Dellinger Block

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Dellinger Block, 117 N. Main

This building began in June of 1877 when Daniel Dellinger from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, formed a partnership with Mr. Hyde and built the first hardware store in Butte. In 1880 Mr. Hyde left the partnership and Dellinger ran the business quite successfully until 1883 when he sold out to W.R. Kenyon and Co. He then returned back east. Another brick building was built adjacent to the original by 1884, and by 1890 the second floor was added to the top of both the 1877 and 1884 buildings with a staircase running up between the storefronts. The upper floor was used for businesses of varying types including attorneys, collections, dentist, and an employment bureau.

By approximately 1890 the 1877 store was Babcock's Hats and Furs, catering to both the wealthy as well as ladies of the evening. Though not proven, a story goes that gentlemen would come through Babcocks in the afternoon and cross the alley in back by way of the walkway over the alley (still intact), then proceed upstairs to two private rooms for mid-afternoon meetings with ladies of the evening. Babcock sold out to one of his clerks, I. Mattingley, in 1900; he continued the business as Mattingley's for quite a number of years. By the late 1940s the store was called the Toggery and was a clothing store. In 1938 the entire upstairs was abandoned (1938 is last entry for any business at 115 N. Main in the Butte City Directory).

By 1952 the stairs leading upstairs were removed, leaving no access for the next 52 years. The two downstairs stores (1877 and 1884 construction) were combined into one at this time and that is how the layout is today. In 2004 a new stairway was constructed up to the second floor to give historical tours through the building. About seven steps from the original stairs can be seen at the top. After the Toggery closed, the store became an antique store and then home to the Old Butte Historical Adventures and the WhiteOwl Emporium.

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