Anaconda

History Marcus Daly, one of Butte's Copper Kings, built a smelter on Warm Springs Creek to process ore from his Butte mines and filed the town plat on 25 June 1883. He wanted to call it Copperopolis, but the name was taken, so he took the name of his Anaconda mine instead. When Montana became a state in 1889, Daly campaigned to make Anaconda the capital, but Helena, backed by his rival William A. Clark, won the referendums of 1892 and 1894. In 1903 Anaconda elected a Socialist mayor, treasurer, police judge and three councilmen, the party's first victory west of the Mississippi. By 1919 the Washoe Reduction Works claimed the world's largest non-ferrous processing plant. Atlantic Richfield closed the smelter in 1980, leaving a large contaminated area that the EPA and ARCO have since been cleaning up. Anaconda and Deer Lodge County merged their governments in 1977.

What to See Anaconda Smoke Stack State Park protects the 585-foot stack, one of the tallest free-standing brick structures in the world. The stack itself is closed to the public and can only be viewed and photographed from a distance: the viewing area, with interpretive signs, is at the junction of Park Street (Montana Highway 1) and Monroe Street on the east edge of town, about 1.2 miles from the stack, and is open daily during daylight hours all year. On the main street, the Washoe Theater, designed in 1930 by Seattle architect B. Marcus Priteca and opened in 1936, was the last theatre built in the United States in the Nuevo Deco style and still shows films. The Copper Village Museum and Arts Center covers local history and art, and the Hearst Free Library dates from 1898.

Outdoors The Old Works Golf Course, a Jack Nicklaus signature course, was built on the brownfield site of the original smelter works as part of the cleanup. Montana Highway 1 west of town is the Pintler Scenic Loop, which runs past Georgetown Lake to Philipsburg and on to Drummond on Interstate 90. Discovery Ski Area, near Georgetown Lake, has downhill runs including 15 double-black-diamond trails, as well as groomed cross-country trails. Silver Lake, Georgetown Lake, Echo Lake, Warm Springs Creek and the Big Hole River are all local fishing spots, and Fairmont Hot Springs, with an 18-hole championship golf course, is nearby.

Getting There Anaconda is on Montana Highway 1, just off Interstate 90. The nearest commercial airport is Bert Mooney Airport in Butte, about 28 miles away. Butte is about 24 miles east, Philipsburg about 30 miles west on the Pintler Scenic Loop, and Missoula about 108 miles north-west. Bowman Field, 3 miles north-east, is a small public airport.

When to Go June to September is best for golf, fishing, the Pintler Scenic Loop and Georgetown Lake. The stack viewing area is open year-round. In winter, Discovery Ski Area and cross-country skiing bring visitors, and the Winter Getaway dart tournament, the largest regional dart tournament in Montana, is held in several local bars.