Brothers John A. and Edward Creighton came west scouting the first transcontinental telegraph lines from Omaha, Nebraska, to the coast. Temporarily settling in Virginia City, Edward hired Thompson and Griffith to construct this building, the first of locally quarried stone. Beautifully returned to its original appearance, the nine arched openings once defined three separate storefronts. Early occupants included E. Creighton & Co. and B. D. Maxham’s liquors and groceries. In 1866, the Creightons, who constructed the first transcontinental telegraph line in 1861, brought this critical link to Montana Territory with the first line to Salt Lake City via a pole on this corner. In 1873, the Madisonian began more than a century of publication in the building’s east portion. Edward died in 1874 and, following his wishes, his widow endowed Omaha’s Creighton University, one of the first Catholic universities in the western United States. John’s philanthropy enlarged and developed the school. John partnered with Butte’s fourth copper king, Patrick Largey, who once constructed telegraph lines for the Creightons. The State Savings Bank of Butte and the Speculator Mine were among their joint enterprises.
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