Virginia City in Madison County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Susie Marr House
This Property Contributes to the Virginia City Historic District
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 5, 2022
1. Susie Marr House Marker
Inscription.
Susie Marr House. This Property Contributes to the Virginia City Historic District. The small-scale simplicity of Susie Marr’s house belies the owner’s rich life. Marr emigrated from Scotland in 1870. In Virginia City, she managed household affairs for banker, William Morris, his wife, and their six children. In turn, Morris took care of Susie and gave her this house, which she shared with her brother, William Marr, a widower. The Marrs were Masons, an organization that formed a caring social circle and set Susie, a maid, and William, a store clerk, on an equal plane with more affluent community members. William, who ran unsuccessfully for sheriff, served stints as Virginia City’s postmaster and county clerk. Susie frequently visited her Masonic Sisters of the Eastern Star outside Virginia City and rubbed elbows with Montana’s elite as a Virginia City delegate to the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. In 1910, when Susie was sixty-five, brother William died, and Susie’s employers, the Morrises, moved to Bozeman. Nevertheless, Susie remained in Virginia City for another twenty-five years, eventually bequeathing her house to the Masons and moving to the Helena Masonic Home, where she lived to age ninety-seven.
The small-scale simplicity of Susie Marr’s house belies the owner’s rich life. Marr emigrated from Scotland in 1870. In Virginia City, she managed household affairs for banker, William Morris, his wife, and their six children. In turn, Morris took care of Susie and gave her this house, which she shared with her brother, William Marr, a widower. The Marrs were Masons, an organization that formed a caring social circle and set Susie, a maid, and William, a store clerk, on an equal plane with more affluent community members. William, who ran unsuccessfully for sheriff, served stints as Virginia City’s postmaster and county clerk. Susie frequently visited her Masonic Sisters of the Eastern Star outside Virginia City and rubbed elbows with Montana’s elite as a Virginia City delegate to the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. In 1910, when Susie was sixty-five, brother William died, and Susie’s employers, the Morrises, moved to Bozeman. Nevertheless, Susie remained in Virginia City for another twenty-five years, eventually bequeathing her house to the Masons and moving to the Helena Masonic Home, where she lived to age ninety-seven.
Location. 45° 17.561′ N, 111° 56.73′ W. Marker is in Virginia City, Montana, in Madison County. Marker is on West Idaho Street near Broadway Street, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 104 West Idaho Street, Virginia City MT 59755, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 2, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 2, 2022, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 51 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on November 2, 2022, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.