Hundreds of items from the estate of Thomas Cruse brought more than $48,000 at an auction in Fort Benton Saturday.”It took a lot of research to get ready for this, but it was well worth the time and effort,” said Shane Ophus, the auctioneer for the event.Cruse, an Irish immigrant, struck it rich mining in Marysville. He sold his shares in the mine and opened a bank in Helena in 1887.Cruse married Margaret Carter, who died a year after the birth of their only daughter, Mamie. Mamie had no children, so Cruse’s estate was passed on to other relatives. The auctioned items belonged to Jerry and Irene Skelton of Judith Basin County.”The grand piano was sold for $8,000 to Ann Quinn, who lives southeast of Big Sandy,” Ophus said. “A violin was sold for $2,000 to a man from Columbia Falls.”A leather-bound edition of “Progressive Men of Montana” sold for $400 and will stay at the museum in Fort Benton, he said.A gold handled cane with the initial “C” sold for $525 and a whiskey jug that says “Joe Matteucci Whole Sale Liquors, Great Falls, Montana” on the side went for $350.”This is probably one of the best auctions with Montana historical items that we’ve done,” said Ophus. “Thomas Cruse put up the bonds to build the State Capitol. How much more historical can you get than that?”

Posted: 09|21|05 at 2:05 pm. Filed under: US News.