Warm Springs in Anaconda in Deer Lodge County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Lee Pleasant Driver's Saloon and Club Rooms
Anaconda Commercial Historic District
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, July 11, 2021
1. Lee Pleasant Driver's Saloon and Club Rooms Marker
Inscription.
Lee Pleasant Driver's Saloon and Club Rooms. Anaconda Commercial Historic District. After attending Fisk University in Tennessee, Lee Pleasant Driver enlisted in the Twenty-fifth U.S. Colored Infantry in 1888. The twenty-five-year-old private, who soon advanced to corporal, served at Forts Keogh (Miles City) and Missoula. He was one of the famed “buffalo soldiers,” who patrolled the frontier following the Civil War. Driver remained in Montana after his 1891 discharge, moving to Anaconda four years later. By 1902, he had opened a club room on Main Street, where he also sold cigars and liquor. Around 1909, he moved his establishment to 106 Commercial, expanding into 104 Commercial the following year. Anaconda had approximately 125 African American residents in 1910, and Driver’s Saloon and Club Rooms served as the community’s male social center. Among the organizations that met in his club rooms was the Negro Republican Club; members elected Driver president at their inaugural meeting in 1910. Driver closed the saloon by 1915, and two years later he and his wife Pearl moved their family to a 274-acre homestead ten miles east of Anaconda.
After attending Fisk University in Tennessee, Lee Pleasant Driver enlisted in the Twenty-fifth U.S. Colored Infantry in 1888. The twenty-five-year-old private, who soon advanced to corporal, served at Forts Keogh (Miles City) and Missoula. He was one of the famed “buffalo soldiers,” who patrolled the frontier following the Civil War. Driver remained in Montana after his 1891 discharge, moving to Anaconda four years later. By 1902, he had opened a club room on Main Street, where he also sold cigars and liquor. Around 1909, he moved his establishment to 106 Commercial, expanding into 104 Commercial the following year. Anaconda had approximately 125 African American residents in 1910, and Driver’s Saloon and Club Rooms served as the community’s male social center. Among the organizations that met in his club rooms was the Negro Republican Club; members elected Driver president at their inaugural meeting in 1910. Driver closed the saloon by 1915, and two years later he and his wife Pearl moved their family to a 274-acre homestead ten miles east of Anaconda.
Location. 46° 7.822′ N, 112° 57.146′ W. Marker is in Anaconda, Montana, in Deer Lodge County. It is in Warm Springs. Marker is at the intersection of East Commercial Avenue and Main Street, on the left when traveling east on East Commercial Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 104 E Commercial Ave, Anaconda MT 59711, United States of America. Touch for directions.
2. Lee Pleasant Driver's Saloon and Club Rooms and Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on June 17, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 3, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 137 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on September 3, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
