Church to thrift store: Kalispell’s 130-year-old building seeks renovation to preserve historic legacy

The historic building on Fifth Avenue and Second Street West has been a beloved thrift store for decades, but its roots in Kalispell run much deeper.  

Its legacy began when the building’s cornerstone was first laid on Dec. 20, 1895, becoming the Scandinavian Methodist Church. Construction of the building was completed the following year just four years after the city of Kalispell was incorporated.  

The building, listed under the National Register of Historic Places, has housed people of faith, those looking for bargain finds and for a time students. After standing for 130 years, it is now in dire need of a touch-up. Much of the structure, which includes the high windows, rickety walls and wood floors, is the same material as when it was first constructed over a century ago. 

That’s why Sarah Harding, the current owner of Community Thrift, is working to receive a competitive state grant to help renovate the historic building primarily for replacing the roof. The grant also requires matching funds, which she is working to meet through fundraising efforts. 

But to understand the importance of preserving one of the oldest standing wood-framed churches in Kalispell, one must first appreciate its significance in the city’s history.  

The Scandinavian Methodist Church was one of four Montana churches built by the Methodist’s Norwegian-Danish Conference. The Kalispell Townsite Company gave the lot to the congregation, and $350 was raised for construction, according to the National Register of Historic Places registration form. Robert Nordtome, who lived on a farm outside of town, served as architect and lead carpenter, with Lars Johnson working as contractor. Scandinavian farmers, carpenters and tradesmen also lent a helping hand. 

“The church building is a physical reminder of the importance of Scandinavian settlers to the early history of Kalispell and the surrounding area,” says the registration for the National Register of Historic Places.  

Now since torn down a steeple once shot out from what is now the entrance to the building. Still standing today though is what Harding said was the minister’s one-and-a-half-story living quarters. Upstairs, two small rooms are still lined with 1900s-era linoleum floors with floral print.   

“It’s so old it doesn’t even have asbestos,” Harding laughed.  

Downstairs, today shoppers sift through hangers of shirts where leaders of faith from across Montana once commanded congregations. Where shoppers now cash out their finds, church goers would gather to listen to sermons.  

Before it was officially dedicated in 1905, Rev. N. L. Hanson held regular services and Sunday school classes in the building. 

CONSTRUCTION OF the church did not come without drama, because a Scandinavian Lutheran church existed just two blocks away.  

In a letter to the editor published in the Inter Lake’s April 10, 1896, edition, a concerned citizen expressed their frustration with building a second Scandinavian church “while there are not enough Scandinavians in the valley to fill one church of ordinary size.”  

The writer took issue that what he said was “the only Scandinavian Methodist in the valley” convinced a Helena reverend to organize “a Methodist congregation among Lutherans.” 

“I believe they have the right to know the reason why one church should not be enough, and as there is one Methodist church in Kalispell already, that ought to be enough until the hard times take a turn,” the letter read.    

Still, the church continued to serve Scandinavian Methodists, offering services in Norwegian for over 40 years before becoming the English-speaking Westside Methodist Church in 1939.  

The church also served as a meeting space for various social groups, such as the Girl’s Club, Ladies Aid, Young People’s Society and the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union.  

The church appeared many times in the Inter Lake’s “At the Churches” column published in the early 1900s, which listed different sermons and events held at churches across the Flathead Valley. An Aug. 1, 1924, edition of the paper told of Reverand B. Scott Bates planned sermon on “The Obligation of strength to weakness.”  

“The Girl’s Club will give a midsummer social at the Scandinavian Methodist church Thursday evening at 8 o’clock,” read the June 19, 1917, edition of the Inter Lake. The announcement was posted next to an advertisement for citizen still on the home front to sign up for the American Red Cross.  

The church served as a temporary classroom when in 1897 the one schoolhouse in Kalispell became overcrowded, according to a writing by Mary Rachel Long, class of 1910, which is stored at the Northwest Montana History Museum.  

Town was divided east and west, with Main Street as the division line. The Scandinavian church became the school for the west side students, with Caroline Gates as teacher.  

The church first emerged as a thrift store in 1957 after being purchased by the Salvation Army. With the change in ownership came changes to the building itself.  The steeple was torn down, and drop-down tiles now hide the vaulted ceilings.  

Later, Connie Valentine bought the building in 1989, turning it into the cherished Community Thrift. Harding purchased the property over a year ago and said she has witnessed the building’s timeless connection with the community. 

Harding applied for a $50,000 grant through the Montana Historic Preservation Grant program, which was created in 2019 to support the preservation of historic sites. The money will allow for the replacement of the roof, repainting the building and installing gutters. She will not know until May whether the money will be awarded.  

As part of the grant, Harding must provide 20%, or $10,000, in matching funds. To meet that goal, the shop is selling T-shirts and hosting a Spring Tea party and silent auction on May 18. Tickets are $35 each and can be purchased at Community Thrift. 

A GoFundMe, which has raised around $850 so far, has also been launched to meet the match. The campaign can be found at tinyurl.com/uyzdcur2. 

“I have a customer who remembers coming to church here as a little boy,” she said. When airing an advertisement for the thrift store on the radio, the DJ told her that their great-grandfather was the architect.  

From its beginning as a church, the building has been one of the longest standing in Kalispell, and now it continues as a thrift store loved by new generations.  

“We’re getting third-generation people that have been coming to Community Thrift,” Harding said. “It’s alive.”  

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at junderhill@dailyinterlake.com and 758-4407.  

    Back side of a postcard signed in 1912 with photo of the Scandinavian Methodist Church. Courtesy of the Northwest Montana History Museum.
  

    Photo of the Scandinavian Methodist Church, date unknown. Courtesy of Northwest Montana History Museum.
  

    A patron exits the Kalispell Community Thrift store in the Scandinavian Methodist Church building in Kalispell on Tuesday, March 11. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    A tip jar on the counter at Kalispell Community Thrift for donations that would go towards a new roof of the Scandinavian Methodist Church building that now houses the store. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    The attic above the Kalispell Community Thrift shop inside the Scandinavian Methodist Church in Kalispell on Tuesday, March 11. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    A variety of recycled T-shirt styles with the Kalispell Community Thrift logo, sales of which help raise money for a new roof on the Scandinavian Methodist Church building on Tuesday, March 11. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    A hole in the wall between rooms that once served as the minister's sitting room and bedroom on the second floor of the Scandinavian Methodist Church, above Kalispell Community Thrift on Tuesday, March 11. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Racks of clothing and household items for sale at Kalispell Community Thrift inside the Scandinavian Methodist Church building in Kalispell on Tuesday, March 11. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    A room that once served as the minister's sitting room on the second floor of the Scandinavian Methodist Church, above Kalispell Community Thrift on Tuesday, March 11. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Racks of clothing and household items for sale at Kalispell Community Thrift inside the Scandinavian Methodist Church building in Kalispell on Tuesday, March 11. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    A room that once served as the minister's bedroom on the second floor of the Scandinavian Methodist Church, above Kalispell Community Thrift on Tuesday, March 11. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Kalispell Community Thrift in the Scandinavian Methodist Church building in Kalispell on Tuesday, March 11. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider