Designed by the Architectural firm of Link & Haire, of Butte and Billings, this sandstone residence was built in 1916 for local attorney J. C. Huntoon by contractor Lee Dysart. Huntoon held the office of county attorney for two years, then entered a law partnership with William M. Blackford. In 1922 Huntoon was appointed Judge of the Tenth Judicial District.
This residence was one of the later sandstone buildings to be erected in Lewistown, continuing the tradition of the use of the locally abundant, high quality sandstone available in Lewistown. Many Croatian stonemasons immigrated to Lewistown around the turn of the twentieth century, so we can only assume that some were still practising their craft in 1916, when the stones for this house were laid.
John Gustave Link was born in Bavaria on May 13, 1870, emigrating to the United States in 1887. He practiced architecture in Denver and St. Louis before relocating to Butte in 1896. He soon formed the partnership of Link & Donovan with William E. Donovan, which was dissolved in 1900. He then formed Link & Carter, with Joseph T. Carter. In 1902 Link went to Billings, a city 228 miles east of Butte, where he established the firm's second office, leaving the Butte office under Carter's supervision. After Carter departed in 1905, Link had to find a new architect to manage the Butte office. He found his man in the form of the older Charles S. Haire, a prominent Helena architect. The two men formally established their partnership on January 1, 1906, with Link in Billings and Haire in Butte.
From Wiki
Huntoon Residence
A sizeable one and one-half story cut stone residence that has an irregular plan and a complex roof shape. The dominant roof is a medium slope wood shingle gable roof with a gabled eave dormer over a solarium and gabled roof dormers on either side of the main gable. The southwest (or left) end of the central gable is intersected by another smaller gable whose downs lope runs below the rake of the main roof (similar in appearance to a dutch hip). The edge of the roof is trimmed with a flat wood fascia; the cornice is boxed and the barge boards are curved at the eave to cap the ends of the bead-joint board soffit. The barge is then similar in appearance to a pseudo four-centered arch. The entrance elevation features a projected solarium which forms one side of the offset for an open porch or balcony that accesses the entry. The porch is supported by cut stone columns. The solarium features four ganged fixed windows with wood frames in the configuration of subtle keyhole arches. The front entry door is wood with an elliptical BE plate glass insert (French Provincial).
This property is significant because of its association with J. C. Huntoon, a prominent local attorney. Huntoon was elected county attorney in 1908, an office he held for two years. Blackford & Huntoon was formed in 1914 when he entered into a partnership with William M. Blackford in the practice of law. J. C. Huntoon was appointed Judge of the Tenth Judicial District on November 22, 1922, and served in that capacity for ten years.
The Huntoon home, "the finest and most costly residence to be erected in Lewistown" in 1916, stands as a visible sign of the prosperity and stability of the growing
community.
Link and Haire designed the home, which remained in the Huntoon family until 1934.
From the NRHP Registration Form