History

 

 

 

 

THE CROWN JEWEL OF BOZEMAN

EXPERIENCE BOZEMAN’S HISTORY

The Baxter Hotel opened its doors in 1929 with the pledge to make Bozeman the best town in America. Now, over 80 years later, Bozeman is continually ranked as one of the best places to live nationally.

The Baxter Hotel opened on March 2, 1929. The building was the culmination of a large vision and the collective efforts of the Bozeman community. Fred Willson, the highly regarded Bozeman architect, designed the building in Art Deco style and continued to work on the building’s interiors until 1951. The Bozeman Community Hotel Corporation was founded under the leadership of Eugene Graf and sixteen preeminent Bozeman businessmen, who secured the support of approximately 250 members of the community in order to finance the construction of the Baxter Hotel. George Baxter, a notable Gallatin County rancher, provided a significant portion of the financing and was rewarded by having the hotel named in his honor. The initial celebration for the opening of The Baxter was held on Saturday evening, March 16, 1929. J.A. Lovelace, a community leader and member of The Baxter board of directors, called for a toast in which all 250 attendees from the community raised their glasses “to the Hotel Baxter, to pledge ourselves to cooperate in doing everything possible to make Bozeman the best town in America in which to live.”

 

Take a step back into the early 1900’s as you view our historic documents below.

 

Crown Jewel of Bozeman   Original Shareholders