chapman and S. Atlantic Streets, Dillon, Montana • Jack Bartlett House, 8 W. Harrison, Bozeman, Montana • Belgrade City Hall and Jail, Broadway at Northern Pacific Blvd., Belgrade, Montana, (1912) • Blackmore Apartments, 120 S. Black St., Bozeman, Montana • Bozeman Armory, 24 W. Mendenhall, Bozeman, Montana (now the Armory Hotel Bozeman) • Coca-Cola bottling plant that is part of the Bozeman Brewery Historic District, 700-800 N. Wallace St., Bozeman, Montana • Bozeman Sheet Metal Works, 26 S. Grand, Bozeman, Montana • Bozeman YMCA, 6 W. Babcock, Bozeman, Montana • Club Moderne, 811 E. Park Anaconda, Montana, (1937) • Daly Gym, 400 Main St. Anaconda, Montana (1915) • Dokken-Nelson Funeral Home, 113 S. Willson, Bozeman, Montana • Eagle's Store, 3 Canyon St., West Yellowstone, Montana • Emerson School, 111 S. Grand Ave., Bozeman, Montana • First Baptist Church, 120 S. Grand, Bozeman, Montana • Gallatin County Courthouse, 301 W. Main, Bozeman, Montana • Gallatin County High School, 404 W. Main, Bozeman, Montana • Gallatin County Jail, 317 W. Main St., Bozeman, Montana (1911) • Graf Building, 219—221 W. Arthur, Bozeman, Montana • Hamill Apartments, 427 E. Main, Bozeman, Montana • Hotel Baxter, 105 W. Main St., Bozeman, Montana • One or more works in Main Street Historic District, 100 block. W. Main-300 block. E. Main, Bozeman, Montana • One or more works in Northern Pacific-Story Mill Historic District, roughly bounded by the Northern Pacific Railroad right-of-way and the Story Mill spur line from Wye to Bridger Canyon Rd., Bozeman, Montana • Sacajawea Hotel, Three Forks, Montana • One or more works in South Tracy-South Black Historic District, 200-600 blocks. of S. Tracy & S. Black Aves., Bozeman, Montana • One or more works in South Willson Historic District, Willson Ave. between Curtiss and Arthur Streets., Bozeman, Montana • Story Motor Company, 202 W. Main, Bozeman, Montana

• Lehrkind Brewery Building, Bozeman, Montana • Mary Innes School, Dillon, Montana

The following is established of the heading itself.

The following works and productions are recorded by name or by count.