116 West Park (Original City Hall)

Built: 1884
Map 

By the early 1880s the railroad linked Butte to the outside world and the town had established itself as a mining camp with a great future. One of the few standing structures from the formative era is this masonry, two-story landmark (center of photo above; Jail House Coffee Shop). Under construction in 1884, it housed the first official city administrative offices. Included among these were the jail and a courtroom. Although the height of the second-story windows has been reduced, the upper portion of the building appears as it did in the 1880s. Ornate details along the parapet of angled and corbelled brick reveal the excellence of Butte’s early brick masons. After 1890 city offices moved, and the façade was modified to accommodate commercial space. The original stairway at the east end remains intact.

Although this was the first city hall, the jail here was the second city jail. The pre-1884 jail was located on Jackson Street, between Park and Galena. It was the far west edge of town at the time. 

Source: Modified from historic plaque by Montana Historical Society. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.

220-224 N. Main (Chambers Block, Anaconda Company Pay Office)

By Linda Albright
Built: pre-1884
Map

In 1884-85 the building was occupied by Hoge Brownlee & Company Bank in the northwest corner of the first floor; the rest of the first floor contained W. R. Kenyon & Company Hardware & Mining Machinery. It had a stone basement with its own boiler in the southeast corner of the basement. The building was owned by Marcus Daly in the mid-1880s and later by Donahue & Moyer; in 1900, the Daly Bank & Trust Company owned and occupied the building. John D. Ryan was bank president and John R. Toole served as vice president. This is the location where Ryan, later president of the Anaconda Company as well as the Montana Power Company (see this link to his house) became acquainted with Marcus Daly. 

By 1908, this block was owned by and housed the Anaconda Copper Mining Company’s pay office. Also known as the Mines Office (first floor rear), it also contained the ACM purchasing department on the second floor. In later years, the telephone switchboard and operators were located on the second floor at the rear of the building.

By the 1950s, the ACM still used this building for offices, but the pay office had moved around the corner to the adjacent building to the east (18 E. Quartz St., at left in photo at top).

During the labor troubles of the 1910s, the pay office was dynamited Sunday, July 6, 1919. “Little damage was done,” according to the Engineering & Mining Journal, but the New York Times reported “an iron grating was blown against a building across the street, narrowly missing a street car heavily loaded with miners. The damage is estimated at $5,000.” Windows were broken in 6 nearby stores.

Sources: Architectural inventory; Engineering & Mining Journal, Vol. 108, no. 2; New York Times July 6, 1919; Sanborn maps. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.

327 and 331 North Wyoming

327 (left) and 331 North Wyoming

By Richard I. Gibson

Built: pre-1884
Map

These two houses both predate 1884, making them among the oldest survivors in Butte. A third house, a plastered 2-story home built before 1888, once occupied the lot to the south at 323.

An early resident of 327 was John A. Montgomery, a tailor who had come to Butte from England, and his wife Ella (from Wisconsin), their daughter, and a lodger who was also a tailor. It is a wood frame house.

331 N. Wyoming was originally owned by Marcus Daly, who sold it in February 1891 to Mrs. Mary (Margaret) Weed, widow of Fitzgerald Weed, for $2,500. Mrs. Weed was still living there in 1900. In 1910, miner John Kennedy from Ireland lived here with his wife, daughter, cousin, and two more lodgers. The house is brick veneer over wood frame, with later stucco and siding added. It originally had a double bay front, but after 1916 the bays were removed and the porch added.

These two houses have seen a lot of Butte history. North across Copper Street from 331 was the Washoe Mine in 1884, closed by 1888 but still there for several years thereafter. The corner of Copper and Wyoming is near the foot of the Anaconda Road, where thousands of men poured down from the Hill at every shift change. A saloon stood directly across Wyoming from 331, on the southeast corner of Copper and Wyoming. In 1884, an early Miner’s Union Hall was a half-block south of these houses at the corner of Wyoming and Quartz, and across the street and slightly down Wyoming Street, the Butte Brewery, Finlander Hall, and Mrs. Byrnes’ Boarding House stood—the latter the site of Frank Little’s abduction in 1917.

