Butte, Montana
Encyclopedia : B : BU : BUT : Butte, Montana
Butte is a city that is in Silver Bow County, Montana and is the county seat. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of The City and County of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2000 census, Butte population was 33,892. In its hey-day between the late 19th century and about 1920, it was one of the largest and most notorious copper boomtowns in the American West, home to hundreds of saloons and a famous red-light district. It now claims the dubious distinction of being home to the Berkeley Pit and being part of the largest Superfund site in the United States.
The local newspaper is the Montana Standard.
History
Butte has been a mining town since its creation in the late 19th century, and at first only gold and silver were mined in the area. However, the advent of electricity caused a soaring demand for copper, which was abundant in the area. The small town soon became one of the most prosperous cities in the country, especially during World War I, and was often called "the Richest Hill on Earth". With an estimated population of 115,000 at its peak in 1910, it was the largest city for many hundreds of miles in all directions. It is estimated that a third of all copper produced in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries came from Butte. The city attracted workers from Ireland, Wales, England, Canada, Finland, Austria, Serbia, Italy, China, Syria, Croatia, Montenegro, Mexico, and all areas of the USA. The legacy of the immigrants lives on in the form of the Cornish pasty which was popularized by mine workers who needed something easy to eat in the mines.The influx of miners gave Butte the reputation as a wide-open town where any vice was obtainable. The city's famous saloon and red-light district, called the "Line", was centered on Mercury Street, where the elegant bordellos included the famous Dumas Brothel, regarded as the longest-running house of prostitution in the U.S. In the brick alley behind the brothel was the equally famous Venus Alley, where women plied their trade in small cubicles called "cribs". The red-light district brought miners and other men from all over the region and was openly tolerated by city officials until the 1920s as one of the last such urban districts in the U.S. The Dumas Brothel is now operated as a museum to Butte's rougher days. Close by Wyoming Street is home to the public high school.
At the end of the 19th century, Butte was nicknamed "The Richest Hill on Earth." Copper was in great demand because of new technologies such as electric power that required the use of copper. Three men fought for control of Butte's mining wealth. These three "Copper Kings" were William A. Clark, Marcus Daly, and F. Augustus Heinze. Following their eventual deaths, the Anaconda Copper Mining Company took over their holdings.
In 1899, Standard Oil formed the Amalgamated Copper Mining Company. Not long after, the company changed its name to Anaconda Copper Mining Company. The company engaged in questionable business practices, and at one point they even resorted to gunning down strikers in the Anaconda Road Massacre. In the 1920s, it was the fourth largest company in the world, and had a virtual monopoly over the mines in and around Butte. The prosperity continued up to the 1950s, when the Anaconda company switched its focus from the costly and dangerous practice of underground mining to open pit mining. This marked the beginning of the end for the boom times in Butte.
Thousands of homes were destroyed in the Meaderville suburb to excavate the Berkeley Pit, which opened in 1955. At the time, it was the largest truck-operated open pit copper mine in the United States. Other open pit mines were dug in the area, including the still-operational East Continental Pit. The Berkeley pit grew with time, and in November 1973 the Columbia Gardens, William A. Clark's gift to the people of Butte, was torn down to expanding the Berkeley Pit. In 1977 the ARCO company purchased Anaconda Mining, and only three years later started shutting down mines due to lower metal prices. In 1982, all mining in the Berkeley Pit was suspended. The water pumps at the bottom of the pit were also shut down, which resulted in highly acidic water laced with toxic heavy metals filling up the pit. Only two years later the pit was classified as a Superfund site and an environmental hazard site. Meanwhile, the acidic water continued to rise. It was not until the 1990s that serious efforts to clean up the Berkeley Pit began. The situation gained even more attention after 342 migrating geese picked the pit lake as a resting place, resulting in their deaths. Steps have since been taken to prevent a reoccurence, including but not limited to loudspeakers broadcasting sounds to scare off waterfowl. However, in November 2003 the Horseshoe Bend treatment facility went online and began treating and diverting much of the water that would have flowed into the pit. Ironically, the Berkeley Pit is also one of the city's biggest tourist attractions. It is the largest pit lake in the United States, and is the most costly part of the country's largest Superfund site.
Today, Butte's population is about a third of its peak in 1917. Over a dozen of the headframes still stand over the mine shafts, and the city still contains thousands of old commercial and residential buildings from the boom times. Mining remains a major employer for the city, but at greatly reduced levels from the past, with just one mine, Montana Resources' Continental Pit, in operation and employing about 350 people. As with many industrial cities, tourism and services, especially health care, are rising as primary employers. Many areas of the city, especially the areas near the old mines, show signs of wear from time but a recent influx of investors and an aggressive campaign to remedy blight has led to a renewed interest in restoring property in Uptown Butte's historic district, which was expanded in 2006 to include parts of Anaconda and is now the largest National Historic Landmark District in the United States with nearly 6,000 contributing properties.
