Nelson Story
Encyclopedia
Nelson Story, Sr. was a pioneer Montana
entrepreneur, cattle rancher
, miner and vigilante
, who was a notable resident of Bozeman, Montana
. He was best-known for his 1866 cattle drive
from Texas
with approximately 1000 head of Texas Longhorns
to Montana along the Bozeman Trail
—the first major cattle drive from Texas into Montana. His business ventures in Bozeman were so successful that he became the town's first millionaire
. In 1893, he played a prominent role in the establishment of the Agricultural College of the State of Montana by donating land and facilities. He built the first Story Mansion on Main Street in Bozeman in 1880 and later built today's Story Mansion at the corner of Willson and College for his son, T. Byron Story in 1910. In his later years, he became a prominent real estate developer in Los Angeles, California
.
, Meigs County, Ohio
in 1838. Nelson was the youngest son of Ira and Hannah Story previously from from New Hampshire.
By the time Story was 18, he was orphaned, had worked his way through two years at Ohio University
, and had taught school. He made his way west to Fort Leavenworth
, Kansas Territory
to hire on as a bullwhacker
with a freighting outfit. By 1862 he was a successful freight driver operating out of Denver, Colorado
. During a trip to Missouri, he met Ellen Trent and married her in Kansas 1862. In 1863, Story left Colorado with ox teams and pack mules heading for Montana territory. Nelson and Ellen arrived in Bannack, Montana
in June 1863 shortly after the major gold strike at Alder Gulch, Montana.
. He used this stake to finance the first cattle drive from Texas to Montana. Later, as a merchant operating in the Bannack
and Virginia City, Montana
, Story participated in the vigilante committees that ultimately hanged 21 criminals, including Henry Plummer
.
and the economy of Texas
, as in the rest of the former Confederacy
, was devastated. However there were significant numbers of cattle roaming Texas which could be had for very little money. Also, there was great demand for beef in the northern states along with money to pay for it. So many returning Confederate soldiers begged or borrowed a stake to get a herd together. Many others signed on as trail drive cowboy
s. Give or take, about 260,000 cattle were driven north from Texas that summer toward the nearest rail shipping point at Sedalia, Missouri
in hopes of selling them there for a quick profit. To reach Sedalia, the cattle first had to be driven through the territory which was to become Oklahoma
, but which at the time was the Indian Territory
. This was the domain of the remnants of the Five Civilized Nations who had survived the Trail of Tears
. While the tribes previously had tolerated the passage of a few herds, an exodus of this magnitude threatened their ability to support their own grazing cattle. Rather than blocking the herds entirely, they decided to charge 10 cents a head for passage. The drovers mostly paid the fee.
During the Civil War
, bands of Union Kansans known as Jayhawkers had raided east into Confederate Missouri
. At the war's close, they remained as a force in Kansas
. The crossing point for the Texas
herds into Kansas/Missouri was at the town of Baxter Springs in the southeast corner of Kansas. And here the Jayhawkers stopped them cold, stealing some herds and generally forcing the rest to stay in the Indian Territory
. This was the situation that Story found when he arrived at Baxter Springs.
Nelson Story decided to try for Montana
and its lucrative market of gold miners in Virginia City, Montana
and became part of the first ever cattle drive on the Bozeman Trail
. He pointed his herd north for the long drive. With a large measure of courage and a large measure of luck he brought his cattle over the Bozeman Trail
into Montana. At Fort Phil Kearny
, between present day Buffalo
and Sheridan, Wyoming
, the U.S. Army ordered Story and his drovers to stop because of Indian problems. Story ignored the order, evaded the Army and continued the drive into Montana, encountering and fighting Sioux
and Crow Indians along the way. Only one drover was killed by Indians. The feat would not be duplicated for another 4 years. Story and the herd arrived in what is now Livingston, Montana
in December 1866 and established winter quarters for his men and cattle. Story's cattle established a thriving industry, and for at least two years he shrewdly bought and sold cattle to hungry miners for up to ten times the Texas price. In 1870, when the placer mining in Montana was starting to decline, Story and his ranch in the Paradise Valley had become the leading cattleman in the northern plains. Some credit Story with naming the now famous Paradise Valley for its grand scenery and abundant wildlife. This 1866 cattle drive inspired Larry McMurtry
's Pulitzer Prize
-winning novel Lonesome Dove
.
