Archives West Finding Aid

In 1887 Samuel H. Treloar lobbied the management of the Boston and Montana Consolidated Copper Mining Company of Meaderville for the creation of an industrial band--a band he argued that could help create a more reliable labor force for the mine. The Boston and Montana Mining Company Band held its first rehearsal on December 22, 1887, with Treloar as bandmaster. Potential members were enticed to join the band with the promise of much coveted day shifts. The band became not only a popular attraction in Meaderville, but also Butte and other surrounding communities.

Gaining prominence in Montana, the band attended the 1896 National Democratic Convention in Chicago and the 1900 National Democratic Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. On the return from Kansas City during a layover at Lincoln, Nebraska, the band under the direction of Treloar serenaded Democratic presidential nominee Williams Jennings Bryan at his home. After returning from the convention, the band changed its name to the Butte Mines Band, as the Anaconda Copper Mining Company had purchased the Boston and Montana Consolidated Copper Mining Company. The band now represented all of Butte's mines.

The Butte Mines Band won first prize, and national acclaim, at the National Convention of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1902. The band won this national competition again in 1906 and 1909 as well as earning praise from noted bandmaster John Philip Sousa. As its popularity increased the band performed at Columbia Gardens and throughout the state of Montana.

At its peak the band had forty-eight members representing almost every mine in Butte. Sam Treloar acted in the capacity of bandmaster until his death in 1951. The band continued to play into the mid 1950s.