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82-552: The Butte Copper Kings, named for the once-powerful owners of the copper mines of Butte, Montana , began play in the Pioneer League in 1978 as a co-op team with players from the Philadelphia Phillies , Oakland Athletics , Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers organizations as well as a few free agents. Beginning in 1987 , the franchise had been operated by Silverbow Baseball. It was sold in 1996 to

164-404: A Democratic stronghold, owing to its union legacy. Likewise, Silver Bow County has historically been one of Montana's strongest Democratic bastions. In 1996, Haley Beaudry became the first Republican to represent Butte in the state legislature since 1950. In 2010, Max Yates was the next Butte Republican elected to the legislature; neither Beaudry nor Yates was reelected. In 2014, Butte became

246-552: A mining camp in the northern Rocky Mountains on the Continental Divide , Butte experienced rapid development in the late 19th century, and was Montana's first major industrial city. In its heyday between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was one of the largest copper boom towns in the American West . Employment opportunities in the mines attracted surges of Asian and European immigrants, particularly

328-570: A food inspector for Butte, and immediately began pressing for change to questionable practices by several county commissioners who had been keeping the community's cost of living artificially high by, among other things, allowing carloads of perishable foods to rot on unloaded trains at the railroad station. She also "was instrumental in getting senate bill No. 19 through the legislature" that year to ensure that 199 tubercular soldiers who had served in World War I would be given "preference of entry to

410-657: A former brothel, is in Venus Alley , Butte's former historical red-light district . Another notable site is the Rookwood Speakeasy, a prohibition-era speakeasy that features an underground city , and the Mai Wah Museum , dedicated to preserving Asian heritage in the Rocky Mountains. The 34-room Copper King Mansion in uptown Butte was constructed in 1884 by William A. Clark , one of

492-550: A large chapter in Montana history . Eventually, Daly’s original company, known as Anaconda Copper emerged as a monopoly , expanding into the fourth largest company in the world by the late 1920s. While the cost of smelting the complex copper-bearing ore was high, after the American Civil War , investors like William Andrews Clark and Andrew Jackson Davis began to develop Butte 's mines and erect mills to extract

574-403: A lease agreement to the team, making Suplizio Field home to the newly renamed Grand Junction Rockies. In conjunction with a contraction of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Pioneer League was converted from an MLB-affiliated Rookie Advanced league to an independent baseball league and granted status as an MLB Partner League, with Grand Junction continuing as a member. On November 4, 2022,

656-495: A local banker, became close to Margaret Daly after her husband's death, and finally convinced Okrusch to sell out, creating the monopoly Amalgamated sought. By 1910, it had changed its name to the Anaconda Copper Mining Company swallowing several smaller mining companies along the way. The Company dominated Butte for the next 74 years. Butte, Montana Butte ( / b juː t / BEWT )

738-495: A mean maximum of 88.8 °F (31.6 °C), although the hottest day, reaching 100 °F (38 °C), was July 22, 1931. The coldest temperature recorded was −52 °F (−47 °C) on February 9, 1933, and December 23, 1983. As of the 2020 census , there were 34,494 people and 14,605 households residing in Butte-Silver Bow, giving a population density of 48.2 people per square mile (18.6 people/km ). Per

820-417: A period of time in the 1990s the tap water was unsafe to drink due to poor filtration and decades-old wooden supply pipes. Efforts to improve the water supply have taken place in the early 2000s, with millions of dollars 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, including

902-690: A place where children and families could get away from the polluted air of the Butte mining industry." The city's rapid expansion was noted in an 1889 frontier survey: "Butte, Montana, fifteen years ago a small placer-mining village clinging to the mountain side, has now risen to the rank of the first mining camp of the world... [It] is now the most populous city of Montana, numbering twenty-five thousand active, enterprising, prosperous inhabitants." In 1888 alone, mining operations in Butte generated an "almost inconceivable" output of $ 23 million (equivalent to $ 779,955,556 in 2023) worth of ore. Copper ore mined from

