Charles and Anna Hawley arrived in Montana Territory before 1873, when Butte was still a silver camp. By 1880 the couple and their four children lived in a log dwelling on this lot. They lived there still in 1900, taking water from their own well and perhaps raising poultry in the two-story chicken coop behind the house. This brick home—much more elegant than the log cabin it replaced—was constructed between 1900 and 1916. Elaborate three-dimensional brickwork corbelling distinguishes the residence, which at one time boasted a full-length front porch. A carpenter by profession, Charles may have constructed the home himself. If so, he did not enjoy it for long. He died in 1902 at age sixty-three. Before his death, he helped build Columbia Gardens, the legendary amusement park. Anna lived here until 1929, with her son Walter next door and her other children periodically boarding with her. Her grandson Robert Ackler, who became a reporter for the Montana Standard, moved in after 1926. He continued his residency until 1937, almost sixty years after his grandparents first purchased the property.
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