Where to stay in Butte, Montana

Look at this room:

Sleep where one of the wealthiest men in the world slept!

My own personal parlor

Lovely lavender bathroom in the master suite

This is MY room! Isn’t it gorgeous?! You may be surprised to learn where you’ll find this gorgeous room. And this room:

Andree’s room in Copper King Mansion

And this room:

Daughter Huguette’s room

And this room:

Fresco ceilings in all the rooms. This is the Family room with two double beds.

The Butler’s room, while small, is perfect for a single guest.

The Butler’s Room

They’re all beautifully furnished in period pieces that celebrates the mansion’s heyday. This is Copper King Mansion B&B in Butte, Montana.

What I loved about Copper King Mansion is that it’s lived-in. This is not a museum like the Biltmore Estate where you can only view things from behind a cordoned-off rope. You can sit in the chairs. You can walk on the rugs, eat off the good china and play the player piano. Owner Erin Sigl says that was her grandmother’s philosophy and she has continued to carry it on.

My tour guide played the player piano for us.

After all, Copper King Mansion B&B was — and still is — a home.

Copper King Mansion History

The history of this mansion dates back to 1884 when William Andrew Clark began to amass his fortune in mining & banking ventures. The cost to build the Copper King Mansion at the time, estimated at about $500,000, represented a half-day’s income for him!

He expanded his wealth over the years and amassed an estimated $50,000,000. His copper mines were instrumental in the growth of electricity, making Butte one of the first places in the world to enjoy electricity inside homes.

He is probably the only man ever to personally finance the development of a railroad. It traveled through a remote part of the country where the tiny town of Las Vegas was established. It’s no wonder that the county in which Las Vegas sits was later named Clark County.

In addition to the Copper King Mansion, Clark maintained homes in New York, Santa Barbara, California, and Washington, DC and residences in several other cities including Paris, France. Many of his children were raised in the Copper King Mansion. You’ll see pictures of them hanging throughout the B&B.

Staying at the Copper King Mansion

When I began planning my excursion to Butte, I looked at places I’d like to stay and Copper King Mansion was hands-down my first choice as home base for my adventures there. I wanted to fully embrace Butte’s rich mining and immigrant history and this beautiful Bed & Breakfast was kind enough to host me during my time there.

Parlor sitting room in Copper King Mansion B&B. Guests are welcome to lounge here during their stay.

Before I checked into my room, I took one of the free tours of the mansion offered to guests. I love that we had the chance to peer into all the other rooms since they’re all uniquely furnished.

Kitchen in Copper King Mansion

The present owners live on the 3rd floor where we journeyed to see three unique rooms that contain oodles of Butte history.

Touring Copper King Mansion

One room houses the doll collection of Erin and other members of the family. The oldest doll in this collection is the Madame Alexander doll dressed in yellow.

The oldest doll is the Madame Alexander doll in yellow

Another room contained relics that the family rescued when several churches closed their doors in Butte. One room, chapel-like in its corner, is filled with religious robes, Bibles and other historical church items that might have otherwise been destroyed.

The family also rescued the huge pipe organ and period clothing that they store in the mansion’s ballroom.

Pipe organ stored in the ballroom

Visitors to Butte who are staying elsewhere can take a tour, too, at different times throughout the day, for $10 adults/$5 children. Definitely worth it if you love exploring historic homes, mansions, inns, and the like. Copper King Mansion is an institution in the town’s history.

I loved having the Copper King Mansion as my home base while visiting Butte. Located Uptown, it was easy to walk everywhere and enjoy all the history that made Butte what it is today. Everywhere I went, locals greeted me warmly and said I should be sure to see the Copper King Mansion. Little did they know that I was staying in the very room where William A. Clark once slept. It’s probably the closest I’ll ever come to sleeping like a millionaire…

Which of these magnificent rooms would you like to stay in?