Nelson-Ivory House
Carriage painter Frank O. Nelson and his wife Elizabeth constructed this richly embellished Queen Anne cottage circa 1897. Key ornamental elements include scalloped shingle siding, scrolled brackets, colored glass windows, turned porch posts, cutout rails, and a spindle frieze. In late 1898, the Nelsons sold the house to John and Matilda Ivory for $1,200. John worked as an underground miner, and Matilda was a private nurse. She was active with Butte’s Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, which campaigned against drinking alcohol. By 1907, a small “alley house” stood in the backyard, built for Matilda’s mother. In 1917, the property changed hands and mine foreman John McGivern and his wife Nellie moved into the main house with their children. Tragedy struck when John died in 1923 and then daughter Ellen died in 1924. Nellie and her surviving children persevered. The family relocated to the alley house and used the main house for rental income. A newspaper reporter, mine shift boss, and a lithographer were among the various renters to occupy the main house during Nellie McGivern’s long ownership tenure, ending with her death in 1965.
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