Hamilton Southside Residential Historic District
The architectural character of this pleasant district was initially shaped by copper king Marcus Daly. Between 1890 and 1905, Daly's Anaconda Copper Mining Company constructed substantial high style residences for its managers and modest houses in various vernacular forms for its workers. Fashionable homes were also built by local businessmen who owed their success in part to Daly's encouragement of entrepreneurial enterprise. Construction of the Catholic and Christian churches, which Daly helped finance, added to the district's early diversity. The Romanesque style Ravalli County courthouse symbolizes Daly's considerable political influence in Hamilton's designation as county seat. Daly's death in 1900 and slowdown of the ACM mill precipitated a local recession. Renewed interest in Hamilton came with the start of the "Big Ditch" project in 1905 as investors and speculators promoted their schemes in the Bitterroot Valley. Craftsman and Colonial Revival style residences began to mingle with the older homes. Decline of the apple industry after 1916 triggered another local economic slowdown, but construction of the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in 1927 once again spurred Hamilton's residential growth. Picturesque Revival and Cape Cod style cottages filled in open spaces while a high school and hospital reflect the 1930s economic upswing. The 1946 Moderne style medical arts building completes the district's broad spectrum of architectural styles. Along the tree-lined boulevards, elegant 1890s residences with smaller homes built upon their once-spacious grounds well reflect Hamilton's changing fortunes and bestow a timeless appearance upon the district's neighborhoods.
Frank Dudley House
Hamilton Southside Residential Historic District
Marcus Daly’s taste influenced Hamilton, a town the copper king founded to supply timber to his Butte mines. Daly liked the Shingle style, and his Anaconda Company carpenters incorporated Shingle style elements into several Hamilton residences. Uninterrupted shingled walls (particularly on the…
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318 South Fifth Street
Hamilton Southside Residential Historic District
Although Sam Lucas only lived in Hamilton for ten years, he left his mark on the community. Copper king Marcus Daly hired the Kentucky horse trainer in 1890 to work at his Bitter Root Stock Farm. Nothing was too good for Daly’s race horses, and Lucas—who came to the Bitterroot from the famed…
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413 South Fourth Street
Southside Residential Historic District
Copper king Marcus Daly’s Bitterroot Development Company originally owned this and the surrounding blocks. From the 1890s to the early 1900s, the first modest residences began to shape the character of the neighborhood as Daly sold the lots. From 1898 to the 1930s, this property changed hands many…
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Hollingsworth House
Hamilton Southside Residential Historic District
Missoula architect Henry E. Kirkemo designed this Cape Cod style cottage in 1935 for Sandy and Bessie Sanderson of Sanderson Hardware in downtown Hamilton. Kirkemo was well known in the community for designing nearby landmarks, including the Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital in 1930 and the Hamilton…
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Millette House
Hamilton Southside Residential Historic District
Congress created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and FHA loans in 1934—at the height of the Great Depression—to finance and produce small homes that the average working American could afford. In addition to offering insured long-term, low-interest mortgages, the FHA also published its…
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Jones House
Hamilton Southside Residential Historic District
Most of Marcus Daly’s Bitter Root Stock Farm managers were men who lived in fine family homes in the Southside Addition along Fourth and Fifth streets. Unmarried, professional female employees typically lived with relatives or at a boardinghouse. Laura B. Jones was a notable exception. Jones…
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617 South Fifth Street
Hamilton Southside Residential Historic District
Before homebuyers could secure mortgages through the Federal Housing Administration—a New Deal agency created in 1934 to stimulate the economy and encourage homeownership—private sales were more common. A 1913 newspaper ad defined the purchase terms for this house, “one of the most attractive and…
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Bartlett/Stanton House
Hamilton Southside Residential Historic District
Shed roof dormers punctuating the low-pitched roof and triangular braces beneath the roof’s wide, sheltering eaves mark this stucco residence as a Craftsman style house. Elizabeth Bartlett purchased the lot from the Anaconda Company in 1909 and had this stylish home built, but she and her husband…
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Fisk House
Hamilton Southside Residential Historic District
The Anaconda Copper Mining Company (ACM) built this home circa 1897 as a company house. Its cross-gabled roof, three-part windows with stained-glass border panes, and turned porch posts mark it as a classic Queen Anne style cottage. The first known residents were William and Nellie Fisk in 1903.…
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611 South Fourth Street
Hamilton Southside Residential Historic Distrcit
In the late 1890s, large, elegant homes built for Hamilton’s professional class filled the blocks closest to Main Street. With construction of the Big Ditch irrigation project after 1905, landowners built modest-size homes for workers on lots further south, closer to the Northern Pacific tracks.…
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Barron House
Southside Residential Historic District
Margaret Barron bought what was then a new home, along with two vacant lots next door, in September 1909. The house, which originally had a smaller central shed-roof dormer, featured many popular Craftsman style elements. These included a low-pitched roofline, exposed rafter tails, a full-width…
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Nels Peterson House
Hamilton Southside Residential Historic District
Early twentieth century architects widely rejected the elaborate ornamentation and complicated lines associated with the Queen Anne style, the late nineteenth century’s most popular architectural style. Among the general public, however, taste changed more gradually. The complicated roofline of…
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O'Hara House
Hamilton Southside Residential Historic District
Irish-born Robert A. O’Hara, retained by Marcus Daly as land agent and developer of Daly’s “company town,” came to the Bitterroot Valley in 1890. O’Hara had the distinction to serve as the first mayor of the town of Hamilton from 1894 to 1896. Having purchased these choice lots, O’Hara built this…
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William and Rose Brennan House
Hamilton Southside Residential Historic District
Copper king Marcus Daly contracted with William Brennan to supply his Butte mines with 1.5 million feet of timber monthly in 1889. Brennan and a partner first established a mill at the mouth of Skalkaho Creek. Two years later, at Daly's direction, they moved their mill to the new town of…
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St. Paul's Episcopal Church Hamilton
Hamilton Southside Residential Historic District
Reverend George Stewart designed this English Gothic church, constructed in 1899. Congregant Lena Crutchfield organized numerous pancake suppers, ice cream socials, and offered generous donations to make this historic landmark a reality. Margaret Daly, wife of copper king and lumber baron Marcus…
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St. Paul's Rectory
Hamilton Southside Residential Historic District
In its earliest years, St. Paul's Episcopal Church held services twice monthly. The Reverend George Stewart traveled from Missoula to officiate. By 1900, the diocesan bishop recognized the need for a resident priest. The Reverend John Fogerty was called to serve the congregations of Hamilton,…
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Dr. George B. Taylor Home
Hamilton Southside Residential Historic District
Architect Everett Peterson took inspiration from the popular Tudor Revival style when designing this cross-gabled residence. Typical Tudor Revival elements include the steep rooflines, curved lines on the small gabled entrance, false half timbering, multi-paned windows, and tightly cropped eaves.…
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