Filed Under Walkerville

Caplice & McCune Store

Butte Historic District

The masonry buildings in the heart of Walkerville reflect the town’s nineteenth-century silver-mining roots. Mining investors, the Walker Brothers of Salt Lake, and future copper king Marcus Daly began developing silver mines here in 1876. Joseph Broughton, another Salt Lake investor, likely built this substantial brick general store in 1880. By 1883, John Caplice and Alfred McCune acquired the building and in 1884 emblazoned “Caplice & McCune” high on the south wall. Silver markets slumped in 1893, and by 1897, St. Lawrence Catholic Church, a branch of St. Patrick’s in Uptown Butte, temporarily held services here while building a new church nearby. It later used the building to house St. Joseph’s Parochial School. In 1905, Mount Bethel Methodist Episcopal Church acquired and remodeled the building, adding pointed arch windows in the auditorium, a central meeting room, and a rear, six-room apartment for the pastor. The congregation was always small compared to Mountain View Methodist in Uptown Butte, and for many years it shared pastors with Centerville, Silver Bow Park, Wesley Chapel, and Meaderville. Despite their limited numbers, Walkerville Methodists worshipped here until 1972.

Images

Caplice and McCune Store, Walkerville, MT
Caplice and McCune Store, Walkerville, MT View of facade Source: iPhone 8 image capture, jpeg format Creator: Martha Kohl, photographer Date: May 28, 2021
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Location

1613 North Main Street, Walkerville | Public

Metadata

Montana National Register Sign Program, “Caplice & McCune Store,” Historic Montana, accessed March 28, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/2837.