I received E-Mail that said:
I am a castle fan and was delighted to find your web site. I started
checking out some of the state listings and did a little search engine
work. The following links may be referring to your unknown Montana
Castle.
http://www.dalymansion.org/tammany.html
This does not seem to be the unknown castle I have listed in Troy. I'm not sure if I will leave this on the website, I would like to find a much better photo. Does anyone know anything about this?
Later, I received E-Mail that said:
I'm not familiar with the Troy castle; I will look into it next time I'm in that area. Your picture looks like the elaborate stall built on the Marcus Daly "Stock Farm" on the edge of Hamilton, MT. Tammany was Daly's horse that won the Kentucky Derby and eventually retired to this posh box stall. Fresh flowers were delivered to the barn daily. An image of the horse was also inlaid in the wood floor on the bar at the Montana Hotel in Anaconda, MT and patrons always stepped over or around, but never on the image. Depending upon where you draw the line between castle and mansion, there are other structures in Montana worth a look. The "Castle", a turn of the century home in Billings would be one.W. A. Clark's son, Charlie built a castle in Butte, MT complete with moat & drawbridge. It is currently used as a gallery and called the "Chateau."
Later, I received E-Mail that said:
I live here in Hamilton Montana and your Tammany Castle is in fact not a castle. It is a Stable a very special stable built by Daly about 100 yrs. ago for his prized horses. Daly was the Daly of copper mining fame and the builder of Hamilton over a100 yrs. ago. It is located in the Bitteroot Valley and a very beautiful the stable was sold awhile back and from I've been told is being renovated as a private home. I feel badly about that it would of served better as part of the Daly Mansion tour. The grounds are beautiful there in fact my granddaughter was married there in 1996. I hope this straightens out any question concerning Tammany Stables for it was in fact Very Elegant in its day for the prized Arabian Tammany.
Later, I received E-Mail that said:
I liked the article on your site about Tammany Castle. My great-grandfather, Patrick J. O'Daly (1864 - 1918) worked as the private secretary to Marcus Daly the "Copper King" who was extremely interested in horse breeding and racing. He had elaborate stables and a racetrack built to indulge his hobby. Much information about his life and his love of horses are contained in two books which I have at home: "The History of the O'Dalys" by Edmund Emmet O'Daly and "Marcus Daly - the Copper King" by my great-grand uncle Hugh Daly (1867 - c.1954).
When my great-grandfather left the US about 1893, he won a great deal of money betting on a race between "Tammany" and a horse called "Lamplighter". Daly loved that horse - he even had a master craftsman carve the horse's head into the bar floor of a hotel he owned. No-one walked on the carving! [Even when drunk?!]
Later, I received E-Mail that said:
I saw you have the Tammany Stables listed. I live in Stevensville which is about a half hour's drive from Hamilton. You have the history already, but the part of the story that I particularly like was why Daly built the Tammany Stables.
Daly bred horses in the Bitterroot Valley because he thought the cooler winters would breed a tougher horse. Anyway, there was some important race to be won that, if won, would prove his theory to be correct. Daly promised that if Tammany, his best racing horse, won that race that he would build a castle for it. Well, old Tammany made him proud. And so, Daly built that castle for his horse. It's up on a bench with beautiful views of both the Bitterroot and Sapphire mountain ranges and the pastoral landscape of the bench. And, oddly enough, I noticed this summer that it's up for sale. The real estate ad recommended turning it into a restaurant. I like that idea. Then, all the residents would be able to come and enjoy this beautiful place.
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