Scholars embark on ambitious project archiving historic Butte fashion
It’s no mystery that Butte is a town rich in mining history. But two scholars from Brigham Young University-Idaho say they're uncovering a form of Butte
history that has literally been hanging in the closet for years.
Since January, JoAnn Peters and Jane Sheetz have been traveling to Butte on the weekends meticulously archiving historical clothing and textiles housed in
the Copper King Mansion. It all started, Peters said, when she and her husband
stayed at the mansion’s bed and breakfast and saw some of the historic clothing
on display.
So far, the two scholars have catalogued over 2,500 items, some dating as far back as the Victorian and Edwardian eras and hailing everywhere from Butte
manufactures of old to manufactures in places as far away as Paris and South
America.
The diversity in the Copper King’s collection, Peters and Sheetz said, is reflective of Butte’s cosmopolitan past, a time when the city boasted a
population of close to 100,000 and attracted immigrants from all over the world
who hoped to build a life based on copper.
Erin Sigl, manager and co-owner of the Copper King, inherited the historic mansion in the 1990s. She currently lives at the mansion with her husband
Pat.
Built in the 1880s, the mansion was once home to William A. Clark and boasts a cozy 34 rooms.
The mansion has been in Sigl's family since the early 1950s when her grandmother, Ann Cote, purchased the home. Sigl grew up in the mansion, moving
in with her mother Ann Cote Smith in in 1958.
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