At first, the house at 928 Second Ave. W. in Kalispell may seem to be just another “Kalispell Craftsman” built in the late 1920s.
However, once you learn the history, it becomes much more than just a house or home.
The home was built in 1930, less than a year after “Black Tuesday” when Wall Street crashed. At the time, America was in the throes of the Great Depression. More than 25 percent of workers were unemployed. And those who had a job suffered, too, as wages fell 40 percent or more. Local timber and agriculture helped buoy the economy in the Flathead Valley, but times were bleak.
Indeed, the home was built during the worst of economic times, which makes this home somehow more remarkable. And even more remarkable, the home was built by a woman, but not just any woman. The home was built by 78-year-old Belsamel Tetrault – a feisty, fervent gal with more fortitude than most of us could fathom.
Belsamel was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In the mid-1880s, her family left Montreal and traveled by wagon to the Flathead Valley. Her husband Joseph had left Montreal earlier in 1881 to work along the railroads in the United States.
While the story of German, Norwegian, Swedish and Italian immigrants coming to the Flathead Valley is often told, the journey of Belsamel and Joseph Tetrault remains one of the seldom-told stories of the eastern Canadian immigrants who came to Montana and the western United States. In this regard alone, Belsamel was truly a pioneer woman, yet her accomplishments had only begun.
In 1885, Belsamel reunited with her husband at Fort Missoula. They then settled a homestead together along Whitefish Creek. Belsamel and Joseph took up ranching and raised their six children along Whitefish Creek.
In 1910, ailing health forced Joseph to retire from the ranch and move into town, so Belsamel, Joseph, and their children moved to Kalispell. Several years later, poor health got the better of Joseph and Belsamel became a widow in 1916. After Joseph’s death, Belsamel remained in Kalispell among her family and friends.
In 1930 – at the age of seventy-eight – Belsamel decided to buy this lot and build a new home for herself. Perhaps she thought that if the Empire State Building could be built in 1930 (the tallest building in the world at the time) despite such overwhelming hardship, she could build herself a home as well.
Or perhaps while the rest of America was doubting “capitalism,” “imperialism” and “progressivism,” Belsamel held true to one of America’s most spirited maxims: “individualism.”
After taming a new country, starting a ranch, raising six children, and caring for an ailing husband, Belsamel undoubtedly deserved and enjoyed every bit of her fine Craftsman home.
The home features many hallmarks of the Craftsman style, including parallel lines and symmetry, exposed rafters and roof brackets, and bold side dormers (which were typical of many front-gabled Craftsman-style homes).
And while the Tetrault House may have many features in common with other Craftsman-style homes, it certainly has a history all its own – a truly unique history forged by a truly unique woman.
Jaix Chaix is a writer who appreciates history and architecture. You can share ideas and historical facts with him at [email protected] or at
facebook.com/flatheadvalleylandmarks.??He is also the author of “Death in the Valley: Odd Tragedies in the Flathead Valley, Montana 1887-1917” available at DeathInTheValley.com.