Custer County
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The town of Mackay has its
share of historical landmarks, but perhaps its most well known in the stately
Victorian style home located at the corner of Spruce and Elm Streets. This
beautiful old home, known as the "Stacy House" until this last decade, was built
the turn of the century in 1902-1903 shortly after the town came into being with
the coming of the railroad in 1901. The house was constructed at the direction
of Wayne Darlington, founder of Mackay and then superintendent of the White Knob
Mining Co., which owned the mining activity and smelter on the "Hill".
Looking for investors to expand mining activities of the company, Mr. Darlington
had the home built as a place to lodge and entertain wealthy potential
investors, usually from back east or San Francisco. It also catered to
influential mining engineers and bigshots visiting on company business. No
elegance in construction was spared in his effort to impress these important
guests who would spend a few days looking over the mining interests of the
company.
Only the finest of building materials were used in the
construction of this showplace. The house features two full stories, plus and
attic room, 11 rooms, 2 baths, 5 fireplaces, and a full basement. The very
latest in window styling, wood moldings, unique fireplaces tiling and mantels,
Oak staircase, and solid wood doors with transoms, were highlighted throughout.
The exterior wood clapboard siding, large wrap-around porch, special galvanized
metal "fish scale", shingles and extraordinary masonry work of the fireplace
chimneys made it stand out from even the nicest of homes of the period. The
ground to roof chimney on its west side even features a window in the chimney's
center. Never intending the structure as a permanent home, only a caretaker and
maid occupied full; time quarters there. That is until 1905.
In 1905,
with Wayne Darlington's mining venture on the "Hill" in serious financial
trouble, he sold the house and furnishings to John H. Greene an investor and
employee of the mining co. as well as a very prominent store owner and business
man of the area. The Greene family resided in the house until 1920, at which
time Mr. Greene sold his Lost River Commercial store, and the house, to F.A. and
Maude Stacy.
The Stacy family would call the place home for many years
including the though "depression" years. The raised a large family there and
would claim ownership until, after the death of Maude Stacy in 1952 and a number
of renters, The "Stacy House" was sold to Bill and Lula Shaffer of Mackay in
1962. Time had taken its toll and the palatial structure had fallen into
disrepair and it is understood that the Shaffers were very instrumental in
making many repairs and performing a lot of maintenance on the place.
In
1982 after almost twenty years in the big house, the Shaffers sold the home to
present owner, Lowell and Carol Frauenholz. They, like the Shaffers, have done
what they could to maintain the elegance and unique history of the place; to
furnishing their formal living room with Victorian style furniture, to restoring
fireplaces, to the costs of replacing to original detail the chimneys that were
destroyed in the earthquake of 1983. In 1990, to commemorate Idaho's centennial,
they renamed the house" The Mackay Mansion" and opened the house to tours by the
public. Most of the original lighting fixtures still adorn the rooms, some
original wallpaper is still intact, and many of the original curtains and
draperies and trappings are still with the house. And of course the original
wood work, moldings and fireplaces are still there.
The future of the
"Mackay Mansion" is unknown, but its storied past lives on. The Frauenholz's
have expressed, they feel that they are merely taking care of the place for
posterity and that it really doesn't belong to them.
Contributed by Earl A. Lockie, President of the South Custer County Historical Society
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This page was last updated 12/07/2023