Fish-scale shingles, a bay window, and a porch tucked into the entry define this Queen Anne style cottage and its mirror image next door. Irish-born Patrick McCarthy, a well-known meat market proprietor, built the two houses in 1897 as rental properties. Although originally joined by a breezeway at the rear, throughout their histories the sister houses have always sheltered separate families. In 1900, McCarthy’s tenant on this side was mining engineer George Moulthrop and his wife France. McCarthy moved from the neighborhood in 1905 and sold this side to John P. Harrington. Like McCarthy, Harrington and his wife Margaret were Irish immigrants. John was a college graduate who worked his way up from bookkeeper to manager/part owner of the Butte Brewing Company. The company survived Prohibition by switching from beer to the manufacture of soft drinks. John was esteemed for his generous nature, but a dislike of politics prompted him to decline numerous requests to run for sheriff, mayor, and school trustee. He died in 1934, just after the repeal of Prohibition put beer back in his brewery.
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