A century after the era of intensive mining and smelting, the area around the city remains an environmental issue. Heavy metals such as Lead and arsenic are found in high concentrations in some spots affected by old mining, and for a period of time in the 1990s the tap water was unsafe to drink due to poor filtration and decades-old wooden supply pipes. This problem has been remedied over the past few years in millions of dollars being invested to upgrade water lines and repair infrastructure. Environmental research and cleanup efforts have contributed to the diversification of the local economy, and signs of vitality remain, including a multi-million dollar polysilicon manaufacturing plant locating nearby in the 1990s and the city's recognition and designation in the late 1990s as an All-American City and also as one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Dozen Distinctive Destinations in 2002. In 2004, Butte received another economic boost as well as international recognition as the location for the Hollywood film Don't Come Knocking, directed by renowned director Wim Wenders and released throughout the world in 2006.
Notable Places
- Montana Tech, an engineering and mining technology university
- * The giant letter "M" visible in the top photograph on this page stands for Montana Tech and was constructed in 1910.
- Our Lady of the Rockies, a 90-foot statue of the Virgin Mary on top of the Continental Divide, overlooking Butte
- The Berkeley Pit, a gigantic former open pit copper mine filled with toxic water. There is an observation deck on the shore of the Berkeley Pit lake.
- The World Museum of Mining on the site of the Orphan Girl mine
- * There are many tall mine headframes (gallus frames) still remaining on the hill in Butte, including the Anselmo, the Steward, the Original, the Travona, the Belmont, the Kelly, the Mountain Con, the Lexington, the Bell/Diamond, the Granite Mountain, and the Badger.
- Venus Alley
- Mai Wah Museum
- Rookwood Speakeasy [link]
- Dumas Hotel
- Copper King Mansion, a bed and breakfast/local museum and previously home to William Andrews Clark, one of Butte's three Copper Kings.
- The Arts Chateau, formerly the home of William Andrews Clark's son, Charles, the home was designed in the image of a French Chateau. This ornate mansion now serves as the community arts center and gallery.
Notable People from Butte
Geography
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 33,892 people, 14,135 households, and 8,735 families residing in Butte. The population density was 18.3/km² (47.3/mi²). There were 15,833 housing units at an average density of 8.5/km² (22.1/mi²). The racial makeup of Butte is 95.38% White, 0.16% African American, 1.99% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.59% from other races, and 1.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.74% of the population. Irish-Americans constitute one of the largest ethnic groups in Butte, which is reflected in the St. Patrick's Day parade.
There were 14,135 households out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.97.
In Butte the population is spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males.
The median income for a household in Butte is $30,516, and the median income for a family was $40,186. Males had a median income of $31,409 versus $21,626 for females. The per capita income for Butte is $17,068. About 10.7% of families and 15.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.2% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.
References (incomplete)
- The Battle for Butte: Mining & Politics on the Northern Frontier, 1864-1906 by Michael P. Malone, from Montana Historical Society Press, 1995.
- [Copper Camp: Stories of the world's greatest mining town, Butte, Montana] compiled by Workers of the Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Montana.
- [The War of the Copper Kings: The Builders of Butte and the Wolves of Wall Street] (1935) by C. B. Glasscock
External links
- [The Montana Standard, the local newspaper]
- [ButteAmerica.com]
- [Copper King Mansion]
- [Mai Wah Museum]
- [Butte CVB]
- [Mainstreet Uptown Butte]
- [City and County of Butte-Silver Bow Government Website]
- [Butte, MT Travel Guide: The Online Guide to Butte, Montana]
- [PitWatch]
- [Butte Fanpage with photos and cultural history]
| State of Montana |
|
|---|---|
| Regions | |
| Eastern Montana - Western Montana - Inland Empire - Glacier National Park - Southwestern Montana - Bighorn Country | |
| Largest cities | |
| Anaconda | Belgrade | Billings | Bozeman | Butte | Evergreen | Glendive | Great Falls | Havre | Helena | Kalispell | Laurel | Lewistown | Livingston | Miles City | Missoula | Sidney | Whitefish | |
| Counties | |
| Beaverhead - Big Horn - Blaine - Broadwater - Carbon - Carter - Cascade - Chouteau - Custer - Daniels - Dawson - Deer Lodge - Fallon - Fergus - Flathead - Gallatin - Garfield - Glacier - Golden Valley - Granite - Hill - Jefferson - Judith Basin - Lake - Lewis and Clark - Liberty - Lincoln - Madison - McCone - Meagher - Mineral - Missoula - Musselshell - Park - Petroleum - Phillips - Pondera - Powder River - Powell - Prairie - Ravalli - Richland - Roosevelt - Rosebud - Sanders - Sheridan - Silver Bow - Stillwater - Sweet Grass - Teton - Toole - Treasure - Valley - Wheatland - Wibaux - Yellowstone |
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