Filed Under Virginia City

Raymond House

Virginia City Historic District

In the mid-1860s, the east end of Idaho Street, where this cabin once stood, was “suburban,” a place that families could settle away from the dust and noise of downtown. At first, most lived in small cabins like this one, but by the mid-1880s, grander upper-class homes and the new public school transformed the neighborhood. By 1888, widow Delilah Raymond owned this cabin. She and her grown children, Sarah, Hillhouse, and Winthrop followed a wagon train from Missouri to Virginia City in 1865. Upon arriving, daughter Sarah wrote in her journal, “It is the shabbiest town I ever saw, not a really good house in it.” The family paid eight dollars a month for a two-room, dirt-roof cabin at Wallace and Hamilton. Despite their initial dissatisfaction, they stayed and prospered. Hillhouse bred race horses near Sheridan, and Winthrop became successful in banking and real estate. Sarah was one of the town’s first public school teachers. She published her journal, “Days on the Road,” in 1902. In 1980, owners moved the cabin to this location to house visiting actors.

Images

Raymond House, Virginia City
Raymond House, Virginia City View looking north at Raymond House facade Source: Courtesy of Montana Heritage Commission Creator: Kate Steeley, Montana Heritage Commission Date: Oct 2019

Location

East Idaho Street, Virginia City, Montana | Public

Metadata

Montana National Register Sign Program, “Raymond House,” Historic Montana, accessed March 28, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/2760.