In 1880, when Joseph Broughton arrived in Walkerville, the booming silver town was a relatively isolated settlement. The Walker brothers—for whom the town is named—had purchased the Alice Mine only four years earlier with the help of their agent, future copper king Marcus Daly. With the Walkers' backing, Broughton opened a store at the corner of Daly and Main, where he sold everything from peanuts to threshing machines. Broughton, who lived in an apartment above the store, also served as Walkerville's postmaster, and his mercantile became a community focal point. Butte soon overshadowed the small silver town, but low prices and quality goods kept Broughton's customers loyal even after streetcars gave Walkerville residents easy access to Butte's large shopping district. Between 1891 and 1900, Broughton replaced his pre-1884 building with this stone-and-brick structure. A stepped wooden cornice with scrolled brackets adorns the building, whose canted corner entrance welcomes customers from both Daly and Main.
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