Opening in 1900 as the Montana State School of Mines, Montana Tech began with only one building, Main Hall, holding 21 students and offering two degrees: mining engineering and electrical engineering. It continued to grow and, in 1928 Francis A. Thomson became president of the school. He considered the campus the "
ugliest campus of any educational institution" in any of the continents". In one respect, for him and the school the Great Depression turned out to be a serendipitous event in that he was able to have extensive landscaping done on the campus, as well as at least one building,
Prospector Hall, a large residence hall.
While built in 1935, this building, the residence of the school president, appears not to have been funded by any of the New Deal Projects in place at the time. The large two storey brick building is a fitting home for a person of this stature. Offering six to eight thousand square feet of living area, the home even has a sun room attached to one side. Though not really ostentatious in its design, the facade is set off by a pair of oriel windows, faux terra cotta keystones over the windows and a small Greek Revival pediment oved the centred front entrance.
MONTANA TECH CAMPUS
PRESIDENT'S RESIDENCE
Francis A. Thomson was the first school president to enjoy this fine residence, completed during his tenure in 1936. Thomson had declared upon his arrival in 1928 that, because of its barren grounds, the school had the "ugliest campus of any educational institution" in any of the continents. Thomson initiated and saw to completion an improvement program that entailed not only construction of the residence hall and Leonard Field, but also the extensive landscaping of the campus buildings and grounds with appropriations under the Works Progress Administration and other relief agencies. Separated from the campus by an encircling ring of mature conifers, this substantial home with its inviting balustraded porch, twin chimneys and tasteful brick, reflects the 1930s transformation.
From the NRHP plaque at the building