, J.E. Martin, Broox Martin, and Edwin Lewis, Story helped capitalize one of the first banks in the county, the Gallatin Valley National Bank. The bank failed during the Panic of 1893
and never reopened. In 1882, Story opened the Story Flour Mill at the mouth of Bridger Creek. This mill produced up to 100 bushels a day and was a major source of flour for the U.S. Army at Fort Ellis
and for the Crow Indian Reservation
in southeastern Montana. His business activities made him Bozeman's first millionaire.
, on December 18, 1882. He was the last born of their children. Walter began his education but later attended Shattuck Military Academy at Faribault, Minnesota
. He left there in 1902 and graduated from Eastman Business College
at Poughkeepsie, New York in 1903. He returned to Bozeman to work with his father until 1905, when he went back to Los Angeles. There he worked in real estate and founded the first motor transit line in the western United States. He then helped his father develop more business in Los Angeles, including building the Story Building, which had twelve stories and was completed on April 1, 1910. The elder Story then retired and move back to Bozeman. Walter began his military service by enlisting as a private, later serving in World War I
. He was out of the military until 1920 when he was commissioned as a captain of infantry in the California National Guard. He became a Brigadier General in July 1926. He wasn't promoted to Major General for another 11 years. In 1928 he founded Camp Merriam, which is now known as Camp San Luis Obispo. He entered federal military service in March 1941 and took command of the 40th Infantry Division. He was relieved of command in September 1941, and retired from active list in July 1942.
. The Walter P. Story Building (1909) at 6th and Broadway in Los Angeles, California was built by Nelson Story as a gift to Walter. It was one of the first skyscrapers in Los Angeles and still stands today as The New Story Building. Nelson Story's great-great grandson
, Mike Story still operates the Story Ranch and Cattle Company in Paradise Valley, Montana. Story donated 160 acres (64.7 ha) of land in 1893 for an agricultural college that became Montana State University. In 1876 he was accused, but not indicted, of defrauding the Crow Indians—and later claimed he had bribed the jury. He was called a "cattle king", "captain of industry", and a "robber baron".
In 1919, Nelson Jr. and T. Byron Story funded the construction of the Ellen Theater on Main Street Bozeman to honor their mother Ellen. The theater was designed by architect Fred F. Willson
, son of Bozeman pioneer Lester S. Willson
and still operates as a theater today.
In 1959, Nelson Story was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame
, Oklahoma, City as a Great Westerner.
In 2008, Story was inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame as a founding, Legacy member.
Nelson and Ellen Story are buried in Sunset Hills Cemetery, Bozeman, Montana along with several of their children.
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
entrepreneur, cattle rancher
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
, miner and vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
, who was a notable resident of Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The 2010 census put Bozeman's population at 37,280 making it the fourth largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the Bozeman micropolitan area, which consists...
. He was best-known for his 1866 cattle drive
Cattle drives in the United States
Cattle drives were a major economic activity in the American west, particularly between the years 1866-1886, when 20 million cattle were herded from Texas to railheads in Kansas for shipments to stockyards in Chicago and points east...
from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
with approximately 1000 head of Texas Longhorns
Texas longhorn (cattle)
The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its characteristic horns, which can extend to tip to tip for steers and exceptional cows, and tip to tip for bulls. Horns can have a slight upward turn at their tips or even triple twist. Texas Longhorns are known for their diverse coloring...
to Montana along the Bozeman Trail
Bozeman Trail
The Bozeman Trail was an overland route connecting the gold rush territory of Montana to the Oregon Trail. Its most important period was from 1863-1868. The flow of pioneers and settlers through territory of American Indians provoked their resentment and caused attacks. The U.S. Army undertook...
—the first major cattle drive from Texas into Montana. His business ventures in Bozeman were so successful that he became the town's first millionaire
Millionaire
A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. It can also be a person who owns one million units of currency in a bank account or savings account...
. In 1893, he played a prominent role in the establishment of the Agricultural College of the State of Montana by donating land and facilities. He built the first Story Mansion on Main Street in Bozeman in 1880 and later built today's Story Mansion at the corner of Willson and College for his son, T. Byron Story in 1910. In his later years, he became a prominent real estate developer in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Early life
Nelson Story Sr. was born in BurlinghamBurlingham, Ohio
Burlingham is an unincorporated community in northern Bedford Township, Meigs County, Ohio, United States named for the area's first postmaster. Burlingham allegedly received the nickname of "Bungtown" in the late 1800 when the local women became upset with their husbands for spending too much...