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984-544: A renewed interest in restoring property in Uptown Butte's historic district, which expanded in 2006 to include parts of Anaconda and is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the U.S., with 5,991 contributing properties. A century after the era of intensive mining and smelting, environmental issues remain in areas around the city. Arsenic and heavy metals such as lead are found in high concentrations in some spots affected by old mining, and for

1066-430: A reputation as a wide-open town where any vice was obtainable. The city's saloon and red-light district, called the "Line" or "The Copper Block", centered on Mercury Street, where the elegant bordellos included the famous Dumas Brothel . 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

1148-759: A small mine named the Anaconda. He was a part-owner, mine manager and engineer of the Alice, a silver mine in Walkerville, a suburb of Butte. While working in the Alice, he noticed significant quantities of high-grade copper ore. Daly obtained permission to inspect nearby workings. After his employers, the Walker Brothers, refused to buy the Anaconda, Daly sold his interest in the Alice and bought it himself. He asked San Francisco mining magnate George Hearst for additional support. Hearst agreed to buy one-fourth of

1230-529: A soaring demand for the metal. After World War I , Butte's mining economy experienced a downward trend that continued throughout the 20th century, until mining operations ceased in 1985 with the closure of the Berkeley Pit. Over the course of its history, the city's mining operations generated over $ 48 billion worth of ore, making it for a time the richest city in the world. Much of the city's economy since 2000 has been focused in energy companies (such as

1312-481: A television pilot titled Butteification aired on HGTV , which focused on a couple restoring a Victorian home in Butte. Butte's South district, at a lower elevation than the hillside that comprises northern Butte, has historically been home to working-class neighborhoods. Gold mines originally populated south Butte before it was platted for the Union Pacific Railroad in 1881. The expansion of

1394-722: A violent strike in Coeur d'Alene . Although the BMU was experiencing relatively friendly relations with local management, the events in Idaho were disturbing. The BMU not only sent thousands of dollars to support the Idaho miners, they mortgaged their buildings to send more. There was a growing concern that local unions were vulnerable to the power of Mine Owners' Associations like the one in Coeur d'Alene. In May 1893, about 40 delegates from northern hard-rock mining camps met in Butte and established

1476-446: Is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana , United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow . The city covers 718 square miles (1,860 km ), and, according to the 2020 census , has a population of 34,494, making it Montana's fifth-largest city . It is served by Bert Mooney Airport with airport code BTM. Established in 1864 as

1558-527: Is dedicated to preserving the town's history. The library was created in 1894 as "an antidote to the miners' proclivity for drinking, whoring, and gambling," designed to promote middle-class values and to promote an image of Butte as a cultivated city. Additionally, the Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives stores and provides public access to documents and artifacts from Butte's past. Several museums and attractions are dedicated to

1640-974: Is in the Silver Bow Creek Valley (or Summit Valley), a natural bowl sitting high in the Rockies straddling the Continental Divide , positioned on the southwestern side of a large mass of granite known as the Boulder Batholith , which dates to the Cretaceous era. In 1874, William L. Farlin founded the Asteroid Mine (subsequently known as the Travona), which attracted a significant number of prospectors seeking gold and silver . The mines attracted workers from Cornwall (England), Ireland, Wales, Lebanon, Canada, Finland, Austria, Italy, China, Montenegro , Mexico, and more. In

1722-488: Is land and 0.57 sq mi (1.48 km ) (0.08%) is water. The city is on the U.S. Continental Divide . Every highway exiting Butte (except westbound I-90) crosses the Divide (eastbound I-90 via Homestake Pass; eastbound MT 2 via Pipestone Pass; northbound I-15 via Elk Park Pass and southbound I-15 via Deer Lodge Pass). The city was named for a nearby landform, Big Butte, by the early miners. Butte's urban landscape

