Where do America's Uber rich spend their long weekends and summer vacations? Of course we've all heard about Martha's Vineyard, The Hamptons, and South beach. But what about Hamilton, Montana?
Surprisingly, this small town near the south end of the Bitterroot Valley in southwestern Montana is home to one of the country's most exclusive country clubs with a world class 7,000 yard Tom Fazio championship golf course. A source of pride for the elite members, this masterpiece course consistently appears on any list of the world's premier club courses. With several types of homesites to choose from, owners can live in rustic "log cabins" with prices in the $1.5 million to $2.5 million range, as well as Ranch Homes and Mountain Homes and wilderness-like homesites. In fact, several of the properties have sold in the past for more than $5 million.
The opulent clubhouse and golf course are surrounded by breathtaking views of two spectacular mountain ranges, The Sapphire and Bitterroot ranges. Both mountain ranges are adjacent to pristine wilderness areas. To the west of the Bitterroots is the large SelwayBitterroot Wilderness and to the east of the Sapphire Mountains is the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness Area.
The Bitterroot Valley was first visited by east coast explorers when Lewis and Clark traveled up the valley in 1805 on their historic expedition. Later in 1886, an enterprising Irish immigrant, Marcus Daly, purchased the Chaffin homestead and later built the Daly Mansion.
Marcus Daly made his fortune by artfully transforming the Anaconda silver mine into a copper empire in 1881. He recognized the fortune to be made by building a smelter for the nearby copper mines in Butte, MT.
By 1890 the mines were producing over $17 million worth of copper each year, making The Copper King one of the richest men in America. In addition to his mining interests, Daly expanded into ranching and logging where he built his sawmill in Hamilton. His ranches and farms quickly spread over 22,000 acres where he called his holdings the Bitterroot Stock Farm.
Today the Bitterroot Stock Farm is home to many of the countries wealthiest entrepreneurs, industrialists, investors and celebrities. The modern incarnation of the Stock Farm was founded by Charles Schwab and James Schueler in 1998 to provide a rustic retreat for the East Coast well-heeled.
Here property owners can retreat into similar conditions that Lewis & Clark saw as they made their epic trek northward towards Lolo creek before heading over the punishing Bitterroot Mountains. With meandering creeks and rivers and home to Blue Ribbon trout fishing opportunities, along side one of the most scenic championship club courses in America, The Stock Farm is one of the best kept secrets in the West.
It is here in 2000 that husband and wife team Kasey and Flora Buoy set up Alpine Granite Accents, a fabrication and installation business that has grown into the premier granite company to the homes in The Stock Farm. Kasey is a University of Wyoming graduate who studied marketing and worked for a granite fabricator in High School. He put himself through college working in a monument shop and continued his love affair with natural stone.
He trained with Granite Tops of NewYork for several months in 1999 and his dream became a reality in August of 2000 in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana. Kasey's wife, Flora joined the business full-time in 2002 after completing her MBA at the University of Montana. Kasey operates the fabrication side of the business, while Flora uses her talents in sales and customer service.
The Buoys completed their new 7,200 square foot showroom and fabrication facility in 2005. Equipped with a KOMO Summit CNC, Daytona in-line polisher, and Matrix Gantry saw, along with a staff of seven, they help transform some of western Montana's finest homes into luxurious retreats.
Specializing in custom fabrication, the Buoys assist their clients with projects from the design and selection phase, through final installation. They have carved a niche in their area, which is home to some of the countries elite, and feel that 50% of their work is customer relations and image and 50% is actual stone fabrication. If you read between the lines, it takes a bit of "hand holding" to get many of these projects off the ground. Many of their projects are multimillion dollar homes like those in the Bitterroot Stock Farm and other adjacent areas.
When asked how they were able to get their "foot in the door" at the Stock Farm, the Buoy's answer was "good old fashioned networking." They have worked hard to establish relationships with area builders, architects and designers who also happen to provide services in The Stock Farm.
The Buoys are also very active in the local Bitterroot Building Industry Association. Through this focus on developing relationships, the Buoys have become friends with the club manager who has made valuable introductions to new homeowners and builders brought in from outside the area or from other states. This network building requires a great deal of "face time" with various players in the club and surrounding community.
The Buoys pride themselves on providing high quality fabrication and installation services as well as great customer service, says Flora. "When you are dealing with people who live elsewhere for much of the year, and the shear size and scale of these projects, it takes a great deal of effort and patience to see these projects through several years of design and construction revisions."
In the end, the patience and effort has paid off. Alpine Granite Accents has built much of its success from referrals and word of mouth advertising and continues to be one of the premier fabricators and installation contractors in Western Montana.
Torin Dixon is owner and director of the Montana Stone Gallery, an importer and distributor of stone slabs in Missoula, Montana. For more information, readers may contact him at tdixon@montanastonegallery.com
The Bitterroot Stock Farm is home to many of the country's wealthiest entrepreneurs, industrialists, investors and celebrities. With meandering creeks and rivers and home to Blue Ribbon trout fishing opportunities, along side one of the most scenic championship club courses in America, The Stock Farm is one of the best-kept secrets in the West.
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