Daniel O’Brien, his new wife Nellie O’Brien, and Nellie’s mother Mary Shea, moved into this working-class cottage in 1900. Daniel, who came from County Cork, Ireland, would have felt at home in Butte, which was sometimes known as “Ireland’s Fifth Province” for its large Irish immigrant population. The owner of O’Brien Brothers Saloon, Daniel purchased the home free of mortgage. The hipped roof residence borders a spur line of the Butte, Anaconda, and Pacific Railway; the rumble of ore trains would have accompanied every aspect of the O’Briens’ days and nights. With his wife Mary, miner and English immigrant Isaac Roberts lived here from 1916 until his death in 1939. Mary continued in residence until 1956, when Mary sold the home to Earl Sullivan. An electrician who worked for the Anaconda Company, Sullivan was also instrumental in forming some of Butte’s early credit unions. In fact, he served as treasurer for the Butte Metal Trades Federal Credit Union. He and wife Mary raised seven children here.
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