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1804-545: Is low and largely concentrated in the spring: the wettest month since precipitation records began in 1894 was June 1913, with 8.86 inches (225 mm), while no precipitation fell in September 1904. The wettest calendar year was 1909, with 20.55 inches (522 mm) and the driest was 2021, with 6.49 inches (165 mm). Snowfall is somewhat limited by dryness: the most in one month being 41.5 inches (1,050 mm) in May 1927 and

1886-406: Is notable for including mining operations set within residential areas, visible in the form of various headframes throughout the city. The concentration of wealth in Butte due to its mining history resulted in unique and ornate architectural features among its homes and buildings, particularly in the uptown section. Uptown, named for its steep streets, is on a hillside on the northwestern edge of

1968-572: Is perhaps becoming most renowned for the regional Montana Folk Festival held on the second weekend in July. This event began its run in Butte as the National Folk Festival from 2008 to 2010 and in 2011 made the transition to a free-of-admission music festival. Also in the summer is Butte's Fourth of July Parade and Fireworks show. In 2008, Barack Obama spent the last Fourth of July before his presidency campaigning in Butte, taking in

2050-461: Is the oldest family-owned, continuously operating Chinese restaurant in the U.S. After the Berkeley Pit mining operation closed in 1982, pipes that pumped groundwater out of the pit were turned off, resulting in the pit slowly filling with groundwater, creating an artificial lake. Only two years later the pit was classified as a Superfund site and an environmental hazard site. The water in

2132-530: The 2000 season, the team relocated to Casper, Wyoming as the Casper Rockies (and was renamed the Ghosts before the 2008 season) and affiliated with Colorado . On January 13, 2011, Casper Professional Baseball Club, LLC announced the sale of the team to Monfort Investment Group, a group headed by Colorado Rockies General Partners. October 17, 2011, Grand Junction city officials unanimously approved

2214-552: The Anaconda Road Massacre . Seventeen were shot in the back as they tried to flee, and one man died. Sparked by a tragic accident more than 2,000 feet (600 m) below the ground on June 8, 1917, a fire in the Granite Mountain mine shaft spewed flames, smoke, and poisonous gas through the labyrinth of tunnels including the connected Speculator Mine. A rescue effort commenced, but carbon monoxide

2296-820: The Berkeley Pit , which Anaconda Copper opened in 1954. When it opened, the Berkeley Pit was the largest truck-operated open pit copper mine in the nation. It grew until it began encroaching on the Columbia Gardens. After the Gardens caught fire and burned to the ground in November 1973, the Continental Pit was excavated on the former park site. In 1977, the ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Company) purchased Anaconda, and three years later started shutting down mines due to lower metal prices. In 1983, all mining in

2378-519: The Blessed Virgin Mary , dedicated to women and mothers everywhere, atop the Continental Divide . The statue was airlifted to the site on December 17, 1985, after six years of construction. Butte is also home to the U.S. High Altitude Speed Skating Center, an outdoor speed-skating rink used as a training location for World Cup skaters. Throughout uptown and western Butte are over ten underground mine headframes that are remnants from

2460-682: The Butte Miner , to push his political ambitions. He became a hero in Helena, Montana , by campaigning for its election as the state capital instead of Anaconda . Clark's long-standing dream of becoming a United States senator resulted in scandal in 1899, when it was revealed that he bribed members of the Montana State Legislature in return for their votes. At the time, U.S. Senators were chosen by their respective state legislators. The U.S. Senate refused to seat Clark because of

2542-625: The Butte, Montana labor riots of 1914 , and resulted in the loss of union recognition by the mine owners. After the dissolution of the Miners' Union, the Anaconda Company attempted to inaugurate programs aimed at enticing employees. A number of clashes between laborers, labor organizers, and the Anaconda Company ensued, including the 1917 lynching of IWW executive board officer Frank Little . In 1920, company mine guards gunned down strikers in

