Driver’s Saloon and Café, Listed!

Driver’s Saloon and Café represents a significant residential and commercial property associated with the history of Black Montana. Lee Pleasant Driver, a Fisk graduate and 25th Infantry veteran, operated a saloon and eatery from the street-level of the Starr Block—an 1889 brick two-story commercial building prominently situated near the intersection of Main St. and Commercial Avenue. He and his wife Pearl Payne Driver, and their toddler son Lee Jr. from around 1909 to 1915, lived above the café.

Lee Pleasant Driver was Anaconda’s most prominent Black businessman, operating the most visible and substantial Black-owned business in town serving both the African American community and other customers. The café stood as a focal point, the physical and institutional core of the local Black community, an exemplar of Black achievement, and an autonomous space managed by, and supportive of, African American residents.

DEER LODGE COUNTY, Driver’s Saloon and Café, 104-106 East Commercial Ave., Anaconda, RS100008428, LISTED, 2/7/2023 (Black Montana's Heritage Places MPS)