Near the eastern edge of the cemetery and north of the large war memorial stands a very tall (ca. 20-25 feet) granite obelisk on a square multi-tiered granite base near Robert Burns Smith's gravesite which has a large plaque with an inscription:
Erected by the State of Montana
In Honor and Memory of
Robert B. Smith
1854 - 1908
Governor of Montana
1897 - 1901
The Robert B. Smith gravesite also has a small granite headstone with an inscription:
Robert B. Smith
1854 - 1908
Governor of Montana
1897 - 1901
Robert Burns Smith was born December 29, 1854 in Kentucky and died November 16, 1908 in Kalispell, Montana at the age of 53.
The C. E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery is a very large cemetery located in Flathead County containing approximately 18,000 gravesites.
Robert Burns Smith
Robert B. Smith (December 29, 1854 – November 16, 1908) was a Democrat politician. He served as the third Governor of Montana from 1897 to 1901.
Biography
Smith was born on a farm in Hickman County, Kentucky, and educated in the local schools. At the age of twenty, he completed his education at the high school in Milburn, Kentucky, and then taught in that school for one year. Moving to Charleston, Missouri in September 1876, he was elected principle of the Charleston Classical Academy until June 1877.
Career
In June 1877, Smith began reading law in the office of Colonel Edward Crossland in Mayfield, Kentucky. In October, he was admitted to the bar in Mayfield and began practicing law. He married Catherine Crossland and they had two children, Mary and Edward.
Smith moved to Dillon, Montana and practiced law from September 1882 to 1889. Then he moved to Helena, Montana, and formed a law partnership with the Honorable Samuel Word. He was a member of the 1884 State Constitution Convention, U. S. District Attorney from 1885 to 1889, and city attorney of the city of Helena in 1890.
On the Democratic ticket through a coalition of democrats and populists, Smith won the election in November 1896, and served as Governor of Montana from 1897 to 1901. During his tenure, construction on the new state capital was initiated and roads were advanced. Under his governorship, the State University at Missoula, the State Agricultural College in Bozeman, and the Normal (Teacher) School in Dillon were created.[6] When his term ended, he returned to his law practice in Butte.
Death
Five years later failing health forced Smith to move to the east shore of Flathead Lake where he engaged in the orchard business. He died on November 16, 1908, and is interred at Conrad Memorial Cemetery, Kalispell, Flathead County, Montana USA.
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