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montana: general info
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BUTTE
Calling Code: +1
Butte, Montana is located midway between Yellowstone and
Glacier
National Parks, just a couple of hours from each. Butte started as
many towns in the west as a mining camp. Due to the discovery of
copper and the electrification of the United States by 1900 Butte had
grown to be the largest city between Minneapolis and Seattle.
Butte was also one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the United
States with emigrants from 60 different countries. Uniquely many of
those ethnic groups remained close knit because most miners worked and
lived within a block or two of the mine at which they were employed.
In 1900 Butte had 160 mines in operation the remnants of which today
are twelve head frames and 10,000 miles of tunnels under the city and
one of the worlds largest truck operated open pit mines on the city's
east side. The 1923 Butte Business College catalog boasted "45 miles
of electric street railways, which carry 17,000,000 passengers per
year, 9,500 telephones, 42 churches, 25 public schools, 7 parochial
schools, and the largest business college in the northwest."
Impressive considering the city is only 4 miles from edge to edge.
Butte is the only western mining camp that became an industrial city.
Along with the industrialization came big money and with that great
buildings and architecture inspired by the many ethnic groups that
settled here. Butte has the second largest number of buildings on the
National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department
of Interior. Many of these buildings have been closed for over half a
century some much longer.
Old Butte Historical Adventures has been
working for several years uncovering some of these hidden treasures
and developing public tours of the buildings. Many of you may have
heard the segments on National Public Radio about the Rookwood
Speakeasy, uncovered for the first time since 1933 in the summer of
2004. Well, we have six more time capsules to be opened to the public
in 2005.
If you know of a great destination we're missing,
review it for us!!
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