"It's not possible to understand Butte without first looking to Ireland. Today, the descendants of Sullivans, Shannons, Harringtons, O'Neills, Lynchs, Sheas, Driscolls, Dolans, Duggans, and O'Briens still inhabit this island city built on a hill surrounded by a sea of mountains, rivers, and prairie under the big sky of Montana." See the rest of George Everett's article.

Like many mining camps, Butte came into existence because of gold. Yet by 1870 placer mining, the easiest method of gold extraction, was petering out. While most miners drifted away to other promising mineral strikes, a few far-sighted individuals labored on in Butte, trying to solve the puzzle of freeing gold, silver, copper, manganese, zinc and lead from a tightly locked matrix of quartz. Through the 1870s, silver mining kept Butte alive. At the end of the decade three critical elements came together: Butte miners struck the richest deposit of copper ever found; advanced smelting technology made it profitable to extract the copper and other metals; and railroads reached Butte to cut the cost of transportation to eastern manufacturers.

At the same time the electricity and telecommunications industries were getting under way. For instruments and equipment, as well as millions of miles of delivery wire and cable, copper was the material of choice. Butte quickly boomed into a mini New York with lavish theatres, posh hotels, fine restaurants.

Wealthy copper barons wrestled for power, labor unions rose up, and the mines (more than 200 at one time) hummed 24 hours a day. The one-time mining camp became a metropolitan center of industry, culture and mass transportation in the West. By 1920 the population, a melting pot of Irish, Finns, Italians, Cornish, Welsh, Serbs, Chinese and others, grew to more than 100,000 people. Butte was visited by dignitaries such as presidents Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, and famous entertainers like Charlie Chaplin and Ethel Barrymore.

Evidence of Butte's history is apparent, from the head frames marking old mine shafts, to elaborate 19th century churches, to the last of the old stamp mills. Much of this heritage is well-preserved and readily accessible. This is why so many history buffs find Butte almost as difficult to leave as it is fun to visit.

The webcam is hosted by TheMontanaStandard.com, the Butte's online daily newspaper.

The above excerpt from the Butte Chamber of Commerce History page.

The pictures are stored throughout the day. To view the stored pictures, click on Day at a Glance and look through the displayed thumbnails. Then click on the one you like. To see the time the picture was taken, allow your computer mouse to hover over the thumbnail. If you don't see the picture you are looking for, you can often find it in Time Scope. You can also save the picture and email it as an attachment.

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