Discover the History of Butte Montana
Have you heard of Butte, Montana and want to visit it sometimes? If you have heard of Butte, MT, perhaps you have some questions about the history of it that makes it a tourist attraction place.
Let’s start with some general information about the city. Butte covers about 718 miles (approximately 1,860 km2). The census made in 2010 estimated the population of the Butte by 34,200 making Butte as the 5th largest city of Montana. The city is located in the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana. The Butte city government and the county government agreed in 1977 upon forming the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. Bert Mooney Airport serves the city with airport code BTM.
The city was established in 1864 as a mining camp. This mining camp was located in the Northern Rocky Mountains on the Continental Divide. In the late 19th century, the city was considered Montana’s largest industrial city due to its rapid development and in the early 20th century, it was the largest city between San Francisco and Chicago.
After the First World War, the population of the city declined rapidly when the copper prices went down. The city was the largest copper boomtowns in the whole American West. It was the home of a lot of saloons and there was a famous red-light district there. The employment opportunities were huge due to copper so when copper ran out, these opportunities declined significantly.
There were some significant historical events that took place in Butte. These events were related to its mining industry, active labour unions and socialist politics. The Labour riot in 1914 was the most famous event and let me tell you the story of it. Anaconda Copper Mining Company dominated the town but Butte didn’t consider itself as a company town and it was proud of itself due to its architectural diversity; that is why the riot took place in 1914.
The largest hard rock mining disaster happened there too which is the 1917 Speculator Mine disaster.
Now let’s talk about specific times in the history of Butte Montana.
1. Early History and Immigrants:
• Early History:
We discussed a great part of the early history of the city so let’s complete and say that in 1864, William L. Farlin staked the Asteroid Mine (which will be later known as Travona). This step was what attracted miners seeking gold and silver from all over the world.
• Immigrants:
They were mainly miners of course and they came mainly from United Kingdom, Ireland, Wales, Lebanon, Canada, Finland, Austria, Italy, China, Montenegro and Mexico.
There were some ethnic groups there like the Irish of Dublin Gulch, the Eastern Europeans of the McQueen Addition, and the Italians of Meaderville. These groups were mainly formed of young men and wanted to protect their territory and socialize into the life of the adults.
The huge influx of Chinese people led to Chinatown in Butte but then the Chinese suffered from racism and Arbitrary laws.
2. The Industrial Expansion:
New technologies such as electric power that appeared in the late 19th century created a great demand of copper. The competition was tough between William A. Clark, Marcus Daly and F. Augustus Heinze.
Clark established the Copper King mansion in Butte in 1888; in 1899 Clark bought he Columbia Gardens that was a small park and then became a full amusement park. The park contained a pavilion, rollercoaster and a lake for swimming and canoeing and Clark said that the intention from building this amusement park is to provide the kids and the families of Butte with a place where they can get away from the polluted air of mining.
The mining industry in 1888 alone generated an income estimated by 600,000,000 dollars nowadays (It was about 23 million dollars in 1888).
3. Anaconda Copper and Speculator Mine disaster:
• Anaconda Copper:
Everything started on June 13, 1914 on the Miner’s Union Day when some union members assaulted some union officers. After that, they attacked the WFM local’s headquarters. They said that they were looking for any evidences of the corruption of union officials. The mayor Frank Curran tried to calm the crowd down but they threw him from the second-story window. They took about 1,600 dollars from the safe, destroyed the records of the WFM local and dynamited the home of P.K Sullivan which was a local union official.
• Speculator Mine disaster:
That is the most deadly event ever in the American underground mining history. On June 8, 1917, an electric cable was lowered into the Granite Mountain mine, the flame of a foreman’s lamp ignited the oil-soaked cloth insulation on the cable and in no time, the place was destroyed.
4. Open-pit mining era:
Through the 1920s and the 1930s in Butte, the conflict between miner’s unions and companies continued though strikes and protests. One protest lasted for 10 months and the protestors tried to blow up the Hibernian Hall on Main Street by dynamiting it. In order to restore civility, the American National Guard occupied the city 6 timed between 1914 and 1920.
The industrial expansion continued when the first mail plane arrived in 1928. In 1937, the city’s bus system replaced the city’s streetcar system. The competition was over in 1950s and the Anaconda Company switched its focus from the dangerous underground mining to the open pit mining.
5. Since the 1950s:
Five major developments happened from 1950 which are:
• The Anaconda's decision to start open-pit mining in the mid-1950s
• A series of fires in Butte's business district in the 1970s.
• A debate over whether to relocate the city's historic business district.
• A new civic leadership.
• The end of copper mining in 1983.
After the mining era, the city looked for other ways to create employment opportunities and clean up the city’s environment.
