Filed Under Butte

128-130 West Galena Street

Butte National Historic Landmark District

Frank H. Cooney, one of four brothers in the merchandising business in Butte, purchased this lot on the William Penn Quartz Lode for $30 in 1898. As was usual in early Butte real estate deals, the mining company retained ownership of the property below the ground surface. Cooney, who later served as governor of Montana 1933 to 1935, built this two-flat residence in 1901 and lived here briefly. By 1904, barber Charles M. Joyce lived in one of the flats. His 24-hour shop at Broadway and Main won Butte national press as the “town where the barbershops never close.” Before Joyce came to Butte in 1881, travels across the continent yielded him an unusual clientele that included Tombstone, Arizona’s gunmen Doc Holliday and the Earp brothers. During Joyce’s 54-year career in Butte, he served the tonsorial needs of rival copper kings Marcus Daly and W. A. Clark and many other colorful characters. Joyce lived at this address until his death in 1929. The two-story brick residence, typical of early 1900s Butte, features a central oriel window, polychrome brickwork, and an interior stairway.

Images

128-130 West Galena Street
128-130 West Galena Street 128-130 West Galena Street (PAc 91-51 B1 RollCBD08 F28). Front view of the building, facing south on West Galena Street. B&W. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office from the Photograph Archives at the Montana Historical Society Creator: Photographer unidentifed Date: 1985
Cooney House
Cooney House facade Source: Montana Historical Society Creator: Bryan Baldwin Date: August 5, 2022

Location

128-130 West Galena Street, Butte, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “128-130 West Galena Street,” Historic Montana, accessed March 29, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/1920.