Landmark granary receives state award

The Daily Inter Lake

The Bruyer granary restoration project on Whitefish Stage Road in Kalispell received one of four historic preservation awards handed out recently by the Montana Historical Society.

The landmark 1909 granary was restored a couple of years ago when Ellen and Carl Naumann of Reno, Nev. invested $100,000 to assist the Schulze family, longtime owners of the property, in preserving the historic structure.

Ellen Naumann is a descendant of the Bruyer family and a friend of the current owners.

In its heyday the granary, with an 11,000-bushel capacity, was used to store grain when Nick Bruyer and his family operated Kal-Mont dairy. George and Anna Schulze moved to the property in 1950 and the dairy continued under their care. Their sons own the property now.

The Montana Historical Society Historic Preservation Office also recognized efforts to place 40 important historic properties across the state in the National Register of Historic Places. They include:

. Babb-Piegan Inspection Station near Babb in Glacier County. It was built in part to handle the increasing number of visitors traveling by car to Glacier National Park.

. The Charles Boles residence in Kalispell. The 1932 home represents leading Kalispell architect Fred Brinkman's interpretation of the Tudor Revival style.

. Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge at Troy in Lincoln County. The bridge across the Kootenai River replaced a 1913 ferry crossing. Originally one of three identical bridges in the Kootenai Valley, it served as a critical early link between Glacier National Park and the West Coast during the emerging automobile age.

. The Troy jail. Constructed in 1924 when Troy experienced an industrial boom, the jail represented authority in a neighborhood where bordellos and saloons fostered illegal activities.