Sources: Architectural inventories, Sanborn maps, city directories. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.

Caplice & McCune Store, 1607 N. Main, Walkerville

By Richard I. Gibson

Built: pre-1884

Map 

Once among the largest commercial buildings in Walkerville, this building was built before September 1884 by John Caplice and Alfred McCune to house one of their general stores and groceries, to serve Walkerville at a time when its population was about 900, with another 1,000 or more likely in the immediate vicinity beyond the town limits.

For more on Caplice and Company, please see these three Butte History articles. 

In 1900, the building was serving as St. Joseph’s Catholic School, with Revered Francis Batens in charge. Sister Mary Cecilia was the “superioress,” and the school had seven teachers in 1904. St. Joseph's school relocated to California and First Street by 1908, to be nearer St. Joseph's church. By 1906, this building was in the hands of the Methodists, used as Mt. Bethel Methodist Episcopal Church—they moved from 123 Clark in Walkerville. The pastor lived in a separate section in the rear, which is part of the original 1884 building. The Mt. Bethel congregation was organized in 1884, and in 1910 it had 40 members (compare Mountain View Methodist at 400 members in 1910). This space continued to serve as Mt. Bethel church until 1972. Since then, it has been used sporadically for various purposes, including fireplace hearth manufacture.

The brick is laid in American bond. The building has a stone basement and is vacant in 2013. The lancet windows are likely early renovations dating to its use as a parochial school or the church. The address here is sometimes given as 1609 N. Main. 

Resources: Sanborn Maps, Architectural Inventory, City Directories. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.

27 West Broadway (Butte Miner Building - Butte Floral Company)

Built: pre-1884; rebuilt 1906
Map 

The publisher of copper king W.A. Clark’s newspaper, the Butte Miner, used this space as a printing office from 1884. In 1906, Butte florist James King partly demolished the older structure and erected this unique two-story building.

The year 1906 marked the beginning of a new period of growth precipitated partly by a thriving copper industry and by freeing up of investor money as the legal battles of the War of the Copper Kings were largely ended. This optimism is mirrored in the architectural exuberance seen not only in Butte’s much grander buildings of the time, but in small businesses as well. The green-glazed brick and exotic Moorish revival arched windows provide an excellent example of this building trend, unique in Butte.

See also this Butte History blog post for an attempted murder connected with this building. Check this post for a report on the Miner Building, and this link for the small office building on West Broadway, which together replaced 27 W. Broadway as the Miner's offices and press room about 1901. 

Resources: Historic plaque by Montana Historical Society; Architectural inventory; Sanborn Maps; city directories. Modern photo by Richard I. Gibson; historic photo by Jet Lowe from HAER survey, 1979 (public domain via Library of Congress).

13 West Broadway

Built: pre-1884
Map

The stone foundation and masonry fabric of this early 1880s commercial building reflect the change to fireproof building materials after 1879, when a catastrophic fire destroyed most of Main Street. In 1884, the two-story building, like many of its neighbors, had multiple uses. A millinery shop occupied the first floor, the second floor housed a carpet warehouse, and the basement functioned as a dwelling.

By 1890, Thibault and Inghran ran a saloon on the premises, thereby establishing the building’s major commercial use that continues today. Blue and yellow tile highlight the 1930s ground-floor façade, which adds to the architectural history of this well-seasoned building. The upper-floor façade with its two front windows and decorative parapet preserves the building’s 1880s appearance.

(Note that the historic plaque indicates erroneously that this building is connected to the overpass visible in the alley. It is not. See this post.)

Resources: Historic plaque by Montana Historical Society; Architectural inventory; Sanborn Maps; city directories. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.

311 West Granite (Harry D'Acheul Residence)

Built: pre-1884
Map 

A gentle arch, a simple balustrade, and a pair of sloping columns frame the entrance of this quietly elegant residence dating to the mid-1880s. An exceptional example of the hip-roofed cottage with a central gable, the well-preserved Victorian-era home appears much as it did when first owned by druggist Harry D'Acheul.