This is the history of one of the most famous American cities especially in the mining history. The city witnessed a lot of events. When you visit it, make sure to discover everything that you have just read.
Let’s start with some general information about the city. Butte covers about 718 miles (approximately 1,860 km2). The census made in 2010 estimated the population of the Butte by 34,200 making Butte as the 5th largest city of Montana. The city is located in the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana. The Butte city government and the county government agreed in 1977 upon forming the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. Bert Mooney Airport serves the city with airport code BTM.
The city was established in 1864 as a mining camp. This mining camp was located in the Northern Rocky Mountains on the Continental Divide. In the late 19th century, the city was considered Montana’s largest industrial city due to its rapid development and in the early 20th century, it was the largest city between San Francisco and Chicago.
After the First World War, the population of the city declined rapidly when the copper prices went down. The city was the largest copper boomtowns in the whole American West. It was the home of a lot of saloons and there was a famous red-light district there. The employment opportunities were huge due to copper so when copper ran out, these opportunities declined significantly.
There were some significant historical events that took place in Butte. These events were related to its mining industry, active labour unions and socialist politics. The Labour riot in 1914 was the most famous event and let me tell you the story of it. Anaconda Copper Mining Company dominated the town but Butte didn’t consider itself as a company town and it was proud of itself due to its architectural diversity; that is why the riot took place in 1914.
The largest hard rock mining disaster happened there too which is the 1917 Speculator Mine disaster.
Now let’s talk about specific times in the history of Butte Montana.
1. Early History and Immigrants:
• Early History:
We discussed a great part of the early history of the city so let’s complete and say that in 1864, William L. Farlin staked the Asteroid Mine (which will be later known as Travona). This step was what attracted miners seeking gold and silver from all over the world.
• Immigrants:
They were mainly miners of course and they came mainly from United Kingdom, Ireland, Wales, Lebanon, Canada, Finland, Austria, Italy, China, Montenegro and Mexico.
There were some ethnic groups there like the Irish of Dublin Gulch, the Eastern Europeans of the McQueen Addition, and the Italians of Meaderville. These groups were mainly formed of young men and wanted to protect their territory and socialize into the life of the adults.
The huge influx of Chinese people led to Chinatown in Butte but then the Chinese suffered from racism and Arbitrary laws.
2. The Industrial Expansion:
New technologies such as electric power that appeared in the late 19th century created a great demand of copper. The competition was tough between William A. Clark, Marcus Daly and F. Augustus Heinze.
Clark established the Copper King mansion in Butte in 1888; in 1899 Clark bought he Columbia Gardens that was a small park and then became a full amusement park. The park contained a pavilion, rollercoaster and a lake for swimming and canoeing and Clark said that the intention from building this amusement park is to provide the kids and the families of Butte with a place where they can get away from the polluted air of mining.
The mining industry in 1888 alone generated an income estimated by 600,000,000 dollars nowadays (It was about 23 million dollars in 1888).
3. Anaconda Copper and Speculator Mine disaster:
• Anaconda Copper:
Everything started on June 13, 1914 on the Miner’s Union Day when some union members assaulted some union officers. After that, they attacked the WFM local’s headquarters. They said that they were looking for any evidences of the corruption of union officials. The mayor Frank Curran tried to calm the crowd down but they threw him from the second-story window. They took about 1,600 dollars from the safe, destroyed the records of the WFM local and dynamited the home of P.K Sullivan which was a local union official.
• Speculator Mine disaster:
That is the most deadly event ever in the American underground mining history. On June 8, 1917, an electric cable was lowered into the Granite Mountain mine, the flame of a foreman’s lamp ignited the oil-soaked cloth insulation on the cable and in no time, the place was destroyed.
4. Open-pit mining era:
Through the 1920s and the 1930s in Butte, the conflict between miner’s unions and companies continued though strikes and protests. One protest lasted for 10 months and the protestors tried to blow up the Hibernian Hall on Main Street by dynamiting it. In order to restore civility, the American National Guard occupied the city 6 timed between 1914 and 1920.
The industrial expansion continued when the first mail plane arrived in 1928. In 1937, the city’s bus system replaced the city’s streetcar system. The competition was over in 1950s and the Anaconda Company switched its focus from the dangerous underground mining to the open pit mining.
5. Since the 1950s:
Five major developments happened from 1950 which are:
• The Anaconda's decision to start open-pit mining in the mid-1950s
• A series of fires in Butte's business district in the 1970s.
• A debate over whether to relocate the city's historic business district.
• A new civic leadership.
• The end of copper mining in 1983.
After the mining era, the city looked for other ways to create employment opportunities and clean up the city’s environment.
This is the history of one of the most famous American cities especially in the mining history. The city witnessed a lot of events. When you visit it, make sure to discover everything that you have just read.