Martin Barrett House
The Martin Barrett House, built in 1912, was the in-town retirement home of prominent pioneer rancher, politician and philanthropist Martin Barrett and his wife Alice. One of the finest examples of early-twentieth-century architecture in Dillon, the Barrett House combines the grace and symmetry of the Colonial Revival style with the horizontal rooflines of the Prairie style. Born in Ireland, Martin Barrett arrived in Montana Territory in 1863, wisely choosing to make his fortune in the goldfields by raising stock at Horse Prairie. By 1871, he ran 2,000 head of shorthorn cattle on 4,500 acres. He was elected to two terms in the territorial legislature and was the Beaverhead County Stock Commissioner for six years in the early 1900s. He served on the Dillon School Board, but was defeated by his wife, who then served as a board member for the next twenty-two years. Martin Barrett also was a founding member and vice president of the Dillon State Bank. In 1921, he donated $100,000 towards the construction of a new hospital in Dillon, named for him as its major benefactor.
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