Prominent miner and state legislator Owen Byrnes filed a homestead claim above Silver King Lake in 1908, adding to this property the purchase of other claims and railroad grant lands. Pristine forests and natural meadows formed the perfect backdrop for Byrnes’ three passions: ranching, mining, and hunting. This masterfully crafted assemblage of rustic log structures also bears the indelible print of Byrnes’ interests. The main residence was constructed circa 1914 of square-notched, peeled logs trimmed with cornerboards, and in 1917, Byrnes brought his new bride, Bessie Mason Garlow, and her six-year-old son, Benton, to this two-story home. The horse barn built for Romeo and Juliet, a breeding pair of Belgian draft horses, reflects the major industry carried on at the ranch. Other signs of the horse-breeding business are the once-cultivated Timothy grasses now growing wild in the meadow and brands burned into the walls of the frame blacksmith shop. A log “hunting camp” foundation and system of pack trails recall Byrnes’ enthusiasm for the outdoors. A small rocker offers evidence of gold prospecting. Owner Robert Lydiard and his late wife, Neva Barber Lydiard, have maintained Byrne’s handiwork since 1963. Today the Silver King Ranch represents the finest of early-twentieth-century Montana ranching traditions and vernacular building techniques.
]]>The Lincoln Community Hall was dedicated, appropriately, on Lincoln’s Birthday in 1918—with a dance attended by many area residents. The building truly was a community hall, two years in the construction by volunteer workers under the direction of carpenter Tom Hensley. Even selection of the octagonal design had followed community discussion; only one other community hall in Montana is octagonal. Logs were cut and dragged from Stonewall Creek to this site, land partially donated by tourism promoter Leonard Lambkin. Local musician Carter Rubottom and his band held dances to raise money for the hall, and Rubottom drove the 1913 Buick that raised the roof truss into place. The close of World War I saw popular weekly dances here, which drew visitors from Helena and Great Falls. Profits from them were used to add the kitchen/dining room area onto the back in 1920. Over the years, the building has been put to dozens of uses, from schoolchildren’s Christmas programs to a talent show held every Lincoln’s Birthday; it has been fitted for roller skating and used as a gymnasium; and musicals and dramas have been performed here.
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