Historic Stevensville Hotel has new owners
June 15, 2017
The Stevensville Hotel began its structural existence as the Bitterroot valley’s first hospital in 1910, then run for many years by Dr. William Thornton. Over the years it transitioned into a nursing home, a daycare center, and then a boarding house before going through a major transition beginning in 2004 when former owners Gene Mim Mack and Robbie Springs created the Stevensville Hotel.
The newest owners, Mark and Dana Bateman, hail most recently from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Dana was born in Utah and Mark was born in Oklahoma. They have been married for 28 years and have five children and seven grandchildren.
Mark owned a muffler and brake shop in Oklahoma and the couple would buy old homes, fix them up and sell them for extra income over the years. When his parents passed on, however, the couple decided to move to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
According to Danam they were thinking about maybe buying a beach condo but they also toyed with the idea of running a bed & breakfast and were thinking it would be in Arkansas. Then their daughter’s one-year-old child got sick and they decided to come and help her out for bit. Their daughter lives in Florence, Montana.
Mark said he had some connections to Montana. For one thing, his parents owned property in Kalispell. But that was before he was born. He also learned to ski in Montana.
“Montana is so magical,” he said. “The mountains. The frozen waterfalls. All the animals. It’s peaceful. It’s a beautiful place.”
The two of them are also impressed by the history of the old building, the valley’s first hospital in the state’s first town. They are hoping to preserve as much of the authentic hospital history as possible and even, if possible, bring in more and integrate it into the hotel atmosphere....
From the Bitterroot Star