Archives West Finding Aid

The Hub clothing store in Great Falls, Montana, was established in 1890 by Andrew Thisted and Timothy Brosnan. From 1891 to 1892 the partners also owned a grocery in Barker, operated under the name of Silver and Company. After the death of Brosnan in 1897 the Hub was operated solely by Andrew Thisted. When his sons came of age, he brought them into the business and ran it as a co-partnership under the name Andrew Thisted and Sons. The business, which also included Thisted's ranching and real estate investments, was incorporated in 1928. In 1956 the name was formally changed to The Hub-Thisteds. The store closed in 1964. Andrew Thisted was born in Laurdal, Norway, on June 20, 1864, the next to youngest of 9 children of Nels and Helen (Kalberg) Thisted. He learned the mercantile trade as a clerk in a store in Christiana [Oslo], Norway. In 1886 he moved to Chicago, where he worked in the mercantile business for two years before moving to Great Falls, Montana, in 1888. In 1890 he opened the Hub Clothing Store in partnership with Timothy W. Brosnan. They built the store into the largest clothing store in the city. After Brosnan's death in 1897, Thisted continued the business on his own, eventually bringing his sons Norman and Walter into the business. In addition to the clothing business, Thisted invested in several ranches, was president of the Lincoln Land and Livestock Company, and owned a susbtantial amount of real estate in Great Falls. Socially he was a member of the Scandanavian Brotherhood, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Cascade Lodge of the Masons, the Electric Club, and the Merchants' Association. As a Republican, he served for 10 years on the Great Falls school board. Andrew Thisted married Augusta Anderson in 1894. The couple had five children: Norman, Violet, Walter, Helen, and Karl. Andrew Thisted died October 12, 1926. Timothy W. Brosnan was born in Athens, Ohio, on December 13, 1854, the son of John and Kate (Neehily) Brosnan. His mother died when he was four. Timothy and his father moved frequently around the east and south. In 1881 Brosnan went west to Leadville, Colorado, and then to Helena, Montana. He returned east in 1882. In 1889 he arrived in Great Falls, and went into business with Andrew Thisted. In addition to The Hub, Brosnan invested in mining properties in Barker and a ranch near Great Falls. Brosnan was elected as a Populist to the 1895 and 1897 Montana Legislative Assemblies. Even though he was a merchant, he was active in the Knights of Labor. In 1897 he married Mina Beushleim. The couple had three children: Florence, Katherine, and Gerald. Timothy Brosnan died August 13, 1897.