Renovation: What’s the plan?

We’ve been making progress developing a plan for the Mansion! We have been in the process of finding a great architect to help us develop a plan for the Mansion and (drumroll…) we found them!

We will be partnering with 100 Fold Studios, a nonprofit organization based out of Lakeside, Montana. They are going to be a great fit with our project- not only because they’re located just a few miles down the road, but also because they have experience with this type of old building and have designed buildings all over the world. It’s an awesome bonus that we’ll also be supporting the training of new architects!

So, what’s the plan?

We’re hoping to turn the Mansion into an event venue! We’ll renovate the Mansion for hosting and housing guests, but we are also planning to run utilities, landscape, and renovate the Carriage House and the wash house. It’s a pretty huge undertaking so I’ve been taking it one step at a time…

Step 1: Get everything shored up. This includes getting a roof on the Mansion, supporting the carriage house’s foundation, and ensuring the plywood is safely covering all the Mansion’s windows.

Meanwhile, I am in the research phase (this phase will probably be an ongoing project for the rest of my life). I’ve been visiting with folks from the Historical Society in Somers, the Northwest Montana Historical Society, the Montana Historical Society, the Somers Company Town Project, etc. As someone who has kept tabs on the Mansion for years, I thought I knew a lot of it’s history- but there’s so much more to learn! It’s been a delight to dig around in old records and photos.

There’s always more to learn! If you’ve got old pictures, a story about the mansion, etc. feel free to shoot me an email at somersmansion@gmail.com.

Thanks!