The Anaconda claim was located in 1875. In 1881 Marcus Daly discovered the copper vein that began copper mining in Butte, Montana. The Anaconda Copper Mining Company was organized on June 18, 1895 in Butte and it dominated the early industrial history of Montana. In 1903 nearly three-quarters of the wage earners in the state were either directly or indirectly working for the company. In 1917 there was a general miners' strike, and much worker/owner tension stirred up by the war, the I.W.W., and the fear of sabotage. The company interests gradually extended beyond copper into areas such as silver mining, milling, coal, and manufacturing. Both world wars created huge booms in production for the company. In 1945 Anaconda embarked on a program of expansion, rehabilitation, and improvement. New methods were introduced to increase the output of mines already in use. In April 1955 the company's name was changed to The Anaconda Company. Production of primary copper from company mines in 1959 totaled 980,399,000 pounds. From 1895 to 1960 the Butte mine had produced almost fifteen billion pounds of copper. The Anaconda Company shut down its operations in Butte in 1983.
During the period from 1939 to 1946 the Anaconda Copper Mining Company operated the Flathead Mine, a rich source of silver ore eight miles northeast of Niarada, Montana. Although the federal government shut down most silver mines during World War II, it allowed the Flathead Mine to continue due to a small percentage of war-required metal, lead, mixed in with the silver. The Company discontinued this mining operation in 1946.
This company store ledger, 1939-1946, includes records for employee purchases from the company store at the Flathead Mine located eight miles northeast of Niarada, Montana. The purchases mostly consist of items to be used working in the mine like a Skulgard hat, gloves or lamps, and tobacco products listed by brand names like Velvet, Bull, and Edge. Each employee's ledger page also includes the record of the amount subtracted from their pay for their purchases.
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[Name of document or photograph number], Anaconda Copper Mining Company Store Ledger, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.
Paul McLeod retrieved the ledger from one of the few remaining buildings at the mine site in 1987.
Donated to the Archives by Paul McLeod, 1993.
The bulk of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company records are held at the Montana Historical Society Research Center in Helena, Montana.
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