Childs Carriage House (Stone Barn) - Helena, MT
Posted by: T0SHEA
N 46° 35.239 W 112° 02.049
12T E 420774 N 5159825
One of the oldest remaining buildings in Helena, this barn is also one of the very few of its era to survive both earthquakes and the modernization impulses of contemporary man.
Waymark Code: WMXJJE
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 01/20/2018
Views: 1
Already converted to a residence by the late '30s, this old stone barn was the winter residence of noted Montana artist Charles M. Russell even before the American Guide writers passed through Helena in 1938 or 39. The nearby hen house is across the alley from the barn and still stands today.
12. A STONE BARN (private), 320 E. 6th Ave., back of the Christian Science church, was the studio of Charles M. Russell during his winters in Helena in the 1880s and early 1890s. The artist used to drift in from the range late in the fall, and stay until there was sufficient new grass in spring to feed his horse. He also painted in a hen house nearby. In such humble quarters he did some of his best-known work. The barn is used as a dwelling.
From Montana, a state guide book
CHILD CARRIAGE HOUSE
William C. Child came to Montana from Iowa in 1870 as an agent for the Wells Fargo Express Company. President U. S. Grant soon appointed him territorial land office registrar and Child made a small fortune in mining investments. This two-story barn, built in 1873, served as a stable and carriage house for the Childs’ residence at 305 Ewing. In the 1880s, Child began a ranching operation a few miles east of Helena called the White Face Farm (now the Kleffner Ranch), where he established one of the first herds of purebred Herefords in Montana. The Childs continued to live in their Helena residence. The carriage house, with its massive native fieldstone walls, heavy wooden lintels, and brick arches, is a rare remaining example of early masonry construction. The chicken coop across this alley and the barn at the Kleffner Ranch were also built of native fieldstone. Many of Helena’s early masonry buildings were torn down during the 1880s construction boom or were drastically remodeled. Others were heavily damaged by the 1935 earthquakes and then covered in stucco. This carriage house is a splendid reminder of the era of horse-drawn vehicles. It has added significance as the short-term residence of a famous Montanan, Charles M. Russell. According to old-timers, the much loved cowboy artist temporarily bunked in the loft living quarters once used by the Childs’ groom. Carefully preserved by John and Janice Hollow, the building now serves as a professional office and is an excellent example of adaptive reuse.
From the NRHP plaque at the building
Book: Montana
Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 171
Year Originally Published: 1939
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