1958 Map of Butte

About this map

Butte and Helena anchor this expansive landscape where the industrial extraction of the Rockies meets the sweeping reaches of the Continental Divide. The heavy footprint of copper and silver mining is evident at the Open Pit Mine in Butte and the smelter works near Anaconda, while the surrounding terrain is defined by the Garnet Range and Sapphire Mountains. A complex transportation network ties these mountain settlements together, with the Northern Pacific RR and Chicago Milwaukee St Paul and Pacific RR tracing the river valleys alongside U.S. Highway 10. The map documents the mid-century intersection of massive federal landholdings, including the Deerlodge National Forest, with smaller mining camps and towns like Marysville and Deer Lodge. The presence of the Silver Gulch Cem near Helena provides a specific point of interest for those tracing the local history and genealogy of these Montana communities.