What to See in Hamilton - Top Sights and Attractions

Courthouse. The Ravalli County Courthouse, at 225 Bedford St. in Hamilton, Montana, was built in 1900. It includes Classical Revival and Romanesque architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

It was funded by a $20,000 bond issue and built on land donated by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. It was designed by Missoula architect A.J. Gibson and built by Charles Stabern. It has been described as having a "stunning design merges the Richardsonian Romanesque style with strong classical elements. The result is a pivotal example of the transition between nineteenth and twentieth century tastes. Graceful round-arched Romanesque style windows, popular in Victorian-era public architecture, blend with smooth wall surfaces and a horizontal orientation that reflects a newer trend toward classical styles. The tall corner tower visually interrupts the classical symmetry creating an artistic balance between old and new that is a credit to Gibson’s talent."

It was used as a courthouse from 1901 to 1974, and subsequently used as the Ravalli County Museum.^[2]

The Other C. Wamsley House built in 1909 is an historic octagon house located at 200 North 5th Street in Hamilton, Montana, United States. On August 26, 1988, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

It is a two-story wood-frame house built on a rubble stone foundation. It has a wraparound front porch, and a one-story portion to the rear may once have been an open porch. Porch pillars are Doric columns on stone piers.

It was home for Other C. Wamsley, a contractor and carpenter, during 1908 to 1918. A 1987 inventory writeup notes:

The unusual architecture discloses the inquiring mind possessed by Mr. Wamsley who was also unafraid to attempt the unusual. Mr. Wamsley had served in the armed forces. He initiated the first civic Hallowe'en celebration here and the Community Sing during World War I.^[3]

Building in Hamilton, Montana. The Charles Granke House, at 406 S. Seventh St. in Hamilton, Montana, is a historic house that was built in 1906. It includes Colonial Revival and Queen Anne architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The listing included two contributing buildings.

It was built in approximately 1906 by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company as a worker cottage, for workers at the sawmill that operated in Hamilton until 1915. Charles W. Granke, one of two sawyers at the mill, "obtained title" to the home in 1906. It has been described as a "charming home" offers an unusually well-preserved example of the turn-of-the-twentieth-century transition between styles. While symmetrical lines, vertical corner board trim, and return gable ends reveal influence of the newer Colonial Revival style, the home is rich in Queen Anne detailing: scroll brackets, abundant decorative molding, and turned spindles above the porch. The cutaway porch itself is of special interest because it is a feature that rarely survives intact in Montana, where enclosures offer added weather protection."

The second building included in the listing is a carriage house, which dates also to c.1906, and is "an excellent example of a functional, vernacular outbuilding with few decorative embellishments".^[6]