Unlike other homes in the neighborhood that share its architectural style, the fine interior furnishings here indicate that the residence was custom-built and not originally intended as a rental. An arched entryway, a square bay framed in decorative wood, and an ornamental ceiling medallion grace the formal dining room while original six-inch woodwork remains intact throughout. Also unusual for its size are the four chimneys, which serve a living room fireplace, a woodstove, the furnace, and the kitchen. D'Acheul, who lived here until the mid-1890s, no doubt found this location convenient to his wholesale and retail business at 32 North Main.

In 1902, Philomene LaChappelle, mother of Anna, lived here. Anna became W.A. Clark’s second wife circa 1901.

For most of its existence this house had 313 as its address. Some time after 309-311 West Granite became a single residence instead of a duplex, this one carried the 311 address as it does today, and there is no 313 West Granite now.

Resources: Historic plaque by Montana Historical Society; Architectural inventory; Sanborn Maps; city directories. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.

208 West Quartz

By Richard I. Gibson

Built: pre 1884
Map

This four-square house, a typical workingman’s cottage one block north of William Clark’s Copper King Mansion, was built as a 1½-story structure before 1884, set back from the street. By 1888, the two-story section was added to the north, along the street. It is a wood frame structure with a stone basement.

Sarah Knox, widow of Thomas, was the original (1884) owner. She was taking boarders into furnished rooms as early as 1884, when the address here was 59 W. Quartz. Sarah, born in 1816, died November 20, 1900.

In 1914 the Trueworthy family began a long tenure here. Edward Trueworthy was a miner at the Tuolumne Mine in 1917; he worked at various mines over the years, including the Butte Main Range. His brother Fred, a carpenter at the Black Rock Mine in 1917, also lived here in the 1910s.

By 1928, Ed Trueworthy, his wife Mayme, and their children Charles, Edward Jr., and Margery were here, along with a boarder, John J. Dolan, a miner at the Etta Mine. Ed was working then as a machinist or mechanic at the Montana Auto & Garage, 202 East Broadway. Edward Jr. continued to live here with his wife Jessie until about 1969. In 1964, they still had a boarder, Dennis Abeyta.

The vacant lot to the west of this home is unusual in that it never held a house. It is the site of one of several shafts of the Silver King Mine. There was a house on the corner of Idaho Street, just west of the mineyard, which was only one lot wide.

Resources: Architectural Inventory, Sanborn maps, city directories. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.

310-312 West Granite

By Richard I. Gibson

Built: pre-1884; enlarged 1888-90
Map

The western half of this house (312) was constructed before 1884 as a small home with a Mansard roof and stone basement. It was owned initially by Butte City Attorney Howard B. Smith, who lived here when the address scheme had it as 161 West Granite. The house was doubled in size between 1888 and 1890 by the addition to the east (310) and the filling out of the second floor, making the building into a duplex.

Advertisement from 1910.

The James Lynch family lived at 310 in 1907; Mrs. Lynch was active in the Ladies Aid Society of the Welsh Church. From before 1907 to the late 1920s, 312 was the home of Mary and Hayes Cannon. Hayes was a partner with Archibald McMillan, “Real Estate Etc.,” with offices at 1 West Broadway (the First National Bank building). The Cannons’ daughter, Edna, was married to Frank German in this house Oct. 6, 1908; the ceremony was performed by Pastor E.J. Groeneveld of the First Presbyterian Church. Hayes died about 1927 and Mary continued to live here at least until 1937.

Resources: Architectural inventory; Sanborn Maps; city directories; Anaconda Standard newspapers. McMillan and Cannon ad from 1910 City Directory. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.

309 West Granite

By Richard I. Gibson

Built: pre-1884
Map 

The elegant Mansard roof on this home marks it as French Second Empire style. It was constructed as a two-story duplex home before 1884. In the early 1890s tailor Walfred Hoover lived in the western unit (then addressed 311). He worked for Henry Jonas, a merchant tailor with a shop at 126 North Main, where part of the Hennessy Building stands today.

