Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1942-11-27
BACHELORS BUILT
CLIFF DWELLINGS
ITALIANS ESTABLISHED SUCH
ABODES AFTER KLEIN NINE
WAS OPENED IN 1893

Chickens now roost in Klein's FAM
GUS cliff dwellings, where in the early
days Of the Roundup coal field chill
dren were born. families raised and
the full cycle of life. through death,
was completed.
The houses were built in 1910 in the
rock by four Italian bachelors who
came to Klein shortly after the Klein
mine OF the Republic Coal company.
subsidiary OF the Milwaukee railroad.
was opened in 1909. The four men. who
co-operated in building the dwellings
were Dominic Finco. who now owns
that property and lives in a large log
house a few feet from the cliff. Nick
and Dominic Stella and Christ YES
cow
For the large crew working at the
Klein mine, or No. 2, as it is also
known, it was difficult to find salts
factory living quarters. There was a
boarding house at Farreltown at that
time, but as Dominic Finco says, They
didn't give us enough to eat, and the
bread was like plaster, and we liked
our own cooking"
Because of this. the four bachelors
decided to take advantage Of the start
that nature had given them when
large slabs of limestone rock had
fallen Clearly away from the cliff. One
slab was used to form the floor and
one wall of one house and another
slab was used for the roof of another
house. One house was partitioned into
two rooms-a kitchen and bedroom
and the other left with the one room.
The four men completed their homes
in a couple Of days.
In 1912 Claude Raymond, who still
lives at Klein. and his father, Pete
Raymond, built a room in the cliff,
which they used as bedroom and
added a frame dwelling to it. The
Raymonds lived in this house with
rock bedroom until the building was
destroyed by fire July 4. 1881.
In the fall Of 1910. Mr.. and Mrs.
Frank Fievet moved into the two
room rock house. There twin boys were
born to them. both dying shortly aft
er birth. Claude Raymond buried the
two children in an apple box in the
Old Miners cemetery. Neldy Fievet
also was born there in 1913.
In 1912, Dominic Finco returned to
Italy, where he was married. He re-
turned with his wife to Farreitown in
1914 and on his return arranged the
rock houses for their own use. There
five members of the Finco family were
born-Mrs. Erma Fargo of Klein, AL
fred Finco and Gocond Finco of New
York and Ernest and Edwardo Finco.
The Fincos built their present home
in 1927, at which time they moved out
of the rock houses.
When the houses were first built
3O-foot well was dug by hand to fur
nish fresh water. Facing the south
and sheltered from the elements, tenn
peratures in winter or summer never
troubled the residents of the cliff
dwellers," as the rooms were always
warm in winter and cool in summer.
The rooms were much in demand for
this reason, but as the workings of the
Klein mine expanded, more frame
houses were built for the miners and
the housing situation was not so
acute.
The rooms are still in good repair
and in iveab.e condition. The ingenu-
ity of the builders is still evidenced
by the door of one home, carved out
of the rock SO the milkman could leave
the daily milk out of harms way. In
one room a chimney was carved out
Of the rock.
The cliff dwellings" as they were
widely known, established consider
able reputation and they were long a
q show point that people pointed out
to visitors. Although they are not In
use now, the cliff dwellings" have
been recorded in many rolls of pic
lures taken by tourists, although as
Dominic Finco says, II posed for
hundreds of pictures and they all said
they would send me one, but never
got any"