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2624-480: The Goldklang Group in a move necessary to stem conflict-of-interest issues when Silverbow head Jim McCurdy had taken the position of President of the Pioneer League in 1994 . Silverbow had attempted to sell the franchise in 1994 to investors from California , but the deal fell through when it was determined that Silverbow owned a lesser percentage of the franchise than it had purported to own. Following

2706-470: The Irish ; as of 2017, Butte has the largest population of Irish Americans per capita of any U.S. city. Butte was also the site of various historical events involving its mining industry and active labor unions and socialist politics, the most famous of which was the labor riot of 1914 . Despite the dominance of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company , Butte was never a company town . Other major events in

2788-524: The Knights of Labor , and by 1886 the separate organizations came together to form the Silver Bow Trades and Labor Assembly, with 34 separate unions representing nearly all of the 6,000 workers around Butte. The BMU established branch unions in mining towns like Barker, Castle, Champion, Granite , and Neihart , and extended support to other mining camps hundreds of miles away. In 1892 there was

2870-473: The National Register of Historic Places , is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the U.S., containing nearly 6,000 contributing properties. The city is also home to Montana Technological University , a public engineering and technical university. Before Butte's formal establishment in 1864, the area consisted of a mining camp that had developed in the early 1860s. The city

2952-575: The Renewable Energy Corporation and NorthWestern Energy ) and healthcare. In 2014, NorthWestern Energy constructed a $ 25-million facility in uptown. In 1977, Butte consolidated with Silver Bow County , becoming a consolidated city-county . It operates under a city-county government. The office of the mayor was eliminated. Mario Micone was the last mayor of Butte. In 1977, he became the first Chief Executive of Butte-Silver Bow County. Politically, Butte has historically been

3034-855: The Western Federation of Miners (WFM), which sought to organize miners throughout the West. The Butte Miners' Union became Local Number One of the new WFM. The WFM won a strike in Cripple Creek, Colorado , the following year, but in 1896–97 lost another violent strike in Leadville, Colorado , prompting the Montana State Trades and Labor Council to issue a proclamation to organize a new Western labor federation along industrial lines . In 1899, Daly, William Rockefeller , Henry H. Rogers , and Thomas W. Lawson organized

3116-522: The silver and gold . The riches in the hills made Davis Montana 's first millionaire. By 1876, Butte had become a prosperous silver camp with over 1,000 inhabitants. Marcus Daly arrived that year representing the Walker brothers, entrepreneurs from Salt Lake City . His mission was to inspect the Alice Mine for possible purchase by the brothers. Daly purchased the mine and successfully managed it for

3198-795: The "miner's church", scheduling masses around miners' shifting schedules. Historically, the St. Mary's section of Butte had a prominent population of Slavic and Finnish immigrants in addition to Irish before the mid-20th century. Butte has a cold semi-arid climate ( BSk ) under the Köppen Climate Classification . Winters are long and cold, January averaging 20.0 °F (−6.7 °C), with 30.9 nights falling below 0 °F (−18 °C) and 53.8 days failing to top freezing. Summers are short, with very warm days and chilly nights: July averages 63.6 °F (17.6 °C). Like most areas in this part of North America, annual precipitation

3280-490: The 1899 bribery scheme, but a later Senate campaign was successful, and he served a single, undistinguished term from 1901 until 1907. In 1899, Daly teamed up with two principals of John D. Rockefeller 's Standard Oil , William Rockefeller and Henry H. Rogers to create the giant Amalgamated Copper Mining Co. , one of the largest trusts of the early Twentieth Century. (Neither Standard Oil nor John D. Rockefeller were directly involved). Marcus Daly died in 1900. John D. Ryan ,

3362-490: The Amalgamated Copper Mining Company. Not long after, the company changed its name to Anaconda Copper Mining Company (ACM). Over the years, Anaconda was owned by assorted larger corporations. In the 1920s, it had a virtual monopoly over the mines in and around Butte. Between approximately 1900 and 1917, Butte also had a strong streak of Socialist politics, even electing Mayor Lewis Duncan on

