Bair History and House Guide

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering the history of the Bair family, their business ventures in Montana and the Yukon, and the development of their family estate.

Charles M. Bair

Born in 1857 in Paris, Ohio, he moved to Montana in the early 1880s and became a wealthy sheep owner and investor after working on the Northern Pacific Railroad.

1883

The year Charles M. Bair arrived in Billings, Montana, while working as a conductor on the railroad.

Mary Jacobs

The woman Charles Bair met on a farm in Michigan and married in Chicago on Christmas Eve in 1886.

Marguerite Bair

The first daughter of Charles and Mary Bair, born in Helena in 1889.

Alberta Bair

The second daughter of Charles and Mary Bair, born in Billings in 1896, who lived to the age of 97 and was the last member of the family.

Lavina, Montana

The location where Bair homesteaded a ranch in 1891 before moving his family to a brick home in Billings in 1893.

Alberta Bair Theatre

The contemporary landmark that stands on the original site of the Bair family's brick home in Billings.

1898 Klondike gold rush

The event during which Bair sold his sheep to invest in a machine that thawed permafrost for winter mining, leading to his great wealth.

Thawing machine

A device Bair invested in and sold in the Yukon that extended the time prospectors could mine for minerals into the winter months.

300,000 head

The peak number of sheep Charles Bair owned, establishing him as one of the largest sheep owners in the United States.

Portland, Oregon

The city where the Bair family purchased a home around 1910 for Mary's health and the daughters' cultural advantages.

Biltmore Hotel

The California location where the Bair family spent winters with artist friends such as Charlie Russell, Joseph H. Sharp, and Edward Curtis.

1934

The year Mary Bair decided to return full-time to the Martinsdale Ranch in Montana after living in Portland for about 25 years.

Martinsdale Ranch home

The Bair family residence that grew to 11,000 square feet and was eventually turned into a museum by the Bair sisters.

Dave Lamb

The Bair Ranch Foreman who married Marguerite Bair in 1939 when she was 50 years old.

1943

The year Charles M. Bair passed away.

1950

The year Mary Bair passed away.

1993

The year Alberta Bair died at the age of 97, marking the end of the family line.