Butte Archives

Story

The Archives is housed in the former 1900 Butte Fire Department station located in the Butte Anaconda National Historic Landmark District.

In 2007 a $7.5 million dollar bond issue was passed to renovate the existing Fire Station and add a humidity and temperature controlled vault addition.

The newly renovated Archives opened in August of 2010, and features a larger reading room, two humidity and temperature controlled vaults to house thousands of feet of historical documents, and an auditorium to host conferences, meetings, and speakers.

Mission

The Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives was established in 1981 by ordinance to maintain the non-current records of the city-county of Butte-Silver Bow. Given the significant industrial, political, and social history of Butte in the American West, the government records and archival holdings are in great demand by scholars, authors, and genealogists.

The Archives also accepts collections, manuscripts, and photographs from individuals, groups, schools, and organizations. The collections run the gamete from individual memorabilia to major historical documents donated by individuals, fraternal and sororal organizations, schools, and businesses.

The Archives provides and encourages public access to its unique holdings. People come away from the Archives with a new-found appreciation of history and the significance of preserving the documents and manuscripts that tell the story of Butte and, through its significant impact, the world.

Products

We offer a variety of publications on Butte and Montana.