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3444-579: The Anaconda Company in the 1960s and 1970s eradicated some of Butte's historic neighborhoods, including the East Side, Dublin Gulch, Meaderville, and Chinatown . The St. Mary's section, which borders uptown to the east, comprised the Dublin Gulch (an enclave for Irish immigrants) and Corktown neighborhoods. It takes its name from the eponymous Roman Catholic parish within it, historically known as

3526-399: The Anaconda Company to switch its focus in Butte from underground mining to open pit mining . Since the 1950s, five major developments in the city have occurred: the Anaconda's decision to begin 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, and

3608-485: The Berkeley Pit was suspended. The same year, an organization of low-income and unemployed Butte residents formed to fight for jobs and environmental justice ; the Butte Community Union produced a detailed plan for community revitalization and won substantial benefits, including a Montana Supreme Court victory striking down as unconstitutional state elimination of welfare benefits. After mining ceased at

3690-782: The Berkeley Pit, water pumps in nearby mines were also shut down, which resulted in highly acidic water laced with toxic heavy metals filling up the pit. Anaconda ceased mining at the Continental Pit in 1983. Montana Resources LLP bought the property and reopened the Continental Pit in 1986. The company ceased mining in 2000, but resumed in 2003. From 1880 through 2005, the mines of the Butte district produced more than 9.6 million metric tons of copper, 2.1 million metric tons of zinc, 1.6 million metric tons of manganese, 381,000 metric tons of lead, 87,000 metric tons of molybdenum, 715 million troy ounces (22,200 t) of silver, and 2.9 million troy ounces (90 t) of gold. Fourteen headframes still remain over mine shafts in Butte, and

3772-473: The Butte mining district in 1910 alone totaled 284,000,000 pounds (129,000,000 kg); at the time, Butte was the largest producer of copper in North America and rivaled in worldwide metal production only by South Africa . The same year, in excess of 10,000,000 troy ounces (310,000 kg) of silver and 37,000 troy ounces (1,200 kg) of gold were also discovered. The amount of ore produced in

3854-547: The Galen hospital", and that the legislature would authorize $ 20,000 to build additional dormitories at the hospital to make that care possible since hospital admissions were already at capacity. In 1921, she became the first female prohibition inspector in the city. Disputes between miners' unions and companies continued through the 1920s and 1930s, with several strikes and protests, one of which lasted for ten months in 1921. On New Year's Eve 1922, protestors attempted to detonate

3936-646: The Hibernian Hall on Main Street with dynamite . Further industrial expansions included the arrival of the first mail plane in 1928, and in 1937, the city's streetcar system was dismantled and replaced by bus lines. After the 1920s, the ACM began to reduce its activities in Butte due to the labor-intensivity of underground mining, as well as competition from other mine holdings in South America. This led

4018-601: The Metal Mine Workers Union; about 15,000 workers abandoned their jobs in the disaster's wake. Between 1914 and 1920, the U.S. National Guard occupied Butte six times to restore civility. In 1917, copper production from the Butte mines peaked and steadily declined thereafter. By WWII, copper production from the ACM's holdings in Chuquicamata , Chile, far exceeded Butte's production. In 1919, women's rights activist Margaret Jane Steele Rozsa became

4100-621: The Socialist ticket in 1911, and again in 1913; Duncan was impeached in 1914 for neglecting duties after a bombing in the city's miners' hall in 1914. Butte also established itself as "one of the most solid union cities in America." After 1905, it became a hotbed of Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, or the "Wobblies") organizing. Rivalry between IWW supporters and the WFM locals culminated in

4182-508: The US Census' 2019 American Community Survey , the racial makeup of the city was 94.3% White , 0.6% African American , 2.3% Native American , 0.8% Asian , 0.0% Pacific Islander , and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race accounted for 4.6% of the population. Of ethnic groups in Butte, the Irish make up a significant portion, with over one-quarter of the city's population claiming Irish descent, exceeding

