Butte, Montana

Butte began as a mining town in the late 19th century in the Silver Bow Creek Valley, a natural bowl sitting high in the Rockies straddling the Continental Divide.  At first only gold and silver were mined in the area, but the advent of electricity caused a soaring demand for copper, which was abundant in the area. The small town was often called "the Richest Hill on Earth". It was the largest city for many hundreds of miles in all directions.  The prosperity continued up to the 1950s, when the declining grade of ore and competition from other mines led the mining companies to switch 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.

Dusting of snow seen from our campground

We took the historic Butte Trolley Tour.  Our first stop was at the Berkeley Pit Viewing Stand which was once the largest truck-operated open pit copper mine in the U.S.  There we viewed the open pit which operated from the early 1950s to 1982.  At a mile and a half across, three miles around, and 1,700 feet deep, it gives a powerful sense of why Butte was long considered the mining capital of the world.

Berkeley Pit

Scattered around the town are 14 head frames, which are like oil rig derricks and were used to raise and lower the mining cars that brought the miners and supplies in to and out of the mine.  They also brought the ore out.  All the deep mines are now closed. There were mainly three groups of people working the mines, Celtic, Irish, and Chinese.  Today there are few Chinese and Celtic people still here, but many Irish. 

As we drove in and around town our guide/driver pointed out many buildings, etc.  There were many empty store fronts, churches, apartment buildings, office buildings (which were originally built as something else!), homes, etc.  

Copper King Mansion

We went by the Copper King Mansion which was owned by the number one investor in the mines.  It is now a bed & breakfast.  

Most closed mine sites now have signs posted by the site stating the name of the mine, the years it operated, the depth, the temperature, and mine deaths.  One mine we stopped at was deepest.  It was one mile deep and was the world’s largest copper producer.

In the distance on top of a high mountain we saw ‘Our Lady of the Rockies,’ a 90-foot statue sitting atop the Continental Divide.  Countless volunteers completed the six year project of erecting this likeness of Mary, Mother of Jesus.  It is 8,510 feet above sea level overlooking Butte.  We saw it as we arrived in the campground yesterday.  It is entirely nondenominational, and was dedicated to women everywhere, especially mothers.  It was lifted in place with a sky crane since it was not constructed on the mountain top.  It weighs 51 tons, is egg shell white and it is lighted and visible at night.