[1] Henry Montague arrived in Kalamazoo in the 1830s from Massachusetts, and was closely involved with the abolitionist movement.

[2] He was ultimately successful, and when the Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital opened in 1859, Montague served as its first steward, a post he held until 1884.

In 1861, Montague built this "simple but spacious brick home" on land he had purchased adjacent to the Asylum.

[2] The Montague House is a two-story brick structure with a broad, symmetrical facade, including a projecting, veranda-fronted central section.

It has square-head windows and a simply detailed transom-and-sidelight entrance, giving the house a Greek Revival look.