Patrick Conlon, proprietor of the Arcade Chop House, purchased this house in 1889. It is not clear whether or not he lived here initially, because his address is listed at 518 North Main at least through 1900, but from before 1910 until his death Conlon lived in this house. He died at home here May 17, 1921, after a short illness, at age 83. Conlon was close friends with Marcus Daly, James Murray, John Maguire, and other prominent Butte pioneers.

Patrick Conlon was an Irish patriot and member of the Robert Emmet Literary Association in Butte, a revolutionary organization fighting for Irish independence. He was born in County Mayo, Ireland, in 1838, and emigrated to the United States in 1853 at age 15. He traveled by steamboat up the Missouri to Ft. Benton, arriving in Montana July 4, 1864, and came to Butte in 1878. He was a founder of the Butte Branch of the Irish National League of America in 1883. Conlon donated $20.00 in 1885 to the Parnell Fund, a response to Charles Parnell’s visit to America promoting Irish home rule. That was at a time when $20 would have bought at lest 40 really good dinners in a high-end restaurant.

The Arcade Chop House was a restaurant on North Main, in existence by 1878 when John Mann was proprietor. Conlon apparently managed it through most of the 1880s, until 1889 when Henry Mueller & Co. took over. Mueller held various offices with the Centennial Brewing Company and was Butte Mayor in 1891. The Arcade Chop House addresses, variously 209 or 269 Main, and 31 North Main, probably reflect the same location, with the changes due to alterations in the address scheme. I believe the location was in the middle of the block between Park and Broadway, on the west side, where the 1891 Avalon Block (former print shop) stands today. That was the 200 block in the 1880s. It is possible that the shop began in a building nearer the corner of Broadway (where the D.A. Davidson building is today) and moved a few doors south by 1889, but in any case the original building or buildings that housed the chop shop are gone today.

This house was restored about 2005. It suffered minor damage in the 2008 fire that destroyed 307 West Granite, next door to the east.

Resources: Architectural inventory; Sanborn Maps; city directories; The Butte Irish, by David Emmons, p. 303; History of Montana 1739-1885, by Michael Leeson (1885); Anaconda Standard, May 17, 1921, obituary. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.

305 West Granite

By Richard I. Gibson

Built: by 1884
Map 

Alfred Holmes, manager of the Butte Trading Company, was an early owner and resident here. The house was built by 1884, and the enclosed front porch is a relatively modern addition.

The Butte Trading Company was a hardware business. On August 11, 1890, Shelley Tuttle purchased the stock of goods and merchandise of the Butte Trading Company for $47,000. The Tuttle Company was a foundry, but expanded into other businesses in the 1890s. It was ultimately merged into the Anaconda Company’s foundry, which in turn became the Anaconda Foundry and Fabricating Company, or AFFCO, which exists today.

Following the takeover of Butte Trading by Tuttle, Alfred Holmes served as Tuttle’s manager in the early and mid-1890s when he lived in this house. Tuttle’s main office and store was in the 300 block of North Main at that time.

Resources: Architectural inventory; Sanborn Maps; city directories; AFFCO history. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.

304 West Granite

By Richard I. Gibson

Built: by 1884
Map

This was William Thompson’s home, built by him circa 1884. He was born in Ontario, Canada, March 1, 1838, was in Virginia City, MT in 1863, and moved to Butte in 1879, the year the city was incorporated. He established the Butte Lumber Yard (219 S. Montana, the entire block between Galena and Mercury on the west side of Montana Street) and by 1891 was Vice-President and General Manager of the Montana Lumber & Manufacturing Company. Together with his sons he started the Thompson Investment Company in 1889, a building company that erected many of the small homes in Butte. He served as Butte’s mayor in 1895-97, and was also a territorial and state legislator, helping draft the Montana state constitution. By 1900, he was living with his son James at 1101 Caledonia. He died May 15, 1900.

Mining claims south of Butte owned by the Thompson family were donated to the city of Butte by Col. William Boyce Thompson, in honor of his father, William Thompson. The son had been raised in Butte and founded the Newmont Mining Co., a global mining company still in existence today. Thompson Park was officially designated as a park in 1915.

The street face of this house retains its original geometry, including the porch.