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4264-688: The Walkers. The town of Walkerville , which still overlooks the city of Butte, sprang up around the mine and other mines in the area. In 1880, Daly sold his interest in the Walkers' properties and bought the Anaconda Mine . He did so with investment money from several San Francisco capitalists, including James Ben Ali Haggin , Lloyd Tevis , and George Hearst (the father of media mogul William Randolph Hearst ). The area attracted other investors from Denver and points east. It wasn't long before capitalists from New York City and Boston bought into

4346-416: The apparent jump in the 1980 census was due to the city's consolidation with all of Silver Bow County except Walkerville . As a mining boom town, Butte's economy was historically powered by its copious mining operations. Silver and gold were initially the primary metals mined in Butte, but the abundance of copper in the area further invigorated the local economy with the advent of electricity, which created

4428-597: The city earned it the nickname "The Richest Hill on Earth." With its large workforce of miners performing in physically dangerous conditions, Butte was the site of active labor union movements, and came to be known as "the Gibraltar of Unionism." By 1885, there were about 1,800 dues-paying members of a general union in Butte. That year the union reorganized as the Butte Miners' Union (BMU), spinning off all non-miners to separate craft unions . Some of these joined

4510-476: The city still contains thousands of historic commercial and residential buildings from the boom times, which, especially in Uptown, give it an old-fashioned appearance, with many commercial buildings not fully occupied; according to a 2016 estimate, there were "hundreds" of unoccupied buildings in Butte, resulting in an ordinance to keep record of owners. Preservation efforts of the city's historic buildings began in

4592-404: The city's history include the 1917 Speculator Mine disaster , the largest hard rock mining disaster in world history. Over the course of its history, Butte's mining and smelting operations generated more than $ 48 billion worth of ore , but also resulted in numerous environmental implications for the city: The upper Clark Fork River , with headwaters at Butte, is the largest Superfund site in

4674-690: The city's mining history, including the MBMG Mineral Museum (on the Montana Tech campus), and the World Museum of Mining, at the Orphan Girl mine in uptown Butte, which features "Hell Roarin' Gulch", a mockup of a frontier mining town. The Berkeley Pit , a gigantic former open pit copper mine, is also open to the public for viewing. Other museums are dedicated to preserving cultural elements of Butte: The Dumas Brothel museum ,

4756-559: The city's three Copper Kings . The mansion functions as a bed-and-breakfast and local museum, and is often reported to be haunted . The Art Chateau, at one time home to Clark's son, Charles, was designed in the image of a French château , and houses the Butte-Silver Bow Arts Foundation. Above Butte on the northeast edge of the city is the Our Lady of the Rockies statue, a 90-foot (27 m) statue of

4838-530: The deceased began; many of the bodies were mutilated beyond recognition, leaving many unidentified. The disaster claimed a total of 168 lives. As of 2017, the event remained the largest hard rock mining accident in history. The Granite Mountain Memorial in Butte commemorates those who died in the accident. Protests and strikes began after the Speculator Mine disaster, as well as the establishment of

4920-431: The end of copper mining in 1983. In response, Butte looked for ways to diversify the economy and provide employment. The legacy of over a century of environmental degradation has, for example, produced some jobs. Environmental cleanup in Butte, designated a Superfund site, has employed hundreds of people. Thousands of homes were destroyed in the Meaderville suburb and surrounding areas, McQueen and East Butte, to excavate

5002-401: The epic battles fought in Butte, Montana , and the surrounding region, during the Gilded Age , over control of the local copper mining industry, the fight that had ramifications for not only Montana, but the United States as a whole. The battles between Clark, Daly, Murray and Heinze, and later between just Heinze and industrialist financiers William Rockefeller and Henry H. Rogers are

