Historic alliance: Stately ceremony marks Daly Mansion, UM partnership

They made it official Tuesday with a gala ceremony that might have impressed even Marcus Daly himself.

By BUDDY SMITH Staff Reporter

With a crowd looking on, representatives from the state Historical Society and the University of Montana inked a deal that formalizes an alliance between the keepers of the former Hamilton-area estate of copper baron Marcus Daly and the university.

That agreement transfers administrative oversight of the mansion and its 50-some tree-shaded acres from the Montana Historical Society to UM.

Those who spoke on the porch outside the mansion in a signing ceremony that included Gov. Judy Martz noted the significance of the occasion. The Daly Preservation Trust board, which has and will continue to manage the day-to-day operations of the historic home, approached the university with the idea about a year ago, said UM President George Dennison. It made sense, he said.

"Because there is so much synergy between the preservation trust here and what we are trying to accomplish at the university," Dennison said.

Don’t expect much operational change, he said, but the merger has benefits for all sides, those involved say, including the ability for the Daly Mansion to tap into UM expertise and programs for help ranging from historical research to fund-raising.

"It does provide a mechanism by which the expertise we have at the UM can be brought to bear in whatever ways it makes sense," Dennison said.

Among other things, UM officials see bountiful opportunities to expand educational and outreach possibilities, while local preservation trust members have cited potential educational and cultural opportunities, and ways to help advance the vision for the mansion, including a key goal of restoration.

They’ve also praised the idea of a partner that’s closer to Hamilton. The Historical Society is headquartered in Helena.

In addition to officials like Martz, Dennison and members of the state Historical Society and Board of Regents, dozens of people from the community turned out for the public festivities. They included an open-house and self-guided tours of the mansion, carriage rides, antique cars and tasty offerings of gingersnaps and lemonade to complement the socializing going outside on the shaded porches.

A bagpipe player sounded a tune in the distance, while rodeo royalty rode horseback on the shaded lawn.

Gov. Martz, who toured the mansion, called it "the grandest historic building in the state of Montana."

She spoke to a crowd seated in lawn chairs in front of the Grecian columns, taking advantage of the cool shadow cast by the mansion on a hot afternoon. They came to celebrate an exciting and new beginning, she reminded them, saying the arrangement would help sustain the needs of the mansion for years.

"The Daly mansion is emblematic of our wonderful state, a proud and magnificent tradition whose better days are yet to come," the governor said.

Historically, the mansion often hosted important social gatherings and guests, and Marcus Daly and other family members might have been proud of the celebration Tuesday in and around the Georgian Revival-style house.

In the mid-1980s, when the state took ownership of the mansion, a preservation trust was established to run the daily operations, finances and other matters.

In that agreement, another non-profit entity was to oversee the board, said Kate Olney, events coordinator for the Daly Mansion. That entity was the state Historical Society. Transferring the oversight duties now gives the UM that responsibility. And while the daily operations remain the same, the mansion gets access to the kind of resources a university can provide, Olney said.

Sen. Rick Laible of Victor, and other speakers, praised the work of mansion volunteers and staff, calling them unsung heroes for helping to preserve history, as well as the members of the Daly Preservation Trust board and the Historical Society.

The UM alliance also made sense to the state Historical Society, said director Arnie Olsen. He said the agency provided the funding it could, including for restoration of the porch, but also realized another partner was needed. For one, he noted the merger will add more uses of the mansion that will benefit the community culturally, socially and perhaps economically.

"The history of historic buildings is if you don’t use them, they tend to disappear," Olsen said.

Matt Guzik, president of the Daly Mansion Preservation Trust board of directors, called the partnership "one of the biggest things that has hit the mansion in a few years."

He presented plaques to officials with symbolic keys to the future.

"We look at it as the doors are being reopened for future generations and new exciting things are coming," Guzik said.

Speaking after the celebration, Guzik said those doors could open to new programs and other opportunities, some of which could allow more uses at the mansion, providing more exposure. For instance, the mansion has already worked with the university on Web site design and ways to work with the school’s forestry department on a program to preserve the stately trees at the mansion, he said.

Among other things, the university also has a fine art collection that Dennison has indicated could potentially be housed at the mansion some day, Guzik noted.

Dennison said the university has as part of its mission a desire to protect, preserve and extend Montana history. Being involved with the mansion is something the university would want to do even without the collaboration, he said, but this makes it easier.

For example, he said the mansion could give art and history students chances for more hands-on learning – much like students study at Virginia City during the summer, he said, – and to get involved with such efforts as historical documentation. Dennison also reiterated such possibilities as off-campus courses and lectures where appropriate. The university also has experience in fund-raising, a challenge Dennison is ready to share, he said.

The Daly mansion could also figure into the university’s status as a site for traveling exhibits, perhaps adding another venue for art and history.

"Think about the Lewis and Clark exhibits that are beginning to move along the trail," he said, while a crowd continued to mingle after the gathering.

Reporter Buddy Smith can be reached at 363-3300 or [email protected].

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