The 1921 restoration came after a fire tore through the chancel in 1919. Prior to that the original stone church had been remodeled several times, each time incorporating the original structure into the larger building. As a result this is now an 1881, 1921 and 1936 building, at the very least.
Though enlarged several times, this is still a relatively small church when held up for comparison against nearby churches. In the church are several stained glass windows, most of which were manufactured by J&R Lamb Studios, of New York and New Jersey, depicting mining and patriotic motifs in addition to traditional religious imagery. The window behind the altar, restored in 1931, was created by Pompeo Bertini, stained-glass artist for the Cathedral of Milan, Italy. Also in the church is an 800 pipe organ.
A Montana Standard news article, reproduced below, captures the story of the 1919 fire, as well as the church's connection to the city.
Mining City History: St. John's Episcopal Church survived fire
Jun 26, 2017 - Updated Jun 27, 2017
Ash Wednesday, 1919, was a tragic and ironic day for St. John’s Episcopal Church, when fire reduced much of its interior to ashes.
St. John’s is the oldest church standing in Butte, predating the current St. Patrick’s by about a year. Right Reverend Leigh Brewer laid the cornerstone in June 1881, and the first service was held the following Nov. 13.
The church at Broadway and Idaho is constructed of Butte granite, which allowed the structure to survive the fire March 5, 1919, that was caused by an overheated furnace. The altar, chancel, and pulpit were destroyed, although most of the altar artifacts were saved by church officials. Despite some damage, firemen saved the stained glass windows, including the triptych behind the altar that was executed by Pompeo Bertini, stained-glass artist for the Cathedral of Milan, Italy.
St. John’s was William Clark’s church, just a block south of his mansion. He and his wife Kate commissioned Bertini to create the triptych in memory of their daughter, Jessie, who died at Deer Lodge in 1878 just three weeks before her third birthday. The window was damaged by the 1919 fire, and W.A. Clark Jr. and Jessie’s twin sister Katherine Clark Morris of New York had it dismantled and shipped to New York for a year-long repair in 1930-31, after which it was re-installed in the church.
Another Clark connection is in the 10-by-20-foot window at the east end of the church. W.A. Clark Jr. donated it in memory of his wife, Mabel Foster Clark. They had been married less than two years when she died in 1903 shortly after giving birth to William A. Clark III (“Tertius”). It took J.R. Lamb Studios of New York (now based in New Jersey) more than a year to complete the window, and it was dedicated Nov. 5, 1905. Lamb Studios is the oldest stained-glass decorative arts studio in continuous operation in the United States.
Other stained glass windows at St. John’s point to the connections between the secular world of Butte and the church. The window with a miner, hard hat, and carbide lamp in stained glass is dedicated to Francis Andrew Thompson (1879-1951), a member of St. John’s who was also president of the Montana School of Mines from 1928 until his death in 1951.
Another window contains the insignia of the armed forces, the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marines, together with a battleship in stained glass. It was dedicated to Thomas Ashworth Jr., a naval aviator who died at sea Oct. 21, 1941. His father was rector of St. John’s from 1929 to 1951.
From the Montana Standard