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Historic Courthouse and Hotel Meade
Courthouse/Hotel Meade today, July, 2008,
Kathy Weiser.
Bannack was
named the County Seat of Beaverhead County in 1864, and the county offices
were first held in two log cabins near the site of where the new
courthouse would be built. The impressive two-story brick structure was
built in 1875 at a cost of some $14,000. But, the building's role in
government would be short. By 1880, mining in the area had declined
dramatically and
Bannack had
become more of an agricultural community. In the meantime, the town of
Dillon, some 25 miles to the east, had become an important shipping and
economic center after the Utah and Northern Railroad established a
terminus there. Dillon townsfolk soon lobbied the Territorial Legislature
to move the County Seat to their town. Though the
Bannack's
citizens fought hard to keep the title, but a special election was held in
February, 1881 which officially moved the county seat to Dillon.
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The building than sat empty until about 1890
when it was sold to Dr. John Christian Meade for $1,250. Meade soon began
to remodel the building into a hotel, adding an "L" shaped addition to the
rear, that held a large kitchen, dining room, and living quarters. The new
Meade Hotel quickly became the social center of the community as its
dining room featured linen tablecloths and fine china. The Meade Hotel
operated sporadically over the years until it closed for the last time in
the 1940s.
© Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, updated January, 2011.
Continued Next Page
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