504 Main Street
By editor
Anaconda, Deer Lodge County, Montana
Intricate ornamental cresting caps the dome on the octagonal tower of this handsome residence. Its eclectic architecture combines elements of the Queen Anne and French Second Empire styles. A partial Mansard roof at the northeast corner and a front window with unusual stone and brick surrounds reflect the flamboyant tastes of the late Victorian era.
The tower retains its original, charming multi-paned cottage window. Grocer Albert MacCallum built the residence in 1895 and sold it in 1904 to miner, politician, and businessman Dennis Roach. The firm of Roach and Smith offered billiard parlors, a confectionery, flowers, fishing tackle, sporting goods, cigars, and sundries. Roach and Smith, one of Anaconda’s longest established businesses, still exists as a wholesale distribution firm.
Dennis Roach served as county commissioner and as a representative in the Montana legislature. After Roach’s death in 1925, his widow Maude remained at home here for more than thirty years. The Roaches’ daughter, Katherine “Kash” Felt, a prominent and well-loved Anaconda matron, converted the residence into classrooms where she taught kindergarten. The family retained ownership of the property into the twenty-first century.
The Montana Historical Society marker keeps that local story on the sidewalk for anyone willing to slow down.
