Eagle's Store
About this property
Eagle's Store is a family business in West Yellowstone, Montana, whose three-story log building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The original store was established in 1908 on the same site and was razed in 1927 to make room for the present building, constructed in Rustic architectural style. Two blocks from the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park, Eagle's Store is the oldest operating business in West Yellowstone and is still run by the same family who founded it. Eyeing the growing popularity of tourism to Yellowstone National Park, the Union Pacific Railroad constructed its Oregon Short Line segment to the West Gate of Yellowstone Park between 1905 and 1907. In 1907, a Yellowstone Park employee, Samuel Peter Eagle, requested a United States Forest Service permit to lease commercial space next to the railroad's right of way. In June 1908, the Forest Service surveyed a six-block townsite on the western boundary of Yellowstone Park and issued business permits on one-acre (0.4 ha) plots. The first three business operators were Eagle and his partner, Alex Stuart, who built a general store; L. A. Murray, who opened the Yellowstone Hotel in 1909; and Charles Arnet, who opened the Yellowstone Store. While these and other ventures primarily served railway passengers in the early 20th century, the introduction of the automobile in 1916 brought many more visitors to Yellowstone Park, and business flourished, turning West Yellowstone into a permanent town. In 1908, Stuart left the partnership to open his own business; he bought the lease to Arnet's store in 1910. Eagle's Store continued to be operated by Eagle and his descendants. When it opened, Eagle's Store stocked "candies, tobaccos, Kodaks, postals, cigars, fishing rods and rented dusters." A white marble soda fountain manufactured by the Liquid Carbonic Company of Minnesota was added in 1910 for $1391.80., The local post office was located in Eagle's Store from 1909 to 1935, with Sam Eagle as the postmaster. Following the construction of its new building in 1930, the store began to offer a wider selection of merchandise and services. As of 2012, it sells sportswear, western wear, hiking and backpacking gear, fishing tackle, Native American arts and crafts, and souvenirs. The newer building retained the mahogany bar and soda fountain installed in 1910 and added a front bar and stools. The original Eagle's Store, built by Eagle and Stuart, was a 12 feet (3.7 m) by 12 feet (3.7 m) structure with a false front. Eagle enlarged the store in 1913 and then had it razed in 1927 to build the three-story structure that stands today.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Eagle's Store listed on the National Register?
Eagle's Store was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 6, 1986.
What type of historic resource is Eagle's Store?
Eagle's Store is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Eagle's Store?
The period of significance for Eagle's Store is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Eagle's Store?
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