Architecture

"Tammany's Castle"

Hamilton, Montana 

By the late 1890's, Marcus Daly was well established, his fame and fortune came from the copper mines of Butte.  He founded the town of Hamilton and named it for one of his partners.  He also built a beautiful summer mansion and established a large stock farm.  He felt that the cool weather of the Bitterroot Valley would develope a tougher horse.  He had a passion for horses and at one time, he had 1,200 head of horses on the farm.  His favorite thoroughbred, Tammany, was foaled in Tennessee in 1889, where Daly bought him in 1891 for $2,500.

Then, as today, there was rivalry between East and West coast horses.  The best in the east was Lamplighter.  In 1893, a race was set up between the two stallions and Daly promised "If Tammany beats Lamplighter, I'll build him a castle.  His favorite won and you see the results.  Tammany's castle was constructed on a bench a mile east of town and had beautiful views of the mountains.  Tammany had a very elegant stall to which (it is rumored) fresh flowers were regularly delivered.

When I saw this great stable, it was undergoing a thorough restoration, with the possibility of becoming a private residence.  Fortunate are those who will be able to live in Tammany's Castle.

hand colored etching by Barbara Coppock               Back to Map....

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