230 West Main Street - Hamilton Commercial Historic District - Hamilton, Montana - Montana Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Interpretive sign about the building at 230 West Main Street in Hamilton, Montana. The building is a contributing structure for the Hamilton Commercial Historic District which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on Sept 1, 1988.
Text of Sign:
Wynne Roberts sold books and notions from a one-story brick building constructed on this lot circa 1900. Wynne’s wife Sophie is listed on the deed as the building’s sole owner. She is one of many women who owned property in Montana at the turn of the twentieth century. Female property ownership was not, however, a straightforward reflection of women’s economic power. Under certain circumstances, married women’s property was protected from their husbands’ creditors, and families used this fact to protect their assets from the boom-and-bust cycle that characterized Montana’s early economy. Sometime before 1914, Sophie and Wynne added a second story, occupied by the telephone company, to their business block. Although the first-story facade has been dramatically remodeled, evidence of the building’s original appearance remains on the second story. There, corbelled brick belt courses and a simple cornice exemplify the restrained aesthetic of early twentieth-century Main Street Commercial architecture.

Describe the area and history: Sign is located on the building at 230 West Main Street in downtown Hamilton, Montana.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/08/2010 Volcanoguy visited it