, Meigs County, Ohio
Meigs County, Ohio
Meigs County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 23,770. Its county seat is Pomeroy, and it is named for Return J. Meigs, Jr., the 4th Governor of Ohio.-Geography:...
in 1838. Nelson was the youngest son of Ira and Hannah Story previously from from New Hampshire.
By the time Story was 18, he was orphaned, had worked his way through two years at Ohio University
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
, and had taught school. He made his way west to Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...
, Kansas Territory
Kansas Territory
The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Kansas....
to hire on as a bullwhacker
Bullocky
A bullocky is an Australian English term for the driver of a bullock team. Bullock drivers were also known as teamsters or carriers. The American term for a bullocky is a bullwhacker.-History:...
with a freighting outfit. By 1862 he was a successful freight driver operating out of Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. During a trip to Missouri, he met Ellen Trent and married her in Kansas 1862. In 1863, Story left Colorado with ox teams and pack mules heading for Montana territory. Nelson and Ellen arrived in Bannack, Montana
Bannack, Montana
Bannack is a ghost town in Beaverhead County, Montana, United States, located on Grasshopper Creek, approximately upstream from where Grasshopper Creek joins with the Beaverhead River south of Dillon.-History:...
in June 1863 shortly after the major gold strike at Alder Gulch, Montana.
Montana gold fields
Story learned of a gold field that he felt had not been fully worked near Alder Gulch, began working it, and within a few months made $30,000 in gold. He exchanged it for $20,000 in cash and traveled to Fort Worth, TexasFort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
. He used this stake to finance the first cattle drive from Texas to Montana. Later, as a merchant operating in the Bannack
Bannack, Montana
Bannack is a ghost town in Beaverhead County, Montana, United States, located on Grasshopper Creek, approximately upstream from where Grasshopper Creek joins with the Beaverhead River south of Dillon.-History:...
and Virginia City, Montana
Virginia City, Montana
Virginia City is a town in and the county seat of Madison County, Montana, United States. In 1961, the town and the surrounding area was designated a National Historic Landmark District, the Virginia City Historic District...
, Story participated in the vigilante committees that ultimately hanged 21 criminals, including Henry Plummer
Henry Plummer
Henry Plummer served as sheriff of what became Bannack, Montana, from May 24, 1863 until January 10, 1864, when he was hanged without legal system trial by the controversial Montana Vigilantes. [Notes of historical clarification: the original Idaho Territory, declared July 4, 1863 at Lewiston,...
.
1866 Cattle drive
In 1866, Nelson Story traveled to Texas and spent $10,000 for 1000 (some accounts indicate possibly as many as 3000) head of Longhorn cattle. 1866 was the first year after the end of the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and the economy of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, as in the rest of the former Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
, was devastated. However there were significant numbers of cattle roaming Texas which could be had for very little money. Also, there was great demand for beef in the northern states along with money to pay for it. So many returning Confederate soldiers begged or borrowed a stake to get a herd together. Many others signed on as trail drive cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
s. Give or take, about 260,000 cattle were driven north from Texas that summer toward the nearest rail shipping point at Sedalia, Missouri
Sedalia, Missouri
Sedalia is a city located about south of the Missouri River in Pettis County, Missouri. U.S. Highway 50 and U.S. Highway 65 intersect in the city. As of 2006, the city had a total population of 20,669. It is the county seat of Pettis County. The Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of...
in hopes of selling them there for a quick profit. To reach Sedalia, the cattle first had to be driven through the territory which was to become Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, but which at the time was the Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
. This was the domain of the remnants of the Five Civilized Nations who had survived the Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears is a name given to the forced relocation and movement of Native American nations from southeastern parts of the United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830...
. While the tribes previously had tolerated the passage of a few herds, an exodus of this magnitude threatened their ability to support their own grazing cattle. Rather than blocking the herds entirely, they decided to charge 10 cents a head for passage. The drovers mostly paid the fee.
During the Civil War
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
, bands of Union Kansans known as Jayhawkers had raided east into Confederate Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. At the war's close, they remained as a force in Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. The crossing point for the Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
herds into Kansas/Missouri was at the town of Baxter Springs in the southeast corner of Kansas. And here the Jayhawkers stopped them cold, stealing some herds and generally forcing the rest to stay in the Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
. This was the situation that Story found when he arrived at Baxter Springs.
