It is located in downtown Malta, Montana on the top floor of the historic Edwards & McLellan building. It features 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a fully stocked kitchen, dining room, living room and rooftop deck. This is a family run business, and we cater to families of all sizes. The inn will sleep 16 people in its 5 beautiful bedrooms. Each room is named for either an original occupant of the buildi
ng, a prominent business person, or something pertaining to the history of Malta. They began construction on this amazing building in March of 1910. There was a plant set up across the street in the empty lot where they made each brick. The April 20, 1910 edition of The Enterprise provided the first true insight regarding the appearance of the soon-to-be completed Edwards & McLellan Block. The article stated, “the building will be strictly modern, contain a plate glass front and be heated by steam.” In addition to the first and second floors, the building would also boast “…an immense basement….” Plans for the building included its use to sell men’s clothing and hardware and the newspaper noted, the business “will gain recognition as ‘The Peer of All Clothing and Hardware House.’ ”
The first floor was to be dedicated to “…a salesroom and office…” supplying “one of the largest and most complete stocks of merchandise… ever brought to northern Montana.” Plans for the second story included use for “…up-to-date office rooms…” one which was already slated for use by the Moore Telephone Company. By July, the Edwards & McLellan Block neared completion and a railroad car of hardware waited to be unloaded. Additional construction details included the ground floor boasting 43 feet of plate glass in the display windows, and counters and shelving made of oak and featuring a “mission style.” The upper floor was divided into 10 offices that range in size from 10 feet by 12 feet to 12 feet by 16 feet. The offices would be heated with steam, well furnished, and contain large windows. Five offices were rented before the building was completed. The success of the enterprise was a foregone conclusion articulated by the newspaper: “Both proprietors are well and popularly known and the mercantile business with them is not an experiment for each has earned commercial distinction and been wonderfully successful in a business way. Their career could be studied with profit by the boys of Malta and vicinity.”
The Great Falls newspaper advanced an altruistic twist to the construction of the two buildings: “The town is composed largely of progressive citizens who work for the up -building of the town more than for purely personal interests….” The tone of the article suggested that the new construction flurry went hand-in-hand with the “residents (who) are up to date and fast assuming ‘city-airs,’” noting that six resident now own automobiles. The Opening
The anticipated opening occurred on September 5, 1910. Prior to the opening the store received consignments of men’s clothing and hardware. Staff was busy unpacking, marking, arranging, and displaying the goods in the store. “A. Pervaince of Weil, Dobell & Com., of St. Paul “… assisted Edwards & McLellan for a few days in arranging and displaying their line of men’s clothing and furnishing goods.” “The interior of the store as well as the new goods, so artistically displayed, was a revelation to some of our citizens who had not kept in touch with the progress of the building or the plans of the enterprising proprietors. The opening of the store allowed for a full description of the interior:
The walls and ceiling have been artistically finished and decorated and form an appropriate setting for the handsome oak furniture and fixtures which have been placed therein. The right side or half of the store contains a complete stock of hardware and the shelving and counters are finished in golden oak, while the left half of the store fixtures, cabinets and wardrobes containing the clothing and furnishing goods has been finished in flemish oak, and this affords a pleasing contrast for the two different lines of goods. Nobby neckwear and fine cutlery are attractively displayed in the plate glass showcases. Cutlery and hardware are displayed and arranged in drop front shelves, with inner cabinets where where's are classified, and cunning labor-saving devices have been introduced in the drawers containing the smaller lines of hardware. Three large plate glass mirrors in the clothing department show the fastidious customer “how he looks” and how to wear the new and up-to-date clothing. Additional details about the basement were also revealed including that it held a tin repair shop, plumbing shop, and storage for “heavy hardware.”
Those attending the opening of the store received long stemmed asters, and “the housewives received a souvenir in the shape of a brush with the inscription in gold letters—‘Edwards & McLellan, Malta, Mont., Clothing and Hardware.’”
