In 1874, a scant decade after Butte’s founding, the boom town was already on the verge of a bust.
It’s population, which had climbed to about a thousand, may have dropped as low as 61. The town was down – but, if you know anything about Butte, far from out.
A few prospectors renewed their interest in the settlement over the next year and found deposits of gold, silver and copper the first wave of miners had overlooked.
“These were daring, innovative individuals,” Chief Executive Matt Vincent said.
The character traits of those first rugged miners came to embody the legendary spirit of Butte, an ethos unlike anywhere else in Montana. In this city's 150-year history, generation after generation of Butte residents have faced new challenges and -- somehow -- always found a way to thrive.