Filed Under Butte

643 South Main Street

Butte National Historic Landmark District

“Ores, mineral and mining rights reserved” stated the title abstract when contractor C. C. Goddard purchased this lot for $1,200 in 1897. Goddard, who lived next door, likely built this two-story brick home, which stood on the lot by 1900. The beautiful curved bay decorating the front façade brought sunlight into the interior. The design is most often associated with duplexes constructed in crowded neighborhoods, but this building always seems to have been a single family home. Banker Thomas Hodgens purchased the property in 1900; although the sellers still reserved the mineral rights, they agreed “not to mine or excavate within 20 feet of the present surface.” Hodgens rented the house to switchman James Hughes, who lived here with his family and two roomers, a lawyer and a law student. In 1913, widow Mary Stanley purchased the residence, where she lived with her daughter Leone, a stenographer. When Leone married musician Howard Kitto, Mary deeded them the home, but she continued to live with them until her death in 1942. Members of the Kitto family resided here until 2003.

Images

643 South Main Street
643 South Main Street 643 South Main Street (PAc 91-51 B3 RollJuK05 F07). Front view of the house, facing west on South Main Street. B&W. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office from the Photograph Archives at the Montana Historical Society Creator: Jude Kinney Date: 1984

Location

643 South Main Street, Butte, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “643 South Main Street,” Historic Montana, accessed March 28, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/1986.