WALKERVILLE — Walkerville’s historic St. Lawrence Church is going to be featured in Butte’s "Dust to Dazzle" tour, and what makes this year’s event so unique is that every historic building is in the town of Walkerville north of Butte.
“This year’s unique because it’s Walkerville. It’s just the best because Walkerville is its own entity and I just think that’s what makes it so great this year,” said Dust to Dazzle coordinator Kelly Rosee.
The church, built in 1897, is one of seven properties to be shown on the tour. It was closed down and nearly torn down in the 1980s. Walkerville Mayor John Ries grew up in this church and was part of the committee that saved it from the wrecking ball.
“It’s great that it was able to be saved and that other people can see some of the magnificent paintings and murals that are within the church,” said Ries.
For nearly two decades Dust to Dazzle has been giving tours of properties that are in the process of being restored or fully restored to show the importance of saving history.
“People who have a connection to Butte and the past, maybe even to this church, it’s going to feel special to them, but people who have never been here, there’s a sense of wonderment as soon as you walk in,” said Rosee.
Another group is restoring a former mercantile store and Methodist church from the 1880s. They hope to turn it back into a store once restoration is completed.
“I think that walking around Walkerville, it’s kind of like this last bastion of mining landscape in Uptown Butte. You can kind of imagine that this is what all the neighborhoods that aren’t here were maybe like, you know, Dublin Gulch or McQueen or East Butte were kind of like Walkerville,” said Daniel Hogan who is restoring 1607 N. Main St.
The event is Saturday, June 24 from noon to 5 p.m. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at any of Butte’s bookstores.