Resources: Architectural inventory; Sanborn Maps; city directories; Thompson Family History; and “2012-07-26 Thompson Park Grand Re-Opening,” by US Forest Service. Image of Thompson from History of Montana, 1739-1885, by Michael Leeson (1885). Photo by Richard I. Gibson.

William A. Clark Mansion

219 West Granite
Built: 1884-88
Architect: C.H. Brown; builder, D.T. McDevitt
Map
Web site (bed and breakfast)

Self-made multimillionaire William Clark spent an estimated $260,000 on the construction of this splendid thirty-two-room residence between 1884 and 1888. Though an astounding sum, that figure represented only a half-day’s earnings out of Clark’s seventeen-million-dollar a month income. The irregular architectural plan, a classic of Queen Anne styling, features porticos, arched windows, and elaborate decorative elements. The interior boasts finishing in a different wood for each room, frescoed ceilings, and possible Tiffany stained glass windows and chandeliers. The intricately carved staircase took four years to complete and was dismantled and displayed at the 1904 Worlds’ Fair in St. Louis.

A stained glass window in the building was recently restored.

The mansion is independently listed on the National Register, as compared to automatic listing by virtue of being a contributing element of the Butte-Anaconda National Historic Landmark District (about 6,000 properties in Butte-Anaconda are National Register listed).

Modified from historic plaque text by Montana Historical Society. Photo by Richard Gibson.

315 West Granite (Eugene Carroll House)

Built: pre-1884
Map

A corner location affords two views of this captivating home, built as a 1-story before 1884, with the second level added between 1888 and 1890. It was first owned by Butte attorney Thomas Napton. In 1890-91 this was home to Charles H. Palmer, Superintendent of the Butte & Boston Mining Company, who, a few years later, lived down the block at 410 W. Granite.  By 1897, Eugene Carroll, who later became the long-time vice president and manager of the Butte Water Company, owned the property. He and his wife, Mary, resided here until the end of the 1940s.

Although its builder is unknown, the home is a fine expression of the Italianate style and suggests the influence of a professional architect. Bracketed eaves, curved wraparound porch with square posts, and decorative cutwork trim above the windows richly ornament the design. A circular window, decorative frieze beneath the eaves, and ornamental porch brackets further embellish the elegant façade.

Text modified from historical plaque by Montana Historical Society. Photo by Richard Gibson. Image of Carroll from Cartoons and Caricatures of Men in Montana, by E.A. Thompson, 1907 (scan by Butte-Silver Bow Public Library).

58 West Broadway (Independent Order of Odd Fellows)

IOOF Hall at left.

Built: 1884
Map

Fraternal organizations were an important facet of most mining towns and helped establish social and civic stability in early communities. Members of Fidelity Lodge #8 constructed this meeting hall, one of the district’s oldest standing buildings, in 1884. The building’s dual function, with second-story meeting rooms and first-floor commercial space, is typical of the period.

Cornerstone, IOOF Hall

The lively façade, enhanced with intricate prefabricated details, directly reflects the impact of the railroad upon Butte’s architectural landscape. Ready-made elements such as the cast-iron storefront with scrolled columns and Corinthian capitals, metal cornice with decorative brackets, and floral-patterned window hoods were shipped by rail, linking Butte to national architectural trends.

Minor repairs were conducted in 1898 (joist work) and 1908 (glass front replacement). The letters "IOOF" are mounted upon the metalwork cornice.

See also this Butte History blog post.

From historic plaque text by Montana Historical Society. Additional resource: Historic Uptown Butte, by John deHaas, 1977. Photos by Richard Gibson.

123-125 North Main Street

123 North Main Street
Built: pre-1884
Architect: Henry Patterson (1895 modification)
Map

Cast-iron pilasters, a metal cornice, interior hardwood paneling and a pressed metal ceiling are reminders of the varied remodelings of this early commercial building, constructed before 1884. The saloon and billiard parlor that occupied the first floor here in the 1880s and early 1890s was the uptown outlet for the Centennial Brewing Company, largest in Butte. The brewery was located along Silver Bow Creek, west of where Montana Street crosses it today.

