Strolling Down Fourth Avenue East

The George Drew Residence at 345 Fourth Avenue East is a study in black and white. Historical Marker: Kalispell was only two years old when German immigrant Louise Sels and her son Ed had this cross-gabled Queen Anne style residence buit in 1892, a year that saw over a hundred homes built in the new town. Louise Sels soon sold the house to her son-in-law Arthur Burnes, but according to the 1900 census, she continued to live in the home with her extended family. The household included her three grown children, granddaughter, son-in-law, and his mother. Josephine Richards and Ella Bell owned the house between 1902 and 1905, renting out "nice large front rooms" to gentlemen. The distinctive horseshoe-shaped porch was added between 1903 and 1907. The home's longest occupant, Maude Drew, lived here between 1905 until her death in 1959 at age 89. A year after she and her husband George bought the house in 1905 they installed a brick sidewalk. The local newspaper lauded this improvement over the standard wood sidewalks and predicted, "other property owners will note the manner in which the walk wears with much interest." (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)