Filed Under Virginia City

Frisch / Ferguson Cabin

Virginia City Historic District

The Frisch/Ferguson cabin escaped collapse twice and survives as an excellent example of a one-room log dwelling meant to provide short term, basic shelter for prospectors. The cabin’s early history is unknown, but by 1874, miner Fred Frisch and his wife Amelia were residents. Fred died in April 1878, leaving Amelia to care for two young children. In December of that year, Amelia married Fred’s mining partner, Abram Thurgood. They left town to settle in the Ruby Valley where Abram worked various mining claims. For nearly eighty years the Frisch/Thurgood family maintained the cabin as a rental property. Abram Thurgood became a successful miner and saloon owner and was elected Madison County Assessor in 1898. By 1901, he and Amelia lived nearby on the southwest corner of Jackson and Cover streets. Widowed prospector Sim Ferguson was the last renter in the 1940s. Preservationist Charles Bovey rebuilt the cabin in the 1950s, but with no tenant in residence it fell into disrepair by the 1980s. The Montana Heritage Commission rescued the cabin once again in 2005, preserving it as a permanent exhibit.

Images

Frisch/Ferguson Cabin, Virginia City
Frisch/Ferguson Cabin, Virginia City View looking north at cabin facade Source: Courtesy of Montana Heritage Commission Creator: Kate Steeley, Montana Heritage Commission Date: Oct 2019
Frisch-Ferguson Cabin, Virginia City, MT
Frisch-Ferguson Cabin, Virginia City, MT View of facade Source: Joe Furshong Creator: Joe Furshong, photographer Date: Nov 2019

Location

Virginia City, Montana | Public

Metadata

Montana National Register Sign Program, “Frisch / Ferguson Cabin,” Historic Montana, accessed March 28, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/2753.