100 College St, Stevensville, MT 59870

Dudley C. Bass Mansion (100 College Street) Brothers William and Dudley Bass crossed the plains from Missouri by mule team, lured west in 1864 by tales of rich diggings. Disappointed in prospecting, the brothers homesteaded in the Bitterroot Valley near present-day Stevensville, where they pioneered the fruit industry in Montana. By the turn of the century, the Basses' renowned Pine Grove Farm produced 10,000 boxes of apples shipped to such distant markets as New York and the Atlantic coast. By 1901, Dudley Bass had bought his brother's interest in the business. He sold the ranch in 1907 and moved to Stevensville with his wife, Etta, and their son, Lee. In 1908, Dudley commissioned noted Montana architect A. J. Gibson to design this Neoclassical style landmark.