William O’Brien arrived in the gold-mining and ranching town of Sheridan, Montana, in 1881 and began selling liquor from a small sixteen-by-twenty-foot building. He was one of the town’s three suppliers of “wet groceries” (liquor), the quality of which, according to the October 13, 1894, Madisonian, was “as good as ever painted landscapes on the brain of man.” Sales were brisk, his business flourished, and O’Brien assumed increasing prominence in the community. He served as a school trustee, as one of Sheridan’s original aldermen, and as a member of the Montana legislature. In 1889, O’Brien purchased a large, corner lot (100 x 200 feet) for $160 from the estate of early Sheridan pioneer Hugh Duncan. Five years later he built this two-story, brick residence, where he lived with his wife, Mary, and their three daughters. The home’s size, design, and materials spoke to O’Brien’s political and financial success. Most homes in Sheridan—a town of 350 people in 1893—were built of wood; thus, the brick O’Brien residence, with its standing-seam metal roof, stood out. The irregularly shaped residence reflects the Italian Renaissance style, as seen in the building’s two-story, three-bay façade, its small, restrained porch, and its wide projecting cornice that draws attention to the hipped roof. Segmental brick arches and stone lintels grace the windows, which are set in walls three bricks deep. Although William died of Bright’s disease in 1901 at age forty-five, the home remained in the O’Brien family until 1927.
]]>Widowed in 1864 after her husband died in a mining accident, Jane Ferris found work as a housekeeper for Sheridan Valley rancher John Barber. Barber likely built the log cabin core of the main residence for Jane and her two children. Barber died circa 1872, but Jane stayed on, filing a preemption claim on 160 acres. She died within a year of receiving title to the property, leaving two children ages thirteen and fifteen. Her daughter Millicent married neighbor Herbert Noble when she came of age, and the couple lived on the ranch between 1877 and 1882. They sold the land to German immigrant Frederick Hermsmeyer in 1883. A placer miner who came to Montana in the 1860s, Hermsmeyer made his fortune by carefully investing his earnings; this ranch was among his many business ventures. He lived here only briefly before moving to Sheridan, leaving relative George Hermsmeyer and family to manage the property until George's death in 1917. The Hermsmeyers’ tenure saw construction of the two-story frame addition to the log cabin, a log bunkhouse, and likely a number of other utilitarian outbuildings. After 1917, the property changed hands several times before Stanley and Helen Fenton purchased it from the bank in 1937. Active members of the Sheridan community, the Fentons became known for the birthday parties they hosted here for children living in the Twin Bridges' orphanage. Stanley died unexpectedly in 1959, after which Helen returned to school, ultimately becoming an award-winning journalist. She resided here until her death in 2000.
]]>