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5084-416: The ethnic neighborhoods, young men formed gangs to protect their territory and socialize into adult life, including the Irish of Dublin Gulch, the Eastern Europeans of the McQueen Addition, and the Italians of Meaderville. Among the migrants were many Chinese who set up businesses that created a Chinatown in Butte. The Chinese migrations stopped in 1882 with the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act . There

5166-418: The giant smokestack remains a landmark. Shortly after Daly built the smelter, the Boston and Montana Co., with holdings second only to Daly's, built one in Great Falls . After complications with the Great Northern , Daly built his own railroad to transport ore from his mines to the smelter. Trains carried the ore from Butte's mines to both smelters. Clark also yearned to be a statesman and used his newspaper,

5248-408: The greatest depth on the ground 27 inches (690 mm) on December 28 and 29, 1996. The coldest month was January 1937, with a daily mean temperature of −5.5 °F (−20.8 °C), while the coldest complete winter was 1948–49, with a three-month mean of 6.69 °F (−14.06 °C), and the mildest 1925–26, which averaged 29.21 °F (−1.55 °C). July 2007 was easily the hottest month, with

5330-412: The huge potential of the area. During the 1880s, copper mining came into the forefront and Butte became the world's greatest copper producer. The Utah and Northern Railway came to the area in 1881. It wasn't long before Butte began to pay a price for the riches. The air filled with toxic sulfurous smoke. Daly responded by building a giant smelter in Anaconda , just 30 miles west of Butte. To this day,

5412-440: The introduction of a multimillion-dollar polysilicon manufacturing plant nearby in the 1990s. In the late 1990s, Butte was recognized as an All-America City and as one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Dozen Distinctive Destinations in 2002. According to the United States Census Bureau , Butte-Silver Bow has an area of 716.82 sq mi (1,856.55 km ), of which 716.25 sq mi (1,855.07 km )

5494-432: The late 1990s. As with many industrial cities, tourism and services, especially health care (Butte's St. James Hospital has Southwest Montana's only major trauma center), are rising as primary employers, as well as industrial-sector private companies. Many areas of the city, especially those near the old mines, show signs of urban blight, but a recent influx of investors and an aggressive campaign to remedy blight has led to

5576-451: The locally brewed lagers, bocks, and other types of beer. In the late 19th century, copper was in great demand because of new technologies such as electric power that required the use of copper. Industrial magnates fought for control of Butte's mining wealth. These " Copper Kings " were William A. Clark , Marcus Daly , James Andrew Murray and F. Augustus Heinze . The Anaconda Copper Mining Company began in 1881 when Marcus Daly bought

5658-401: The median income for a household in the city was $ 45,797, and 17.3% of families were below the poverty line . Some sources say that Butte had a peak population of nearly 100,000 around 1920, but no documentation corroborates this, though it has been reasoned by local journalists based on city directory data. The city's population sank to a minimum around 1990 and has stabilized since then;

5740-413: The mines on Butte Hill. Between 1884 and 1888, W. A. Clark constructed the Copper King Mansion in Butte, which became his second residence from his home in New York City . In 1899, he also purchased the Columbia Gardens , a small park he developed into an amusement park , featuring a pavilion, roller coaster, and a lake for swimming and canoeing. Clark's expansion of the park was intended to "provide

5822-441: The nation, and the city is also home to the Berkeley Pit . In the late 20th century, the EPA instated cleanup efforts, and the Butte Citizens Technical Environmental Committee was established in 1984. In the 21st century, efforts to interpret and preserve Butte's heritage are addressing both the town's historical significance and the continuing importance of mining to its economy and culture. The city's Uptown Historic District, on

5904-435: The new company's stock without visiting the site. While mining the silver left in his mine, huge deposits of copper were soon developed and Daly became a copper magnate. When surrounding silver mines "played out" and closed, Daly quietly bought up the neighboring mines, forming a mining company. He built a smelter at Anaconda, Montana (a company town), and connected it to Butte by railway. Anaconda Company eventually owned all

