Butte
She’s a “Butte”
Nestled in the state’s southwest corner, Butte, like many Montanan towns, began as a mining settlement. While it was first known for large possessions of gold and silver, with the invention of electricity came a demand for another mineral spread throughout the Butte region: copper. Like the current capital of Helena, Butte’s natural resources quickly made the area one of the richest in the United States, with its peak coming during the rapid industrialization of the First World War. Because of its wealth, Butte was often referred to as “the Richest Hill on Earth.”
While Europe and its colonies waged war across the Atlantic, Butte grew and grew. The demand for the resources needed to make armaments, particularly copper, drove up the population. By the time the United States entered the war in April of 1917, Butte counted some 85,000 citizens.
Most of the immigration to the region - from Canada to Wales to Syria - included laborers interested in working the nearby mines.
Fun Fact : As the region’s dependence on this form of income expanded, sacrifices had to be made. A few thousand homes were destroyed in one Butte suburb just so that local authorities could excavate Berkeley Pit in 1955.
Landmarks
Today, tourists often stop for a look at the massive Berkeley Pit, which is no longer used for mining copper; instead it stands as an expansive crater filled with toxic water. Visitors can view the outlying terrain by standing along an observation deck attached to the pit’s high wall.
Former lawyer and Montana constitutional convention president William Andrews Clark is memorialized at Butte’s Copper King Mansion, a local bed-and-breakfast and museum.
Finally, the influx of men during the late 19th century mining and gold rush era spawned Butte’s own Dumas Brothel, located in the city’s uptown district. Operating legally for nearly a century, the brothel once bragged of being the longest running bordello in United States history. Unbeknownst to many big-city Americans, Butte actually had its own long-time red light district, of which the Dumas Brothel with its Victorian architecture was the central attraction. Although the Dumas remains closed to visitors, tourists still make it a stop when visiting Butte.