In 1895, architect H. M. Patterson remodeled the building for $5,000, adding a cast-iron storefront. By 1910, Clerke’s Clothing Store occupied both this building and the one next door. Store president Samuel Clerke installed the metal cornice joining the two buildings. During the 1930s at this address Butte’s immensely popular Spokane Cafe served a sizable clientele. The building’s most significant use, however, occurred in 1905. During that year the Woman’s Protective Union (W.P.U.), predecessor of today’s Hotel and Restaurant Employees International Union and the nation’s first union for women, met upstairs. This pivotal organization was founded in Butte in 1893 so that women would not “…be behind their brothers in demanding their rights.”

125 North Main Street
Built: pre-1884
Architect: Henry Patterson (1895 modification)

Like its immediate neighbors, this is one of Butte’s earliest substantial buildings. Dating before 1884, it documents various periods of use through a distinct sequence of visible alterations. The ground floor commercial space was originally occupied by a jeweler and a tailor. Furnished rooms were available at the back and upstairs, accessed by an interior stairway. The upper windows with their graceful brick arches are typical of this earliest period. A dry goods/notions and millinery shop next shared the commercial storefront.

Butte architect H. M. Patterson designed a new façade in 1895, connecting this address with the building to the south. The cast-iron pilasters of that remodeling remain visible next door. In 1900, an inner doorway opened into J. V. Harmon’s saloon at 123 North Main. Clothing store owner Samuel Clerke installed the metal cornice in 1910, further linking numbers 123 and 125. By 1930, Hoenck’s Fur Shop occupied this building, once again separating the two addresses. Art Deco style metal sheathing, added circa 1940 and since removed, further chronicled the building’s alterations as its function changed over time.

Like other buildings in this block, the backs of these two were damaged by a major fire in 1889, and the buildings were declared total losses, but they actually survived. This block, excluding the north and south corners, is among the oldest intact sections of the Butte business district.

Modified from historic plaques by Montana Historical Society. Photo by Richard Gibson.

Babcock’s Hats & Furs

By Richard I. Gibson

North Main-Granite Alley
Built: pre-1884
Map (map location is 117 N. Main; this is in alley to west)


The T-shaped alley west of North Main between Broadway and Granite has been there with that geometry since before 1884. This three-story alley building, at the corner of the T, is connected by an overpass to 117 N. Main Street, part of the Dellinger Block. 117 N. Main (the first floor, north side of the Dellinger Block), the overpass, and the connected alley building all were built before 1884 as well.

Various stores have occupied 117 N. Main Street, including a grocer, a hardware store, and men’s clothing stores. One of the first clothiers was Babcock’s; the name was superseded by his successors, Babcock’s managers Smith and Mattingly in 1900, and by Ignatius Mattingly alone from 1904 until 1925. The “Babcock’s” ghost sign here is pre-1900; the barely visible “Mattingly’s” over the garage door dates to the 1904-25 period.  The overpass led to the second floor of the alley building, which early maps always label as storage.

The ground floor was always essentially a garage. The third level shows on old maps as “sleeping rooms.” The access to the top level was by a stair on the outside (east face) of the building, marked by the white stripe on the photo above. The door to that stairway was in the south side of the overpass, which was variously tin-clad or iron-clad over time.

This building survived two fires, in 1889 and 1978, that destroyed buildings in what is now the parking lot to the north.

Allen-Higgins wallpaper

The outside stair was removed years ago, leaving the third level inaccessible until 2011 when a new inside stair was constructed to provide access for tours. The alley building never had electricity, but both the second and third levels still hold the brass fittings for multiple gas lights, and both floors, small though they were, each had two stoves.

The top level is papered in fancy wallpaper made by the Allen-Higgins Company, a high-end wallpaper manufacturer in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Allen-Higgins Company started in about 1898, and there are two layers of older paper beneath their product. This space seems to have been a rather nice, double room, with two large closets which are also fully papered. While it is impossible to prove, it seems likely that the legend of this being a high-end two-crib brothel may be true; the wallpaper seems to be fancier than one might expect for a man’s sleeping room.

This building is part of the Dellinger tour with Old Butte Historical Adventures.

Photos by Richard Gibson.