Historical Sites of Butte America

The city of Butte in Montana has been nicknamed as Butte America. This is a city that is considered unparalleled in its historical charm and there is a lot of physical evidence of the history that once took place on these very roads.

Getting Acquainted With Butte:

There is a lot for the tourist to do in Montana. The awesome sites and the beautiful scenery are bound to give a lot in terms of ‘soaking in’. Yellowstone and the Glacier National Park provide for variety in their own terms. However, for the tourist who is looking to go beyond the conventional, Butte might make for an amazing option.

The current population count comes in at about 34,000. This was, however, once occupied by over 100,000 people. The ancestry of Butte is said to be well preserved; and what makes it better is that it is said to be extremely accessible. The city is said to have undergone an explosion in terms of culture. This cultural explosion is said to have happened in the 19th century and it ended up transforming its earlier image of a gruff and blunt encampment to a blooming and cultivated Mecca for mining during its prime era.

World Museum of Mining, Butte:

Even today there are memories of sweat and blood drenching through the mines of Butte. The heaps of mine refuse and the alleys used to be the playground for children. These mines were said to be capable of making ghosts out of men, men out of boys and widows of the wives. Stories and artifacts from this era are preserved in the World Museum of Mining.

According to reporter Walter Winchell, Butte was once called a ‘disgrace to decent people all around the world’. At one point in time, the millionaires here had a high quality of cultural and social life and Butte was a common stop over for Presidents. Very interestingly, Butte is also home to one of the biggest National Historic Landmark Districts of the country. There are about 4000 important and memorable buildings that dot the Richest Hill on Earth.  At one point in time, Butte had rapidly converted into a mini-version of New York City, replete with the fancy dining options, the deluxe hotels, the thriving entertainment and classy theaters.

Berkeley Pit, Butte:

This region had been excavated for silver, gold and copper. This region had already been nicknamed the moniker of being the ‘Richest Hill on the Earth’. It had earned this nickname by the end of the nineteenth century. The increase in electrical needs had increased the demand that was already around for that of copper. By the time World War I happened, Butte had become a booming metropolis.

Copper mining began to flourish in the area and it came to a head when the Berkeley Pit was formed in the year 1955. However, the real problems began to raise their ugly heads when the piles of waste rock and other such tailings began to show up. Given the fact that the water of the region contained large amounts of copper, the Berkeley Pit (which is more than 275 feet deep) is said to be listed as a Federal Superfund Disaster site.

The Dumas Brothel, Butte:

No write up on Butte can be complete without reference to the oh-so-famous Dumas Brothel. It was said to be the longest operating such establishment that ever was there in America. It ran its run from the year 1890 to the more recent 1982.  Tours to the brothel today will show you the existence underground tunnels that were created so that the men of social standing didn’t have to jeopardize their reputations while visiting the brothel. The things history can teach us, we say!

In Today’s Date and Day:

All said and done, Butte continues to be a city that has an unparalleled sense of historic charm and a rough and sinewy existence of the history that it carries with it.