Contractors William A. O’Brien and Fergus Kelley were partners from 1893 to 1899. They built this home in 1897, where Fergus Kelley and his family lived until 1900. O’Brien went on to build some of Butte’s landmarks, including the Leonard Apartments and the Con Kelley mansion. By 1901, William and Grace Hardcastle had moved into the home. Hardcastle learned stenography at the Mechanics’ Institute in his native Great Britain and came to America in 1891. He was well known in Butte as stenographer of District Court No. 3. A veteran of the 1899 Philippine campaign, Hardcastle fought with Company G of the First Montana Volunteers. He died of pneumonia at age 45 in 1912, but this remained the family home through the 1980s. Tucked away behind mature landscaping, the large well cared for Victorian-era cottage is a credit to its few owners. Varied textures of cut ashlar stone and brick, transomed windows, open arches, and elegant period trim preserve its nineteenth-century appeal.
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