Beloved Republican politician and Butte postmaster George Irvin and his wife Bettie purchased this brick four-square cottage in 1890. The home, built before 1884, retains its original compact footprint; however, it originally featured a front porch with tapered wood columns. George arrived in present-day Montana in 1863, having crossed Wyoming into the Gallatin Valley with John Bozeman. George served as Silver Bow County’s first sheriff from 1881 to 1889, U.S. marshall from 1889 to 1893, U.S. commissioner of mineral lands from 1893 until 1898, and Butte’s postmaster from 1898 until 1907. Patrick and Annie Lyden purchased the home in 1906. Patrick was a Butte police officer and Annie raised their four children here. After Patrick died in 1920, daughters Kate and Alice remained in the home. In 1937, Kate, a Butte High School math teacher, toured China, Japan, and the Philippines. On her trip, she witnessed Japanese forces attack China in the Battle of Shanghai. The battle—sometimes called the beginning of World War II—brought heavy destruction and led to Japanese capture. Kate returned home safely and remained in residence until her death in 1985.
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