National Trust Historic Preservation picks Butte, MT as one of "Dozen Distinctive Destinations for 2002"

When a town boasts that it
occupies "the richest hill on
earth," people are sure to take
notice – and Butte, Montana,
(pop. 33,954) is worth a long
look.

National Trust Historic Preservation

A gold camp was started
here in 1864, and a silver boom
followed in the 1870s. Still later,
Butte Hill became the world’s
largest copper producer.
Perched atop more than 2,000
miles of underground tunnels,
Butte experienced a population
explosion that transformed it
from a rough-and-ready
settlement of 250 to a thriving, sophisticated city of 100,000 in its heyday.

Today, Butte’s wealth comes from its history. Hit hard by the downturn in the mining
industry in the mid-20th century, the town is now staging a successful comeback as
a fascinating – though slightly quirky – tourist destination where visitors can
experience both the myth and the reality of the mining West.

While its surroundings are rich in panoramic vistas along the Continental Divide, the
real attraction in Butte is the one-of-a-kind town itself. On downtown streets, office
buildings and stores stand next to gaunt metal headframes that mark mine entrances.
In steeply-pitched residential areas, the mansions of mining millionaires are the
sparkling highlights in a rich vein of well-preserved 19th-century structures.
Interpretive tours and museums help to illuminate the city’s diverse ethnic heritage and
the architectural gems of the National Historic Landmark district.

Aptly sited atop an abandoned mine, the World Museum of Mining displays countless
artifacts from Butte’s rowdy past, including a full-scale replica of a mining camp
complete with Chinese laundry and sauerkraut factory. With its massive copper
doors, stained-glass dome and murals, the opulent City-County Courthouse, dating
from 1912, is a conspicuous reminder of the town’s bonanza days. The Copper King
Mansion, built at great expense by copper baron William Clark in the 1880s and now
operated as a bed and breakfast, is open for tours.

And then there is the Berkeley Pit. Complete with a viewing stand for visitors, this
astonishing gash in the earth is over a mile long, nearly a mile wide and 1,800 feet
deep – and steadily filling with water from underground streams. It’s the largest and
most palpable reminder of Butte’s shift in the 1950s from labor-intensive underground
mining to open-pit excavation.

Balancing the eerie starkness of the Berkeley Pit is a wide range of cultural and
family-oriented activities. Harking back to the late 1800s, when Irish laborers were the
city’s largest ethnic group, Butte has a well-earned reputation for hosting a boisterous
St. Patrick’s Day celebration. For quieter enjoyment, the Orphan Girl Theatre and the
Arts Chateau are worth a visit. Children will enjoy Fairmont Hot Springs and gem
hunting at Gem Mountain Sapphire. Not far away are historic Virginia City, the
Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, and several ski areas.

Learn more by visiting the Web site of the Butte Chamber of Commerce,
http://www.butteinfo.org.

http://www.nthp.org/dozen_distinctive_destinations/2002/butte.html