Page 37 - Jan 2021 MFM.indd

Montana Masonic Museum
New Acquisitions

Th e Montana Masonic Foundation, Inc., as the owner of the Montana Masonic Museum, does from time to
time add signifi cant acquisitions to the collection. Recently, several pieces were acquired and are in the process
of being added to the display.

Henry Deringer Percussion Pistol, NVSN, .41,
1 3/4-inch barrel. Circa 1850's.

Th e item was the personal pistol of Samuel Hauser;
he brought it with him when he arrived in Bannack,
Montana, in 1862.

Samuel T. Hauser was born In 1884, he served as a delegate to the Democratic
10 January 1833 at Falmouth, National Convention. He was a candidate for the 1893
Kentucky. He moved to Missouri to Senate seat until he withdrew.
work as a Civil Engineer working
for various Railroad companies. President Grover Cleveland appointed Samuel Hauser as
He traveled west, arriving at Fort the Seventh Territorial Governor of the Montana Territory,
Benton in June 1862; he later settled serving 14 July 1885 to 7 February 1887. He was the fi rst
at Bannack. territorial resident to be appointed Governor.

Along with N. P. Langford In 1887, he was in a partnership with the Northern
organized the S. T. Hauser and Pacifi c Railroad in building the spur lines for the Helena-
Company Bank in Virginia City in Boulder Valley & Butte Railway. And the spur lines for the
1865. In 1866, he organized the First National Bank of Helena & Jeff erson County, the Drummond & Philipsburg,
Helena, followed by opening Banks in Butte, Fort Benton, the Helena & Red Mountain, the Helena Northern, and
and Missoula. In 1893, a silver panic caused his bank to the Missoula & Bitterroot Valley.
fail. Th e following year his bank in Helena merged with
Helena National Bank and reopened, with Hauser keeping Hauser invested in several hydropower developments on
his offi ce as president. the Missouri River. In 1896, he formed the Helena Water
and Electric Company and built the Canyon Ferry Dam.
In 1866, Hauser formed St. Louis & Montana Mining In 1900, he formed the Missouri River Power Company. In
Company and built Montana Territory's fi rst smelter at 1905 the company selling power to Amalgamated Copper
Argenta, Montana. Company in Butte. During 1905 - 1906 he built several
dams, which failed. In 1907, he completed the Hauser Dam
He was a member of the 1870 Washburn-Langford- on the Missouri River near Helena; at the time, it was one
Doane Expedition into what is now Yellowstone National of only three steel dams in the world. It operated for just
Park. Along with others, his eff orts helped lead to the over a year before it burst on 14 April 1908. By 1910 he had
preservation of the Yellowstone area and Yellowstone rebuilt Hauser Dam near Helena.
National Park's creation.
Brother Hauser was a member of Helena Lodge No. 3,
Hauser became involved in various mining companies. Helena, Montana.
One of his largest mining businesses was the Helena &
Livingston Smelting and Reduction Company. He joined Brother Hauser died in Helena, Montana, on 10
a partnership with A. J. Davis and Granville Stuart in November 1914 and was buried in the Forestvale
the DHS Cattle Company became the Pioneer Cattle Cemetery, Helena, Montana.
Company in 1883.
Montana Freemason Page 37 Jan/Feb 2021 Volume 97 No. 1