Filed Under Virginia City

Bartlett's Blacksmith Shop

Virginia City National Historic Landmark District

Virginia City boomed and land prices soared accordingly in 1863 and 1864, a trend well illustrated in the earliest ownership transactions of this choice commercial property. On May 13, 1864, George Parker paid $800 for the lot and sold it for $1,400 on June 27. By 1869, the property owner was Herschfield, Hanauer & Company, bankers who specialized in gold exchange. A photograph from the early 1870s shows the original log building that first occupied this lot. The present rubblestone building had been constructed by 1878 to house E. J. Bartlett’s blacksmith shop. Bartlett advertised as a “blacksmith and machinist” from 1879 through the early 1890s. The brick veneer on the front façade was added over the stone circa 1900, and the building was converted for use as a trading post in 1950.

Images

Bartlett's Blacksmith's Shop
Bartlett's Blacksmith's Shop View of south side of Wallace Street with wood frame building on left, brick blacksmith shop, and stone building with pointed arch windows on right. Source: National Historic Landmark nomination form for Viriginia City. From an inventory report compiled by Olaf Hagen, U.S. Forest Service Region 2, 1937. On file at the Montana State Historic Preservation Office and the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D. C. Creator: W. R. Rankin, photographer Date: 1937
Bartlett's Blacksmith Shop, Virginia City
Bartlett's Blacksmith Shop, Virginia City View looking northeast at Bartlett's shop facade Source: Courtesy of Montana Heritage Commission Creator: Kate Steeley, Montana Heritage Commission Date: Oct 2019

Location

206 West Wallace Street, Virginia City, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “Bartlett's Blacksmith Shop,” Historic Montana, accessed March 28, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/853.