Montana / BACKROADS CULTURE

Anaconda

Copper connected two towns through work.

HistoryWork & industry

Dedicated town story

Anaconda’s historical reel follows copper from the mines of Butte to the smelter. That relationship places the town within the industrial growth of the American West. The account begins with the work concentrated here and the scale of the industry around it.

The low sun shines past a tall brick smelter stack above snowy ground.
Anaconda’s stack at sunset. Frame from a Backroads Culture archive video.Backroads Culture / SPYR Media Group · Film frame 00:01.13
Snow lines the roofs of downtown Anaconda buildings with the stack visible on a hill beyond.
The industrial landmark above today’s town. Frame from a Backroads Culture archive video.Backroads Culture / SPYR Media Group · Film frame 00:33.13
An Anaconda Stack State Park viewing-area sign stands below the distant stack.
The stack as a public landmark. Frame from a Backroads Culture archive video.Backroads Culture / SPYR Media Group · Film frame 00:08.66

Follow the material

The story connects the smelter with ore from the Butte mines.

See the industrial scale

The reel places that work inside the wider growth of copper production in the West.

About this story

An editorial account drawn from Backroads Culture’s original reporting and project material. The coverage label describes what is available here. Original media and collaboration credits accompany the work. Dates and offers in archive reels belong to their original publication.

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