304 Cottonwood

Before 1884, this frame building became one of the few two-story structures in the area, alongside the jail, county courthouse, Episcopal Church, and a few Main Street businesses. In 1884 it served as both a residence and a carpentry shop, and such shops often featured especially elaborate dwellings to display the builders' skill. Beginning in the 1880s, several additions enlarged the building. A carpentry shop still occupied the first floor in 1888, while the International Order of Odd Fellows had moved its lodge rooms to the second story, where privacy suited the secret rites favored by many fraternal organizations. The Odd Fellows continued meeting here into the 1940s. Local legend holds that bootleggers operated a still here during Prohibition. Over time, the building also housed a Wells Fargo office, a saloon, an apartment, and a cold storage facility. In the 1970s and 1980s, it became the home of the Powell County Museum, which added the two-story porch and balcony.

Deer Lodge, Montana · United States