Anaconda Company draftsman Alfred Longley and his wife Victoria bought this exemplary Craftsman style house, with Prairie style influences, in 1904. Three years later, an article in The Craftsman magazine featured their distinctive home, extolling the virtues of Butte’s emerging Craftsman style neighborhoods. Key stylistic elements include exterior shingle siding, large bay windows, and interior built-in cabinetry. The home’s hipped roof with wide overhanging eaves and expansive open floor plan evokes the Prairie style. The Longleys lived here a short time, but Anaconda Company employees and their families occupied the house for more than seventy-five years. Assistant superintendent of mines Bertram Dunshee and wife Fannie bought the home in 1910. They sold it to chief engineer Clifford D. Woodward and his wife Anna in 1920. Clifford was one of the nation’s leading mechanical and electrical engineers. He designed many patented systems that improved efficiency and safety in Butte’s mines. World famous inventor Thomas Edison was a close family friend who reportedly stayed with the Woodwards when visiting Butte. After Clifford died in 1949 and Anna died in 1958, their daughter Claudia lived here until the mid-1980s.
