The Twins

I pass this house often on my way to town and thought it would make a good blip today....because it has a fascinating story.
This house was built after the Indian Wars in 1889 by a former Union Army General for his twin daughters. The two were quite a handful back east. He came west to advise one of the cavalry battalions in the Indian wars and brought his family with him. The Bitterroot was quite safe as the Salish and Nez Perce were frequent traders; not at war with the settlers or army. He built this house with two sections inside and they were mirror images. They only shared the kitchen and the one bathroom. There were beautiful formal gardens surrounding the house.

One day, a handsome young Captain paid a courtesy call to the General and he invited the his daughters over to meet the young man. They were both quite smitten by his charms and soon were battling furiously for his attention. When he left for another post further west, each woman blamed the other for chasing him away. They contracted carpenters to completely divide the house inside with a wall. They both died younger than they should have very nearly at the same time.

The house sat empty for decades. The first people that bought it in the 1930s were driven out by a fire in the kitchen. They had taken that wall down to restore the original layout. Following buyers had various accidents and fires and the gardens wouldn't grow a blade of grass. 3 more fires followed and the house sat empty once again. In 1982, a young couple bought the house and started major restoration...again a fire...again, nothing would grow. New trees died. Flowers withered. We all knew they were doomed to be chased out by the sisters. The woman took their kids away and they rented a house in town. The man would not give up. He researched the house some more and found out everything he could about the twins and the family. He slept in a sleeping bag on the floor every night. One night, the corner of his bag had fallen on one of the old heating registers and caught fire. He stayed. He talked to the ladies as he worked. He told them what he knew about the family and admired their pluck for moving to Montana from their eastern social life. He sang old songs from the 19th century. And the house stood taller and the grass grew. He built a playhouse for his children so they wouldn't mess with "their" house. Then the trees were planted and grew. The bricks were sandblasted to new color. And the house was finished, at last.
Now 30-some years later, there are new owners...they know the history of the house. They love it and it flourishes.

We all think the sisters followed the 80s family to their new home...quite smitten by the man who sang to them.