Then Came Copper
When Captain's Lewis and Clark were traveling through present-day Montana, they notes in their journals the minerals they came across in their journey. Montana is rich in minerals and known for its gold, silver, and sapphires, but one of its main exports was copper. The Great Falls area played a predominate role in the copper industry, with the Montana Smelter, located just south of Giant Springs State Park, being its first major industry. That smelter operated from 1888 to 1902. At the time the Montana Smelter was closing, the Boston and Montana Consolidated Copper and Silver Mining Company was improving its processes of copper, and later zinc, in the area around you. The company's buildings stretched along the north shore of the Missouri River from Black Eagle Dam downstream nearly to Steamboat Island by today's Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. Several companies merged into the Anaconda Mining Company in 1910 and at one time employed over 2,000 workers. The facility closed in 1980.