Harry W. Turner Residence

Local legend has it that in 1915, Harry W. Turner jacked up the one-story 1890s house on this lot and constructed a new first floor beneath it. Telltale evidence is found in the twelve-foot first-floor ceilings—a height not typically found in one-story Butte homes—and gas pipes only on the second floor.

Turner, a pioneer in the field of electricity, came to Butte in 1892 as general manager of the Silver Bow Electric Light Company. That company and several others consolidated to form the Montana Power Company in 1912 and Turner served on the board of directors. Syrian-born David Khoury, manager of a New York City-based carpet import business, later owned the home.

Khoury founded the Syrian Peace Society, predecessor of the still-active Lebanese Peace Lodge. Lucille Bunker, who lived here from the 1940s to 1979, was an acclaimed caterer and “inventor” of the Butte cocktail MT NATIONAL REGISTER SIGN TEXT 1990 TO APRIL 2019 pasty—a miniature version of the Cornish miner’s lunch.

The home features deeply corniced beamed ceilings, a library with leaded glass doors, and a third-floor ballroom.