The First Gas Lighting in Drummond

 

 Mrs. Mary Morse was very active in the Granite County Hotel business and by 1885 had established a first class hotel in Drummond. The Philipsburg Mail carried the following article on December 2, 1898. “Mrs. T.H. Morse, proprietress of the Windsor Hotel in Drummond, has made a noteable improvement in that institution in the matter of lighting it up. Of course, situated as the hotel is—in a small town—electric lighting is out of the question, so that enterprising lady determined to put in a gas plant of her own, having made up her mind some time ago to dispense with the use of coal oil. Mrs. Morse claimed to the Mail representative that for years she had been in fear that someone would knock over one of the lamps and burn her well known hostelry out, but until recently she saw no way out of the difficulty. However, her opportunity came at last, and the result is that she now has in operation a first class acetylene gas plant, connected with pipes to every room in the house. In a back room on the ground floor she has her gas generator and other necessary apparatus for the manufacture and distribution of the gas, and people who are guests of the hotel can turn on the gas at any hour, apply a match, and have as fine a light as anyone could wish to see. Of course, the first expenditure has been rather heavy, the cost of installing the plant being something like $250, but now that it is in, the regular cost will be reasonable, and the satisfaction of having a good steady , brilliant and safe light is indeed great. That lady says there is no danger whatever in making the gas as long as no light is used in the room where the generator is placed. 

Her young son (Herb) found out to his sorrow that a light in the room is something out of place. He recently raised the metal cover and held a light over the receptacle to see how the gas was getting along. Shortly afterward he was picked up on the other side of the room, where he was thrown by the force of the exploding gas. No injury was sustained, however, but the moral has been studiously observed and no attempts to renew the gas supply at any time other than in day light—a lesson which has been learned, happily, without any serious injury. 

Mrs. Morse is certainly entitled to credit for her enterprise and pluck and the Mail hopes she will find her investment a profitable one.” 

 Mary was a shrewd business lady as she also had taken over the Sparcey (Hotel) restaurant in the ‘Burg in January 1889 and ran it as the Metropolitan for that entire year while operating the Windsor. She advertised weekly in the Helena Independent for the Metropolitan Hotel the entire year of 1889, obviously believing persons traveling over the Divide would be interested in her accommodations while transacting mining deals during the silver boom.