Nelson Story decided to try for Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
and its lucrative market of gold miners in Virginia City, Montana
Virginia City, Montana
Virginia City is a town in and the county seat of Madison County, Montana, United States. In 1961, the town and the surrounding area was designated a National Historic Landmark District, the Virginia City Historic District...
and became part of the first ever cattle drive on the Bozeman Trail
Bozeman Trail
The Bozeman Trail was an overland route connecting the gold rush territory of Montana to the Oregon Trail. Its most important period was from 1863-1868. The flow of pioneers and settlers through territory of American Indians provoked their resentment and caused attacks. The U.S. Army undertook...
. He pointed his herd north for the long drive. With a large measure of courage and a large measure of luck he brought his cattle over the Bozeman Trail
Bozeman Trail
The Bozeman Trail was an overland route connecting the gold rush territory of Montana to the Oregon Trail. Its most important period was from 1863-1868. The flow of pioneers and settlers through territory of American Indians provoked their resentment and caused attacks. The U.S. Army undertook...
into Montana. At Fort Phil Kearny
Fort Phil Kearny
Fort Phil Kearny was an outpost of the United States Army that existed in the late 1860s in present-day northeastern Wyoming along the Bozeman Trail. Construction began Friday July 13, 1866 by Companies A, C, E and H of the 2nd Battalion, 18th Infantry, under the direction of the regimental...
, between present day Buffalo
Buffalo, Wyoming
Buffalo is a city in Johnson County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 3,900 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Johnson County...
and Sheridan, Wyoming
Sheridan, Wyoming
Sheridan is a city in Sheridan County, Wyoming, United States. The 2010 census put the population at 17,444 and a Micropolitan Statistical Area of 29,116...
, the U.S. Army ordered Story and his drovers to stop because of Indian problems. Story ignored the order, evaded the Army and continued the drive into Montana, encountering and fighting Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
and Crow Indians along the way. Only one drover was killed by Indians. The feat would not be duplicated for another 4 years. Story and the herd arrived in what is now Livingston, Montana
Livingston, Montana
-Geography:Livingston is located at , at an altitude of 4.501 feet .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and 0.38% is waters.-Climate:-Demographics:...
in December 1866 and established winter quarters for his men and cattle. Story's cattle established a thriving industry, and for at least two years he shrewdly bought and sold cattle to hungry miners for up to ten times the Texas price. In 1870, when the placer mining in Montana was starting to decline, Story and his ranch in the Paradise Valley had become the leading cattleman in the northern plains. Some credit Story with naming the now famous Paradise Valley for its grand scenery and abundant wildlife. This 1866 cattle drive inspired Larry McMurtry
Larry McMurtry
Larry Jeff McMurtry is an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work is predominantly set in either the old West or in contemporary Texas...
's Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning novel Lonesome Dove
Lonesome Dove
Lonesome Dove is a 1985 Pulitzer Prize–winning western novel written by Larry McMurtry. It is the first published book of the Lonesome Dove series, but the third installment in the series chronologically...
.
Bozeman, Montana
Story settled his family in Bozeman where he used his business sense and cattle fortune to engage in banking, mercantile and grain businesses. In 1882, along with Lester S. WillsonLester S. Willson
Brevet Brigadier General Lester Sebastion Willson, , was a U.S. Civil War officer in the Union Army, Assistant Quartermaster General of New York, and a Montana merchant and politician in Bozeman, Montana. He was married at Albany, N.Y., on March 2, 1869, to Miss Emma D. Weeks, a native of Vermont...
, J.E. Martin, Broox Martin, and Edwin Lewis, Story helped capitalize one of the first banks in the county, the Gallatin Valley National Bank. The bank failed during the Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
and never reopened. In 1882, Story opened the Story Flour Mill at the mouth of Bridger Creek. This mill produced up to 100 bushels a day and was a major source of flour for the U.S. Army at Fort Ellis
Fort Ellis
Fort Ellis was an early United States Army outpost established August 27, 1867 to the eastern side of present-day Bozeman, Montana. The fort was established to protect and support settlers moving into the Gallatin Valley. The post was named for Civil War Colonel Augustus van Horne Ellis who was...
and for the Crow Indian Reservation
Crow Indian Reservation
The Crow Indian Reservation is the homeland of the Crow Tribe of Indians of the State of Montana in the United States. The reservation is located in parts of Big Horn, Yellowstone, and Treasure counties in southern Montana...
in southeastern Montana. His business activities made him Bozeman's first millionaire.
