Filed Under Butte

655 and 655 1/2 South Main Street

Butte National Historic Landmark District

The small hipped roof cottage to the rear of the lot predates the more elaborate brick residence that stands closest to the street. Built after 1891, the rear residence was home to carpenter Tolman Barnhart in 1898. Saloon keeper and Irish immigrant Stephen Parker lived in and owned the simple one-story house with his wife Annie by 1900. The Parkers, who lived here until 1906, may have constructed the larger, but still affordable brick-veneered residence that now dominates the lot. Built between 1900 and 1916, the home features a polygonal bay window and fish-scale shingles in the gable end. Both reflected the Queen Anne style’s influence. A wrought-iron fence separates the residence from the street, symbolically reflecting the notion that a dwelling should be a sanctuary from the larger world. In 1920, grocery manager Edwin Mitchell and his wife Mary rented the main house, while widow Elizabeth Lewis lived in the rear house with her two young grandchildren.

Images

655 South Main Street
655 South Main Street 655 South Main Street (PAc 91-51 B3 RollJuK05 F09). Front view of the house, facing west on South Main Street. To the right of the photograph is a glimpse of 645-652 South Main (also on the National Register). B&W. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office from the Photograph Archives at the Montana Historical Society Creator: Jude Kinney Date: 1984
655 1/2 South Main Street
655 1/2 South Main Street 655 1/2 South Main Street (PAc 91-51 B3 RollJuK12 F28). Front to side view of the house, facing northeast from the rear alley behind 655 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

655 and 655 1/2 South Main Street, Butte, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “655 and 655 1/2 South Main Street,” Historic Montana, accessed March 28, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/1988.