Where the "Copper Kings" reigned

I recently wrote about my wife and I visiting the Merry Widow Health Mine in Basin, Montana. Before that stop we stayed three days in the Anaconda/Butte area and had the opportunity to learn about that part of the state where the Copper Kings reigned back in the day. I decided to write about my impressions of the area and its mining history. I came from a coal mining family and was curious to see how hard rock mining in Montana compared to underground and surface mining in the Midwest where I grew up. Here's some of what I observed and learned.

Copper mining in the Butte area started in the 18...