Guarding Butte's northwest corner is the prominent conical hill, Big Butte, from which our city took its name. The community itself is located virtually on the Continental Divide, surrounded by mountains, and lies on some of the world's richest mineral reserves.

Gold miners arrived in Butte in 1864 with picks, shovels and gold pans. By 1900, the Butte Hill and its huge copper deposits were known as "the richest hill on earth." In fact, at the turn of the century, Butte was one of the largest cities west of the Mississippi. After a worldwide slump in the copper market shut down mining operations in 1983, Butte citizens bounced back with a "can do" attitude. Mining operations resumed in the East Pit in 1986. Today, Butte is a city in transition to a more diversified economy, including energy research, medicine, tourism, environmental technology and, in the future, manufacturing of computer parts.

The people who built Butte were both native and foreign born. Butte's colorful history can also be seen in its preserved Victorian uptown business district and stately mansions. Butte has a wonderful town history. Because the town was such a booming metropolis in its early days, much of that mining flavor is still prevalent as is the pride of the people who live there. Butte has often been referred to as "the richest hill on earth," and you'll see that it's not only rich in material wealth, but in history as well.