Mining investor Joseph Russell built this brick Queen Anne-style residence circa 1887. An octagonal tower adorned with applied terra-cotta flowers, spindled porches and balconies, and multiple gabled dormers with complex ornamentation distinguish it as an exemplary Victorian-era mansion. Russell speculated heavily in mining and ultimately lost the home to creditors. Deer Lodge cattle baron Conrad Kohrs first rented, then later purchased the mansion in 1900 as an anniversary gift for his wife Augusta. Conrad served in the territorial legislature, and by 1889 his political obligations, business interests, and work with the Montana Stockgrowers Association necessitated a permanent presence in the capital city. Theodore Roosevelt, Conrad’s longtime friend through the Stockgrowers Association, visited and dined in the home during a 1911 tour through the West. Conrad died in 1920. Augusta remained in residence and managed the Conrad Kohrs Company, while grooming grandson Con Warren to lead the ranching operation. Although she spent summers at the Deer Lodge ranch, Augusta remained active in Helena social and philanthropic life. She donated funds to build the Helena YMCA and a memorial wing at St. Peter’s Hospital. Augusta died in 1945.
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