THE RICHARD DUNN FAMILY, Our Yesterdays, Jefferson Co., MT USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Files may be printed or copied for personal use only. "List transcribed and organized by Ellen Rae Thiel, thieljl@aol.com All rights reserved." Copyright, 1998 by Ellen Rae Thiel. This file may be freely copied for non-profit purposes. All other rights reserved. THE RICHARD DUNN FAMILY Exciting news drifted into Denver, Colorado! Alder Gulch, Montana was filled with gold, there for the taking! So in 1863, a nine wagon caravan of Irish-born Denver residents left for the gold rush in Alder Gulch; but on arrival there, these weary folks found that for them there was no gold. After a short sojourn in Alder Gulch, in 1864 this same nine family wagon caravan decided to try elsewhere for their fortunes and a new way of life. When their travels brought them in the area of a beautiful valley, known as Boulder Valley, nestled among the Land of the Shining Mountains, all of the group agreed that they had found their "Pots of Gold"and the place to start their new lives. Richard Dunn and his wife, Bridget, were of this group. Each family chose a place to settle, the Dunns locating in the area across the river from which later was the Con Smith ranch. All this area is now owned by the Carey Ranches. The Richard Dunns were among the most successful of the early settlers for Mr. Dunn, besides being a shrewd businessman, also had a great knack for ranching and raising cattle. So it wasn't long until he built a beautiful home for his wife and two children, George and Mary Ellen. They lived in this home until their deaths. Neither of the children married. The house was built on a knoll looking into the mountains and looking down on the winding Boulder River. The show place of the house was "The Parlor". In this room, carpeted in a floral pattern on a rosy background, was arranged handsome Victorian furniture, sofa and chairs of hard carved walnut frames with black horsehair upholstering. Our children referred to the furniture as "The Prickly Pear furniture" due to the prickliness experienced when it was used for sitting! The outstanding feature of the room was the square mahogany piano. This piano was one of those purchased by valley families for their children. The Dunns, the Bradys, and the Ryans ordered these square pianos from New York City. The pianos were shipped around "the Horn" to our nearest sea coast town. Then they were brought overland by wagon to Boulder Valley. The Paul T. Smith's of Boulder Valley now have the Dunn piano. Mrs. Wallace Rothrock of Spokane, Washington, has her mother's, Sara Ann Brady Twohy's piano. The Ryan piano was destroyed in a house fire in the valley. The Dunns also had one of the first cars in the valley, a "Reo". They were as generous sharing it with their neighbors as they always were in sharing their other worldly treasures. When supplies were needed, before "The Car Days", Richard Dunn would hitch up his horses to the rig and go to Boulder to replenish his needs. The day Dick Dunn would start back down the valley he would tie the horses' reins around the wagon dashboard, leaving it to the horses to get him home while he caught up on his sleep after his sojourn of "Going to Town." Often, however, the horses would detour at the Con Smith ranch to graze. So Richard Dunn would wake up to be greeted by his neighbors. Especially delighted always to see Mr. Dunn was the Smith's little daughter, Maria. She was a favorite of his, and on the day he planned on coming home from town he always brought her a big box of candy. On one occasion having changed his homeward bound plans many times, five to be exact, Richard Dunn arrived at the Con Smith ranch with five big boxes of candy for little Maria. If she hadn't had such a large family with whom to share her goodies no doubt Maria would have been the first "Candy Casualty" of Boulder Valley. Mary Dunn was sent to high school in Helena, Montana, to St. Vincent's Academy, where she excelled in art and music. Mary Ellen Dunn, Sara Ann Brady of Boulder Valley, and Kate Coleman of Deer Lodge were the first graduates of St. Vincent's Academy, a school for girls, in existence from 1869 until it was destroyed by the 1935 earthquake. When after the death of her parents and brother Mary found her worldly fortune drastically reduced, she still continued to live on the ranch, until her death in 1947, accepting her new way of existence cheerfully and enjoying the many other worthwhile things in life, especially her friends who now shared with her their good fortune as she had once shared hers with them. The Dunn house was dismantled in the 1960 period. Now the Richard Dunn Family, Bridget Dunn - Born 1832 - Died 1903 Richard Dunn - Born 1832 - Died 1915 George Dunn - Born 1864 - Died 1937 Mary Ellen Dunn - Born 1866 - Died 1947 rest together in the Boulder Valley Cemetery. To them and all the other pioneers, our gratitude for having settled and given to us this valley, Boulder Valley, to continue as our way of life to cherish and enjoy. SUBMITTED BY MR. AND MRS. PAUL T. SMITH