Hylton Building

This two-story brick building was constructed to house the medical offices of Dr. Joseph Hylton, an early and highly-esteemed Douglas physician who had come to Wyoming in 1906, shortly after graduating (at the age of 23) from Chicago’s Bennett Medical College. The building still exhibits its original brick façade— albeit from beneath a few layers of paint—and largely retains its early 20th century character. The bricks, originally red, were manufactured locally, at the Douglas Pressed Brick Plant—a facility that supplied masonry materials for numerous early Douglas commercial and residential structures, and served the area for several decades after its founding around the turn of the 19th century. It was sited on (and quarried its raw materials from) the hilly ridge that defines the east edge of the city. The professional services of Dr. Hylton were in high demand throughout the first half of the century, and he was widely revered for his medical skills. Early on, Hylton’s patients periodically included employees of the local madam, one Maggie Wheelock; in these cases—although he was not a practicing psychiatrist—Hylton would sometimes prescribe nothing more than shots of medicinal whiskey. The doctor also had an avid interest in horse-racing, and is famous for having acquired history’s first Triple Crown winner—Sir Barton, who lived out his retirement on the Hylton ranch. (Sir Barton’s remains now reside in Douglas’s Washington Park, beneath a life-sized replica of the great horse.) The Hylton building continued in service as a medical clinic for many years after the founding doctor’s death, but was later adapted to other uses.