1129 Lewisohn

By Phyllis Hargrave
Built: c. 1915
Map

A low-pitched gable roof, open porch, exposed rafter tails, and decorative knee braces identify this well-preserved example of the Craftsman style. Constructed about 1915, the home boasts its original windows, which feature a diamond pane motif and a unique oval-glass door. Built-in bookcases serve as room dividers; oak floors, a beamed ceiling, and a prominent fireplace (sadly, the original ornate mantel was stolen) ornament the living room. Architects lauded bungalow designs for their symbolism and efficiency. Low-pitched roofs gave “an impression of comfort and security.” The central hearth provided a symbolic focus for the family, and the interior use of wood (such as the ceiling beams in this house) brought nature into the home. Although it appears large from the exterior, amazingly, the house was originally built as a one-bedroom home. The front porch is not the original design. 

The Butte “granite” rock wall was added in the mid-1930’s. The Lowneys did it: cement mixer going, lights shining, yelling back and forth into the night. The two-car garage was built about 1960 by Marcelano Galetti, who matched the style of the house by incorporating knee braces taken from the house, and salvaged old, unmatched, carriage garage doors.

Homeowners like Herman and Barbara Smith, who lived here from 1915 through 1949, embraced the bungalow style. Usually costing between $1,500 and $3,000 to build, bungalows put fashionable homes within financial reach of skilled craftsmen like Smith, who worked variously as an ironworker, ropeman at the Black Rock Mine, contractor, depot supervisor, and salesman. Smith built the house alternately with traveling to the Chicago/Detroit area to work there.

The stocky, bandy-legged, mustachioed Smith could be seen trudging up the hill with his lunch pail under his arm after work. Barbara Murphy Smith was a seamstress and always had a silk handkerchief. David and Jeanette Stuart and family lived in the walkout basement during the Depression in the mid-1930’s. Later owners included Marce and Irene Galetti, their daughter Tiny (Galetti) Lorengo (1949-~1971), and the Ramey family (~1971–2003). The unsolved murder of Mr. Ramey took place in the west bedroom in 1972. The house was purchased in 2004 by Phyllis Hargrave who started the renovation.

Photos courtesy Phyllis Hargrave.

1115 Lewisohn

By Phyllis Hargrave

Built: 1915
Map

New York capitalist Leonard Lewisohn—a principal in both the Boston and Montana and the Butte and Boston mining companies—invested heavily in Butte even though he never lived here. Among his other business ventures, he and business partner Simon Jacobs platted the Waukesha Addition in 1891. The street named for his family was alternately spelled Lewisohn and the more easily remembered Lewishon—sometimes on the same map. Many of the neighborhood’s homes went up between 1900 and 1915, including this one-story bungalow

This Craftsman bungalow was built about 1915 as a one-bedroom house. The present back bedroom was the kitchen, the closet was the pantry, and the present kitchen was the back porch. This back porch had stairs which lead down to the basement. This is a one-story rectangular bungalow residence with a basement apartment, and a dormered gable roof which flares in the front and rear. The original siding was pine lap boards, which were covered over in the early 1970s by white, wide, steel siding and yellow awnings that began to peel. The steel siding was removed in 2009 and cedar lap siding was installed along with replacement knee braces (similar to the original), the rafter tails were re-exposed and the cedar shingle gable ends were restored. Most of the original windows have been replaced but the original sizes were retained. The glass enclosed porch was added in the 1950's; the original porch was open. The house has two rectangular bumpouts, the one on the east with the shed roof is original but the one on the west with the gable roof was probably added in the 1950's when the bathroom was remodeled. The copper shingles on the small side roofs are a tip of the hat to the copper mining heritage of Butte. In its 95 years on Lewisohn, the house has only had five owners. It has been extensively remodeled through the years but retains much of the historic charm.

Daniel R. and Mary A. Crowley built the house in 1915 at a cost of $1,000. Daniel Crowley worked as a clerk at Hennessey’s. In late September 1916 the Crowleys sold the house to attorney William F. Davis and his wife Jennie. The 1920 census showed assayer William T. Kennedy (age 36) renting the home, with his wife Mary (36), daughter Mary (3½) and son William C. (1½).

1115 Lewisohn in background, c. 1930s.

In August 1925 the house was purchased by Frank and Lillian Stanaway. Frank and Lillian (Penhall) were married in Butte July 14, 1923. Lillian was a native of England, daughter of William K. and Annie (Inch) Penhall. Frank started work as an office boy at the Butte Water Company, and eventually became a bookkeeper for the Montana Hardware Department of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. They moved to Billings in 1936.

Daniel and Agnes Callahan owned the house for the next 45 years. He was a pipefitter in various Butte mines and she was an office assistant in doctor's offices (Dr. Donovan, Dr. Morse and Dr. LaPierre) and later worked in the courthouse. Dan Truckle and Phyllis Hargrave, both geologists, bought the house in 1985. Dan died in 2003, and Phyllis is the owner in 2013.

Resources: Architectural inventory prepared by Donna Hartsman, Butte Historical Society, 1984; historic plaque by Montana Historical Society. Photos courtesy Phyllis Hargrave.