1864 to 1889
1864 – Prospector “Seven-Up Pete” McMahon names Silver Bow Creek.
1866 – Residents of Butte City attempt to form a miners’ union.
1870 – The Emma Mine has a new foreman – Marcus Daly, who later would become one of Butte’s famous Copper Kings.
1872 – W.A. Clark, another soon-to-be Copper King, makes first visit to Butte.
1876 – Mining prospector hits a substantial copper vein in the Parrot Mine.
1876 – Mining begins to boom in Butte with the opening of the Dexter Mill and Centennial Mill.
1876 – Marcus Daly, with the help of investors, takes over Alice Mine.
1878 – Cut wages at the Lexington Mine and Alice Mine trigger Butte’s first-ever strike.
1878 – Plans in motion to form the Colorado and Montana Co. At the helm were Nathaniel Hill and W.A. Clark.
1879 – It is official – Butte City is incorporated. With incorporation was the formation of the Butte Water Co.
1879 – Montana Copper Co. is formed by Lewisohn brothers.
1880 – Looking ahead, Marcus Daly pays $20,000 for two-thirds interest in Anaconda Mine and buys the other third interest the next year.
1880 – Let there be light – electricity comes to the area that encompasses Alice Mill and Mine.
1881 – Butte is now the seat of Silver Bow County.
1881 – Charles Meader is the proprietor of a new copper smelter.
1881 – Butte Workingmen’s Union is now called Miners Union of Butte City.
1881 – Banker and successful Butte entrepreneur sells the Lexington Mine for $1 million, but retains 1/8 interest.
1881 – St. James Hospital opens its doors.
1881 – Two Irish organizations form – the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Robert Emmet Literary Association.
1882 – Marcus Daly just got richer as the largest deposit of copper sulphide to be found was discovered at the Anaconda Mine.
1882 – Brush Electric Light and Power is formed, thanks to a number of men, including W.A. Clark and Butte businessman Patrick Largey.
1884 – Mining City now has approximately 300 mines.
1887 – Butte is America’s leader in copper production.
1888 – W.A. Clark loses congressional seat to Thomas Carter.
1889 – Twenty-year-old F. Augustus Heinze makes his way to Butte. Heinze would later be referred to as the third Copper King.
1889 – Six men killed in a fire at the St. Lawrence Mine.
1890s
1890 – Nearly 11,000 people live in Butte.
1893 – Women’s Protective Union of Butte founded.
1894 – Riot disrupts Independence Day festivities when members of the American Protective Association fight with Irish residents. APA was an anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic group.
1895 – Referred to as the “Great Explosion,” 57 firemen are killed when fire erupts in warehouse district housing dynamite.
1898 – Hennessy’s Department Store opens.
1899 – W.A. Clark purchases Columbia Gardens.
1899 — Butte Country Club established.
For the rest of this timeline, click here: http://mtstandard.com/news/local/th-anniversary-timeline/article_9bf1c3dd-74b9-5e66-b328-488df21d3824.html