Talk about being the master of your own universe.
With the purchase of this Wild West-themed Montana resort, just 15 miles west of Helena, you can become the mayor and sheriff of your own mini frontier town.
Indeed, in a past life, this private Montana residence, listed on Zillow for $1.7 million, was a popular roadside tourist attraction known as Frontier Town. It welcomed up to 2,000 visitors per day in high season.
Artfully built by John R. Quigley in the 1940s, Frontier Town features 42 rooms and outbuildings, all made of Montana stone and wood. The ghost town surrounding the two-story fake wooden fort includes a bank, prison, museum, cabins and general store. There is also a beautiful non-denominational 50-seat chapel, complete with a choir loft. The dining room, now decrepit, could even accommodate 300 people.
Yet the crown jewel of Frontier Town is the legendary saloon where locals in cowboy boots and travelers in moccasins, including the late Reverend Billy Graham, once mingled around a 50-foot-long bar. Reconverted Douglas fir, it weighs more than 6 tons.
(According to Distinctly Montana, “Quigley used a chainsaw to split the titanic log himself during a miserable winter day when it was 20 degrees below zero. He then spent about 300 hours carving elk and other western scenes in the bar.”)
This bar, along with tools, antique farm equipment, and “Frontier Town memorabilia,” all come with the furnished property.
What doesn’t come with it, however, is the liquor license.
In 2001, local resident Tom Battershell purchased Frontier Town and its liquor license at a sheriff’s auction for $190,000. After Quigley died in 1979, subsequent owners had problems financing Frontier Town. It fell into a state of disrepair before being sold at auction to repay taxes.
Battershell immediately put the liquor license up for sale and her son, Jeff, moved in.
“I thought it would be a nice place to live,” he told Helena’s Independent Record at the time.
According to the listing’s description, her personal residence has a “rustic yet warm atmosphere as you enter the living room with a large wood-burning fireplace and views galore through the huge picture window.” The kitchen/dining area is constructed with log and stone walls. The bedroom and full bathroom nicely complete this living space.
Today, after 23 years of living full-time in the replica of the abandoned town, Jeff told the Post that he “wishes someone else could enjoy it.”
Its listing agent, Deb Wong of Capital City Realty, added: “The property is being sold as a residential dwelling, but the buyer can purchase the property as they wish. »
Frontier Town was under contract in 2022, but the sale fell through. It was relisted on Zillow last fall, and Wong told the Post that most of the interest so far has come from out-of-state buyers.
That said, Quigley’s granddaughter, Taegan Walker, a Helena-based travel consultant, dreams of buying it back and turning it into a tourist attraction. She grew up in Frontier Town and even got married in the chapel. In its heyday, Frontier Town hosted not only weddings, but also newlyweds.
Of course, the list made the rounds online.
“The perfect retreat for you and your growing cult,” one Reddit user wrote. Another commented: “I want to sneeze just looking at the inside of the house.” »
(Wong admits the place could “need a good dusting” and says only four of the 42 rooms are currently habitable.)
Luckily, what Frontier Town lacks in move-in ready rooms, it more than makes up for in million-dollar views. Perched atop McDonald Pass, the 41-acre property offers panoramic views of several mountain ranges. On a clear day, you can see up to 75 miles. Frontier Town also includes a pond, frequented by friendly wildlife, and 15 natural springs.
Plus, it could generate profits. Thanks to Paramount’s hit show “Yellowstone,” Montana is attracting more tourists – 12.5 million in 2023 – than ever before. It could also be transformed into a five-star resort at best, or a kitschy vacation rental at worst.
“It’s one of a kind,” Wong told the Post. “There is no other property like it.”
New York Post
