Couch, Thomas, 1843-1902

Thomas Couch was born in Cornwall, England on December 29, 1843. He left England for the copper district of Lake Superior in the U.S. when he was 20 years old and soon thereafter continued onto California where he worked in the gold fields. He became prominent in mining circles of California, Utah and Nevada before moving to Butte, Montana, in 1883. In 1896 he resigned from the Boston and Montana Mining Co, and devoted more of his time to his ranching activities near Great Falls, Montana. Couch also owned the Brelan Horse Company, which raised stallions. He had bought the Robert Vaughn properties in 1898 and raised cattle and horses until his death on February 5, 1902. His sons carried on his agricultural enterprises, and several subdivisions and corporations were established to carry on the businesses. Those companies were Couch Brothers Company, Couch Investment Company, Couch & Vivian, Great Falls Automatic Telephone Company, Montana Engineering Company, Montana Independent Telephone Company, Montana Telephone Company, and Stanton & Couch.

From the guide to the Thomas Couch Family Papers, 1889-1929, (Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library Archives and Special Collections)

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