The Copper King Mansion Bed and Breakfast in Butte, Montana, is a palace fit for a king. Acclaimed as one of the 20 great inns of the Rockies by National Geographic Traveler, the Copper King Mansion of William Clark is a splendid example of Victorian elegance and architecture.

The Copper King Mansion was the extravagant home of Montana senator William Andrews Clark, Butte’s first, last, and richest copper baron. According to the Butte Chamber of Commerce, at the time when Clark chose to build his Butte home, “the cost of the Copper King Mansion, estimated at about a half-million dollars, represented a half day’s income for him. By 1900, Clark had amassed a personal fortune estimated at $50,000,000 and was considered one of the wealthiest men in the world.”

Construction began in 1884, and the mansion was completed in 1888. It took four years for nineteenth-century European craftsmen to put up the home, which showcases white oak woodwork, nine different varieties of lumber, hand-carved stairways, hand-painted fresco ceilings by local artisans, many original chandeliers, and mosaic floors. The price of imported materials alone cost about $200,000, and the total expense swelled to well over a quarter million dollars by the time it was finished.

Loaded with original artifacts and mementoes, the Copper King Mansion radiates elegance and opulence. The master bedroom suite features sycamore woodwork and burled walnut bed and matching dresser. The sitting room is marked by a bird’s-eye maple fireplace; the master bedroom is adorned with stained glass windows and extensive collections of beaded purses and antique combs.

The family suite of Butte’s Copper King Mansion displays a pair of full-sized African mahogany sleigh beds, a handsome fresco painted ceiling, and a hand-carved cherry wood fireplace heightened by a diamond backed mirror and bay windows. With its oak woodwork and popular 1920s Art Deco décor, Andrea’s Room is sumptuously furnished. Huguette’s room features a double bed and matching set of Carpathian burled walnut furniture. The mansion’s thirty-four rooms were completely restored in the 1960s.

The Copper King Mansion is open for tours daily, May 1 through September 30, from 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It operates year-round as a bed and breakfast, with four rooms ranging from $60 to $95 nightly. The mansion is located at 219 West Granite.