Elizabeth McGuire moved to Montana Territory circa 1882, divorced her husband, and homesteaded in the Deer Lodge valley with two young sons. She built this two-story Italianate style rooming house circa 1893 on land she acquired from a neighboring rancher. Having worked at her father’s boarding house in Indiana, Elizabeth requested closets for all seven rooms. Her contractor protested saying closets were unfashionable, but she demanded the house be built for convenience, not style. She and sons lived here and next door at No. 112, while renting rooms to bachelors and married couples. Elizabeth, an intrepid, strong-willed woman, battled her contractor in court and once locked tenants out for several hours. In the 1920s, Elizabeth took in Euphemia Vautor, an elderly neighbor. Under Elizabeth’s care, Euphemia willed her nearly $10,000. After Euphemia died, her sister fought the will in court, and a judge ruled that Elizabeth had exerted “undue influence” on Euphemia’s “weakened mind.” Elizabeth died in 1927, and son Robert continued to rent out the house. Uuno Sahinen, State Geologist for Montana Bureau of Mines, and wife Margaret were in residence from 1945 to 1971.
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