The Butte daily miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1885-18??, 1886-01-01
William Graham, Frank Madison and


to he the first lead found in the Summit
Valley District. 1t this period there
were no stakes found nor no Indications
that any work had been done, except Il
hole four or five feet deep on what is
known as the Original lode. Near by
was i, pair .: elk horns, and Judging from
appearances the hole had been dug for
years, hut by whom has never been
asccrtaincd. Rich placcrs were dis
covered in the vicinity Of Butte early
in 1864, and in August of the same year
the first mini,. district was formed with
William Allison, president, and &. O.
Humphreys, recorder. In the fall of
1864, the odd Town of Butte was located
ON Town g,,lch and its name given as
above stated The first saw mill was
soon after erected by Thomas Ii.
OConnor. In 1854 George W. Newkirls
came in from Alder Gulch and at that
the present Butte townsite, and he,
Dennis lcary, 7. G. Porter and the
Humphrey Brothers built one on Quartz
street and it is still standing, being Il
portion Of the Girton House. lii 1853
becoming disguised, they sold il u Mr..
Clifton fnr 500, and threw i'll lot that
il now valued ut $4,000. In 1867 Joseph
Ramsdell struck the Parrot, and in the
fall Of the same year y smrltcr Of which
all traces have disappeared was built to
work the ore. David n. Upton, who
arrived in September, 1866, says: "Tllerc
were no buildings where the townsitc is
now, but in Buffalo Gnlrh, near Center
willie, there were about forty men and
five women, and they thought they had
the biggest town in the mountains
They were placer mining there with
rockers, and did pretty well. In the
spring of 1867, the Butte townsitc was
laid ont and at one time the population
reached 500. Then the pl,ccrs gave out
and nearly everybody left, and the town
did not yet lively again until 1875, when
Farlin struck the Travona. lie has
stayed with the camp, bought about
twenty quartz claims and has enough
placer ground to last for ten wears. The
past summer he cleaned upa good sum.
John Noycs came to Butte in August,
1866, and has for many years been the
partner of David Upton. Both men are
now wealthy. In 1sGGtlc Moves 4 Upton
mining ditch, twelve miles long, was
built by Mr.. Noyes at a cost of $50, 600.
During the same year the lower mining
ditch was built by Humphrey Brothers.
Early in 1867, the upper ditch was
brought in by the same firm. All of
these are still in use.
In 1867, Butte was at its height as a
placer camp, and i'll 1868 it began to
decline. In 1869 the comparative failure
q the water supply caused many to
leave, and in leaving they sold their
claims to those who remained and thus
the placers fell into the hands of few.
From 1869 to 1874, there was a steady
decrease in population and there was a
general fear that it would be virtually
abandoned.
There were, however, some who had
faith. They knew that there were quartz
Veins here. The Original, located two
years previously, had been sunk seventy
five feet, the Parrot and locations had
been represented faithfully in the belief
that Il process would be discovered by
which their property would be made
valuable. After time even the most
hopeful became Respondent. Repeated
efforts to work lodes, since famous, were
made and failed. In 1868, Dennis Leary