Local hardware store owner, William A. Talmage, designed and built this building, as well as his own hardware store. The building remained in use as a privately operated hospital until about 1920, though after 1909 only the upper floor was used as a medical facility. The ground floor became a funeral home in about 1912, remaining so until about 1927. At that time it became a millinery shop, and, in later years, a number of different businesses occupied the building.
There is considerable discrepancy concerning the date of construction between the NRHP plaque and the NRHP Registration Form, 1906 for the former and 1902 for the latter. In the Registration Form for the second boundary increase, the date has been amended to 1906.
FRANK CHURCH BUILDING
Local rancher Frank Church purchased this property as an investment in 1905. Its history is intertwined with the community’s early medical needs. W. A. Talmage constructed the building in 1906 as the Carbon County Hospital and Sanitarium under Dr. S. M. Souders. It was the county’s first modern medical facility offering trained nurses, steam heat, x-rays, and electric and thermal treatments. Dr. Souders moved to a larger hospital in 1909 and throughout the 1910s the upper floor of this building housed the private hospital of Dr. Edwin Adams, longtime Red Lodge physician and local civic leader. By 1912, undertaker R. B. Mooney occupied the ground floor advertising “prompt and careful attention” to out-of-town calls. R. G. Martin later operated his undertaking business here until 1920. By 1927, a millinery shop had replaced the funeral parlor. The Western Commercial style building features locally produced concrete blocks, which form a rusticated pattern. The ground-floor retains its original wood-framed storefront, recessed entry, and separate doorway accessing the second story. Original window placements and decorative cornice make this a wonderful example of sensitive rehabilitation.
From the NRHP plaque at the building