Goosetown Historic District

9 Locations | Curated by Historic Montana

Attracted by the opportunity to work at Marcus Daly’s copper smelter, thousands of immigrants came seeking work in Anaconda. Many were from Ireland, like Daly himself, but skilled and unskilled workers also came from a myriad of foreign places. Most settled in Goosetown, a working-class neighborhood ideally located adjacent to the Anaconda foundry and the original Washoe works site, under the shadow of the Great Stack. Small inexpensive lots, simple frame workers’ cottages, boarding houses and small businesses dating mostly from 1883 to 1918 illustrate the neighborhood’s economic solidarity and working-class character. Modest homes on narrow lots with bachelor cabins at the rear, rented for a little extra income, are common throughout the district. Occasional saloons and the 1905 Washoe Brewery reflect the private commerce and industry that flourished alongside the dominant smelter-related enterprises. In addition, widows often maintained their families by operating small businesses from their homes. The Beaudette Block, the Anaconda Meat and Grocery Company and the depression-era Club Moderne are Goosetown’s most significant commercial buildings. Historic churches including the Austrian Roman Catholic, Free Swedish Mission, Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran, and Serbian Orthodox only hint at the many ethnically oriented organizations that offered comaraderie and comfort far from home. There are two schools of thought on the source of Goosetown’s name. The most widely accepted theory attributes the name to the east side bars’ practice of keeping turkeys and geese to raffle off at Thanksgiving. Another theory holds that the neighborhood’s initial freshwater system consisted of a water tap at the end of a gooseneck pipe in each residential yard.

Economic solidarity and frugal ingenuity define the Goosetown District, which attracted workers from across the globe. Housing was scarce as Goosetown matured in the shadow of the Big Stack. A small, simple worker’s cottage stood on this lot at least by the mid-1910s. Early owner and smelterman…
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Edward Kelly Sr. was an experienced ore miner who put his skills to work building this foursquare style secondary residence. Kelly and his wife Margaret, both Irish immigrants, settled in the house next door in 1912. He set to work building this second house, cutting the granite foundation by hand…
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This simple Victorian cottage well represents Goosetown’s working-class character. Built between 1891 and 1895, the house sheltered smelter workers and their families. Like many Goosetown homes, the property had a separate residence at the rear. In 1900, James Ryan and his extended family were the…
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It was a grand and gala event on October 9, 1937, when John “Skinny” Francisco debuted his luxurious establishment to an eager public. Souvenir roses and etched liquor glasses commemorated the long-awaited occasion. Club Moderne is today a premier example of the Art Deco style, especially…
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An architecturally impressive landmark and gateway to Anaconda’s east side, the Washoe Brewery symbolizes the private enterprise that flourished in this company town. The imposing Italian Renaissance-inspired brewery with its signature corner tower is a bold reminder of an industry important to…
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In 1896, two frame houses nestled on the front of this lot; two cabins stood behind them. By 1903, the two small cabins still occupied the back of the lot, but this gable-front-wing, brick-clad residence had replaced the earlier frame homes on the street. Queen Anne details, such as turned porch…
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Rapidly increasing demand for copper ore in the 1890s brought an influx of more than 5,000 new residents to the Smelter City between 1890 and 1900. To house them all, a fleet of carpenters built hundreds of cottages and multi-family units. This brick boardinghouse, built in 1897, stands out from…
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