5986-492: The parade led by the Ancient Order of Hibernians . Also, local descendants of Finnish Americans celebrate St. Urho's Day every year on March 16. A larger annual celebration is Evel Knievel Days, held on the last weekend of July, celebrating Evel Knievel (a Butte native). The weekend-long event, held in Uptown Butte, features various stunt performances, sporting competitions, fundraisers, and live music. Butte

6068-579: The parade with his family, and celebrating his daughter Malia Obama 's 10th birthday. Butte's legacy of immigrants lives on in the form of various local cuisine, including the Cornish pasty , popularized by mine workers who needed something easy to eat in the mines, the povitica —a Slavic nut bread pastry which is a holiday favorite sold in many supermarkets and bakeries in Butte —and the boneless porkchop sandwich. The Pekin Noodle Parlor in Uptown

6150-515: The percentage of Irish Americans in Boston . Per capita, Butte has the highest percentage of Irish Americans of any city in the United States. Per the 2019 American Community Survey, the average household size was 2.24 persons, 6.0% of the population is under the age of 5, 20.1% under the age of 18, and 18.7% are 65 years of age or older. 49.3% of residents were female. From 2015 to 2019,

6232-605: The region and remained open until 1982 after the closure of the Dumas Brothel; the city's red-light was one of the last such urban districts in the country. Commercial breweries first opened in Butte in the 1870s, and were a staple of the city's early economy; they were usually run by German immigrants, including Leopold Schmidt, Henry Mueller, and Henry Muntzer. The breweries were always staffed by union workers. Most ethnic groups in Butte, from Germans and Irish to Italians and various Eastern Europeans, including children, enjoyed

6314-691: The team officially announced their new name of the Grand Junction Jackalopes . Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches [REDACTED] Disabled list ‡ Inactive list § Suspended list Roster  updated April 18, 2024 Transactions Butte Copper Kings, Casper Rockies and Casper Ghosts players who have made appearances on Major League teams: Copper Kings The Copper Kings were industrialists Marcus Daly , William A. Clark , James Andrew Murray and F. Augustus Heinze . They were known for

6396-587: The third city in Montana to pass an anti- discrimination ordinance protecting LGBT residents and visitors from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations. Butte is home to numerous museums and other educational institutions chronicling its history. In 2002, Butte was one of only 12 U.S. towns to be named a Distinctive Destination by the National Trust for Historic Preservation . The Butte Silver Bow Public Library, at 226 W. Broadway,

6478-525: The town and characterized by its abundance of lavish Victorian homes and Queen Anne style cottages built in the late 19th century. Several of Butte's " painted ladies " homes were featured in Elizabeth Pomada's 1987 book Daughters of Painted Ladies . Butte-Silver Bow County has an established Urban Revitalization Agency that works to improve building façades to "enhance and promote the architectural resources of historic uptown Butte." In 2017,

6560-1218: The town's mining industry. These include 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. As part of a community project started around 2004, several headframes were repainted and outlined with LED lights which are illuminated at night. Butte's longstanding Irish Catholic community (the largest per capita of any U.S. city) has been celebrated annually on St. Patrick's Day since 1882. Each year, about 30,000 revelers converge on Butte's Uptown district to enjoy

6642-458: Was anti-Chinese sentiment in the 1870s and onward due to the white settlers' racism, exacerbated by economic depression, and in 1895, the chamber of commerce and labor unions started a boycott of Chinese-owned businesses. The business owners fought back by suing the unions and won. The history of the Chinese migrants in Butte is documented in the Mai Wah Museum . The influx of miners gave Butte

6724-415: Was contaminating the air supply. Several men barricaded themselves against bulkheads to save their lives, but many others died in a panic to try to escape. Rescue workers set up a fan to prevent the fire from spreading. This worked for a short time, but when the rescuers tried to use water, it evaporated, creating steam that burned those trying to escape. Once the fire had been extinguished, recovery of

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