Now in archives: ‘Awesome’ Anaconda Co. records donated

By Justin Post, of The Montana Standard - 11/15/2007

Ellen Crain, above, director of the Butte-Silver Bow Archives explains how documents from the Anaconda Co. are stored and archived. Walter Hinick / The Montana Standard .

A massive collection of records dating back to the creation of the Anaconda Co. in the late 1800s has been transferred to the Butte Public Archives.

“It is just a truly, truly incredibly important series of documents about everything related to the state,” archives Director Ellen Crain told The Montana Standard.

The public will soon have limited access to the collection, which is being stored in the basement of the archives, 17 W. Quartz St., she said.

The documents represent the largest collection of historical records ever donated to the archives, Crain said. She estimates there are some 400 feet, more than the length of a football field, of boxed documents in the collection.

“It may be the most important collection in the state of Montana,” she said. “It’s the history of the state of Montana. It’s a very big deal.” Crain began work in 2002 to move the records to the archives from storage at the Kelley Mine warehouse. The last boxes were moved in recent weeks and officially transferred to Butte-Silver Bow through a legal agreement with the Atlantic Richfield Co.

Access to the collection is restricted under the agreement for the next 20 years, and anyone seeking access must petition Arco by completing an application at the archives.

See RECORDS, Page A6 An Arco spokesman could not be reached for comment, but Crain said access to large collections such as these is often restricted for legal reasons.

“I don’t foresee them blocking access for genealogy, academic or general research,” she said. “Those are the most common forms of questions we get.” The archives has received numerous requests from academics who are anxious to peruse the collection, Crain said.

Clemens P. Work, a University of Montana journalism professor and the author of “Darkest Before Dawn: Sedition and Free Speech in the American West,” is among those seeking access.

Work hopes the documents shed light on the mining giant’s influence in Montana politics and the state’s overall history.

“From the moment of its organization, it was the most powerful corporation in the state and continued to be that way for many decades,” he said. “I’m excited about the possibility of looking through those files. Anything that helps shed light on the state’s history is interesting.” The collection appears to include management records, letters, blueprints, aerial photographs, work records, geological studies, mining information, plans for stopes sills and raises, construction plans, information about railroads and minerals, development of the Berkeley Pit and construction of air shafts and the Columbia Gardens, among other documentation, Crain said.

The records also could give insight into the inner workings of the company during events such as the historic 1934 strike, she said.

“These documents are the first time we’ll know what happened inside the fence, so academics are going to be very excited to see this,” Crain said. “It’s awesome stuff from what we can see.” — Reporter Justin Post may be reached via e-mail at justin.post@lee.net.