Butte in Silver Bow County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
423-425 West Mercury
Butte National Historic Landmark District
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, July 13, 2021
1. 423-425 West Mercury Marker
Inscription.
423-425 West Mercury. Butte National Historic Landmark District. Contractor Fergus Kelley spent $4,000 building this handsome two-apartment residence in September 1900. He and wife Katherine, a well-known Butte vocalist and music teacher, lived at number 423 and rented the other half to tenants. In the early 1890s, this stretch of Mercury Street was a rough dirt road at the western edge of Butte, a checkerboard of empty lots, old log cabins, and new Queen Anne style cottages and boardinghouses. Butte’s population grew exponentially by 1900, and modern brick apartment houses quickly filled available lots with much-needed multi-family housing. Fergus and Katherine’s building, with its matching front porches, attractive decorative parapet, and distinctive window sashes, housed skilled mine workers and young professionals. Sadly, Fergus and Katherine enjoyed the property only briefly. Fergus died of lung disease in 1901, and Katherine eventually sold the building. Boilermaker Thomas Grimes and wife Agnes rented at number 423 from 1904 to 1925. Like many other working-class renters in Butte, the Grimes’s sublet their extra bedrooms to an ever-changing array of unmarried workers.
Contractor Fergus Kelley spent $4,000 building this handsome two-apartment residence in September 1900. He and wife Katherine, a well-known Butte vocalist and music teacher, lived at number 423 and rented the other half to tenants. In the early 1890s, this stretch of Mercury Street was a rough dirt road at the western edge of Butte, a checkerboard of empty lots, old log cabins, and new Queen Anne style cottages and boardinghouses. Butte’s population grew exponentially by 1900, and modern brick apartment houses quickly filled available lots with much-needed multi-family housing. Fergus and Katherine’s building, with its matching front porches, attractive decorative parapet, and distinctive window sashes, housed skilled mine workers and young professionals. Sadly, Fergus and Katherine enjoyed the property only briefly. Fergus died of lung disease in 1901, and Katherine eventually sold the building. Boilermaker Thomas Grimes and wife Agnes rented at number 423 from 1904 to 1925. Like many other working-class renters in Butte, the Grimes’s sublet their extra bedrooms to an ever-changing array of unmarried workers.
Erected by Montana Historical Society.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. In
Location. 46° 0.653′ N, 112° 32.568′ W. Marker is in Butte, Montana, in Silver Bow County. Marker is on West Mercury Street near South Jackson Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 423-425 West Mercury Street, Butte MT 59701, United States of America. Touch for directions.
The marker is in the V located between the two stairs.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 11, 2021. It was originally submitted on November 11, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 87 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on November 11, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
