The Turf was more than sod

A 1972 photo shows the aftermath of the fire at the Gnose Building, 108 to 124 Main St., which at the time housed Rosenberg's, the VFW Club, The Reno, Jackson Studio, Yeoman Insurance and the State Liquor Store. Photo courtesy of the Furshong collection.

"The Big Menu At The Turf Cafe" is pictured as it was printed in the Dec. 24, 1904 edition of the Butte Daily Post. Graphic courtesy of the Butte Archives.

Today, the former site of the Gnose and Dwyer buildings on the 100 block of Main Street are now home to Anaconda Bicycles, left, and the Bighorn Bottle Shop and Wine Bar, carrying on the legacy of "The TURF." Leader photo: James S. Rosien
History Lives On
In Part 1 on Wednesday, Dec. 18, we reviewed the early history of the famous Turf Exchange. Over time its name and ownership changed, but it was always one of Anaconda’s most popular establishments that included food, alcohol, cigars, ice cream and even gambling. Originally, the Turf site was called the Oxford and was purchased and renovated by James Johnson and his uncle W.P. Gwen in October 1894. The Turf was part of the historic areas that included the Gnose and Dwyer Buildings on the 100 block of the west side of Main Street. The address was generally at 114 and 116 Main, which is now the site of the renovated Bighorn Bottle Shop and Wine Bar and Anaconda Bicycles.
The conclusion of Part 1 included a reference to its famous Christmas Menu and whatever happened to one of the original/colorful owner James Johnson. This story of the historical site and its disastrous destruction will now continue.
As I mentioned before, the annual Christmas Menu was unreal and rivaled the Montana Hotel. The menu that was advertised on Dec. 24, 1904 is pictured at right.
Now for James Johnson’s final story. On May 2, 1919, the Butte Miner Newspaper ran an article headlined "Wm. J. Johnson Dies Suddenly." The newspaper noted that Mr. Johnson was a leading Anaconda businessman for a quarter of a century and had passed away after an appendicitis attack/operation while traveling to the Los Angeles, California area. The article noted that James was born in Oswego, New York in 1862 and moved to Montana in 1884. While active in the Anaconda and Butte area, James had an exceptional capacity for business and horse racing. In addition to partnerships, he was very involved in the Elks, Eagles and Rotary. Politically. He was distinguished as a charter member of Anaconda’s Fire Department.
As mentioned in Part 1, the history of the Turf started with the name Exchange (related to food, liquor and gambling) and over time continued to be a colorful location with a combination of owners and commodities related mainly to food and liquor. So now allow me to review the owners and name references beginning around 1910 by using one of my favorite sources – Polk’s Directory:
• 1910 – Turf Exchange, 114 Main Anaconda. T. P. Mc Grath, Saloon Proprietor.
• 1918 – Turf Cafe, 116 Main Anaconda. Turf Ice Cream Parlor, 114 Main Anaconda. W. H. Dunnigan, Proprietor.
• 1930 – The Turf Cafe, 114 Main Anaconda. Mrs. Mrs. Emma Dunnigan, Proprietor.
• 1939/40 – The Turf Cafe, 114 Main Anaconda. Mrs. Florence H. White, Proprietor.
• The Turf Buffet, 114 1/2 Main Anaconda. John Nagle and J. B. Walsh, Proprietors.
• 1952 – The Turf Bar, 114 Main Anaconda. H.B. “Jake” Hartsell and E. Bert Hager, (Liquor, beer and wine) Proprietors.
• The Turf Cafe, Agnes Williams.
• 1960 – The Turf Bar, 114 Main Anaconda. Bud Brunner and Robert Pipinich, Proprietors.
• 1970 and '72 – The Turf Bar, 114 Main Anaconda. John Barclay, Proprietor
The historic and colorful location of the Turf had a unique combination of owners and commodities over time. Although most of its history was related to mainly food and liquor, gambling during the horse racing era along with attempts to vary its identity continued through much of the 1900s.
The Turf was not listed in the 1973 Polk Directory, however, as the historical sites, located in the well known Gnose and Dwyer Buildings area, met a disastrous destruction by fire in 1972. It was a major loss to the city of Anaconda’s historic past. Thankfully though, portions of the area have been preserved and renovated and today it is one of the remaining locations that has shown some historic revival with a modern touch.
For those of us who experienced many of those historic businesses, we can only appreciate the rich history and long for a return of some historic renovation in the downtown area. It is possible to see a “Casper” appear. A community needs to promote its rich history and balance its future change(s) with its foundation. Only then, will history live on and have true meaning.
Author’s note: Thank you to Jim and Barb Furshong for encouraging me to continue to write about Anaconda’s rich history. Also, thank you to Hearst Free Library, Lindsey at the Butte Archives, and the Anaconda Leader for their dedication in promoting Anaconda Archives.