Los Angeles, California
Story and his wife Ellen had a son, Walter Perry Story, who was born at Bozeman, MontanaBozeman, Montana
Bozeman is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The 2010 census put Bozeman's population at 37,280 making it the fourth largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the Bozeman micropolitan area, which consists...
, on December 18, 1882. He was the last born of their children. Walter began his education but later attended Shattuck Military Academy at Faribault, Minnesota
Faribault, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,818 people, 7,472 households, and 4,946 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,644.8 people per square mile . There were 7,668 housing units at an average density of 605.8 per square mile...
. He left there in 1902 and graduated from Eastman Business College
Eastman Business College
The Eastman Business College was a business school located in Poughkeepsie, New York.It was founded in 1859 by Harvey G. Eastman, and was for a time one of the largest commercial schools in the United States....
at Poughkeepsie, New York in 1903. He returned to Bozeman to work with his father until 1905, when he went back to Los Angeles. There he worked in real estate and founded the first motor transit line in the western United States. He then helped his father develop more business in Los Angeles, including building the Story Building, which had twelve stories and was completed on April 1, 1910. The elder Story then retired and move back to Bozeman. Walter began his military service by enlisting as a private, later serving in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He was out of the military until 1920 when he was commissioned as a captain of infantry in the California National Guard. He became a Brigadier General in July 1926. He wasn't promoted to Major General for another 11 years. In 1928 he founded Camp Merriam, which is now known as Camp San Luis Obispo. He entered federal military service in March 1941 and took command of the 40th Infantry Division. He was relieved of command in September 1941, and retired from active list in July 1942.
Legacy
Nelson and Ellen Story had seven children, four of whom survived to adulthood. Nelson, Jr. (1874–1932) became an alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from Montana in 1904, the mayor of Bozeman (1905–07) and the Lieutenant Governor of Montana (1921–25). Thomas Byron Story (1876–1954) became a prominent Bozeman merchant and lived in the new Story Mansion on College and Willson. Walter P. Story (1882–1957) became a prominent Los Angeles businessman and decorated Major General in the California National GuardCalifornia National Guard
The California National Guard is the component of the United States National Guard in the U.S. state of California. It comprises both Army and Air National Guard components and is the largest national guard force in the United States with a total authorized strength of 22,900 soldiers and airmen...
. The Walter P. Story Building (1909) at 6th and Broadway in Los Angeles, California was built by Nelson Story as a gift to Walter. It was one of the first skyscrapers in Los Angeles and still stands today as The New Story Building. Nelson Story's great-great grandson
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
, Mike Story still operates the Story Ranch and Cattle Company in Paradise Valley, Montana. Story donated 160 acres (64.7 ha) of land in 1893 for an agricultural college that became Montana State University. In 1876 he was accused, but not indicted, of defrauding the Crow Indians—and later claimed he had bribed the jury. He was called a "cattle king", "captain of industry", and a "robber baron".
In 1919, Nelson Jr. and T. Byron Story funded the construction of the Ellen Theater on Main Street Bozeman to honor their mother Ellen. The theater was designed by architect Fred F. Willson
Fred F. Willson
Fred Fielding Willson , most commonly known as Fred F. Willson, was an architect in Bozeman, Montana who designed many buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.,-Early life:...
, son of Bozeman pioneer Lester S. Willson
Lester S. Willson
Brevet Brigadier General Lester Sebastion Willson, , was a U.S. Civil War officer in the Union Army, Assistant Quartermaster General of New York, and a Montana merchant and politician in Bozeman, Montana. He was married at Albany, N.Y., on March 2, 1869, to Miss Emma D. Weeks, a native of Vermont...
and still operates as a theater today.
In 1959, Nelson Story was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of American rodeo, photographs, barbed wire, saddlery, and early rodeo trophies...
, Oklahoma, City as a Great Westerner.
In 2008, Story was inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame as a founding, Legacy member.
Nelson and Ellen Story are buried in Sunset Hills Cemetery, Bozeman, Montana along with several of their children.