Gold dust was the common currency when George Higgins built this sturdy "fire-proof stone" business block circa 1866. F.R. Merk leased the new building for his mercantile, advertising fancy and staple groceries, liquors, Queensware, woodenware hou…
From 1865 to 1875 when Virginia City was Montana's territorial capital, the Territorial Legislature met on the second floor of this stone building. Constructed in 1864, it is Montana's oldest standing capitol building. The second floor also housed…