The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1897-12-19


1t is a little, low, old log house, pretty
dilapidated now. The front is well COW
cred over with signs advertising various
firms, and in the rear the piles of ac-
cumulated earth and snow have reached
nearly to the roof of the little house,
vet it was made to be warm and COM
Portable and it is so to this day. A
generation ago the scarce inhabitants
of Butte and the weary travellers who
passed this way, were always sure of
finding a warm and CHEEKY welcome at
the Ramsdell house. And to-day the
horses of the Silver Bow Coal company
find the house, now being a stable, a
warm and cosy retreat from the chill
blasts of December.
Back in 1885, when that log house
was built 1t aroused as much interest
among the fifty odd inhabitants of
Butte as the $4,000 manifest now over
the big six story iron block which is
going up. 1t aroused interest in Butte
in those days because it was a step in
advance of anything else here. 1t had
twice as many rooms as any house in
Butte, which means that all the other
houses in Butte at that time had one
room while this had two rooms-one
general living room and sleeping room
in the rear.
This old house, so insignificant as
compared with the beautiful modern
residences now in the city, yet of alb
sorbng interest because of the fact that
1t has watched the growth of Butte
through more than thirty years, was
built by Joseph r.. Ramsdell. Mr.. Rams
dell, while not the first white man who
ever came to Butte, was preceded by
only few and is doubtless the first
conner who is now resident of the city.
Without any undue encomium of Mr..
Ramsdell it may be said in all candor
that Butte never had a better citizen
than it's oldest inhabitant. Each de-
cade has noted a marked improvement
in the residences built in Butte, the lit
tie old log house, once Butte's proudest
residence, has become a stable, but
Butte's inhabitants of to-day have not
improved over the sturdy, honest and
generous pioneers who first camped UNI
der the shadow of the big butte.
Mr.. Ramsdelk came to Butte two years
before he built the log house which is
the oldest building now standing in the
city. He was born back in Ohio 70
years ago, was married in Illinois, lived
a number of years in Missouri, where
all his children We're born, crossed the
plains in the Pixies Peak excitement of
1859, went to Mexico and other places
IN the West and finally entered Mon
tana in 1868. He was at Nevada City
in Alder gulch until the next year,
when, accompanied by Tom Porter, now
"a resident of the Bitter Root valley.
and Nathan Harrison, who only stayed
here short time, he first came to
Butte.
Butte was beautiful them said Mr..
Ramsdell telling a reporter about the
old days "All over where Butte now
stands was an abundance of green
grass, and along the gulches, particu-
larly in Dublin gulch, it was heavily
timbered Until years afterward ] never
had to go north of Walkerville for fuel.
Down on the fiat the grass grew in pro-
fusion. Around where the Bell smelter
stands the grass was four feet in
height. Herds Ct antelope grazed all
over the fiat and it was as easy to ride
out there and shoot an antelope as 1t
is to get a beef slaughtered at the
slaughter house now. Black bison were
often seen around here also.
1T was early in October of 1864 that
we rode into Butte on horseback, COM
ing from Virginia City by way Of the
Big Hole and Divide. There was a lit
tie town at Silver Bow then. In Butte
there was only one cabin. ii was oc-
cupied by Ollie Humphreys. who after
ward died here, and William Allison.
who afterwards went East. They had
preceded us a month or six weeks and
had a. little log cabin in Dublin guich.
just off the road to the Ramsdell-Par
rot. We had known them in Alder
gulch and we stayed in their cabin.
The cabin had only one room, in the
back of which was a bellows and anvil.
Everyone had to be his own black
smith in those days.
Humphreys and Allison had made
the first mining location here-the Or
iginal. Henry Porter staled out the
Parrot, which he named from the green
ish ore he found on top. Dennis O'Leary
who had been here with him the pre-
ceding year. had taken the next claim
west and l took the next claim east,
which i called Parrot No. 2, but which
has since come to be known as the
Ramsdell- Parrot Porter's claim was
afterwards called the Colusa Parrot.
while O'Leary's kept the original name
of Parrot. My location was dated Oc-
tober A. 1864. It was few days be-
fore that that / arrived, but just how
many / couldn't tell"
Mr.. Ramsdell remained about month
in Butte and then went back to Alder
gulch and got so head of horses, which
be brought here and let them feed all
winter on the fiat, the peace of which
in those days was never disturbed by
the gay bicycle rider. He and Porter
spent the winter in the cabin of Alli-
son and Humphreys and they prospect
ed pretty well all over Butte. They
traced the lead from the Parrot loca-
ton clear over to the Gambetta, but
Mr. Ramsdell took up nothing else at
that time. They cut hay on Anaconda
hill and never dreamed of the marvel
Gus stores of wealth that was under
the grass roots.
The next spring-the spring of 1866
Mr.. Ramsdell brought his family from
Nevada City, but didn't stop in Butte.
He went to German gulch and they
lived for a time in a tent and in the
wagon box, but soon Mr.. Ramsdell
built a. cabin for his family where the
village of Stuart now stands. He spent
the year prospecting in German gulch
and Washington gulch. 1t was that
year that a Frenchman named Bonee.
an old Indian trader, got a corner on
all the flour in this section. Every
body was out of flour and Bonee had
200 to 800 sacks stored away in the
neighborhood of Deer Lodge. but would
not sell any at less than 500 sack.
Among the so horses he brought from
Alder gulch Mr.. Ramsdell had two race
horses.
II put a pack saddle on old Buck"
said Mr.. Ramsdell. with an exultant