Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1936-02-01
Oseph Ramsde|I Was First Copper Miner in Butte

Early residents Of Butte attach much
Importance to 'Firsts." The first brick
house, the first street car line, the
first smelter, first mail, first fire bril-
gade the first Sch0olhouse have all
claimed the attention Of the present
day descendants Of Butte's pioneers.
IN the list of "ffrstg" mining actiV-
tiles take major rank. A few Of them
are listed below, including the identi-
fication of the father of copper min
ing" In Butte-J0seDh RamSdell, who
was more interested In farming, stock
raising and freightlng than in mining
and who apparently drifted into the
mining industry through the force Of
the examples surrounding him.
The first discovery Of gold In the
Butte district is credited by James II.
Mills In Glover Leaves" to Bud Parker,
q. Allison and Jim and Joe Ester In
January, 1854 The first mining loca-
ton is credited by other writers to
Charles Murphy, May, William Ora
ham and Frank Madison, who, 1t is as
serted, located the Deer Lodge lode.
afterwards known as the Black Chief.
The first placer location mo ID, &C
cording to Gen. c. S. Warren, was
made by Bud Baker (Parker?), Frank
Ruff, Joseph and James Ester, July.
1864.
The first recorded quartz location
according to the Transcribed records Of
Deer Lodge cOunty-waS made by the |
MisSOula Mining company in July, 1854.
w. L. Farlin IS credited with the dis .
covery Of silver. Jim" Ledford with |
the principle Of copper water precipi- |
tation-Dr. F. A. Thompson says that
precipitation was practiced in Europe
many years before Ledford set up his
plant at Butte. The Butte Copper and
Zinc company Is said to be the first
to attempt the development of the zinc
industry CDR. NJ. Eisenberg's promo
tion). But Dick Atwater of the Butte
and Superior has claimed to be the
Columbus of the industry. The first
successful zinc plant is credited to
William Bruce, manager of the Butte
and Superior, who is credited by Carl
j. Trauerman with having established
the first successful plant in 1913.
And now with regard to copper which
Tor years has been the dominant min
ing industry of the Butte district. The
honor of having developed the first
copper mine is conceded by early writ
ers to Joseph Ramsdell-who was not
the first locator of a copper code, how
ever. Dennis Leary discovered the Par
rot lode on Oct 1, 1854. Ramsdel To-
Gated claim to the east of the Leary
have 1t "OLeary"
and called 1t Parrot No. 2. OF Rams
dali il Is said that he had "the faith,
the nerve, the persistence to demon
strate the existence Of paying copper
In Butte"
Gold miners, it is stated, laughed
at the old man"-Ramsdell was then
10 years old-while he was sinking a
l00-fOot shaft on the extension of the {
Leary location. In 1866 he, in asso-
citation with T. @. Porter and William &
Parks, erected the first smelter land c
shipped the first ore from the camp" s
IL .E-l4sr -
ne says of his mine. THE % tons of S
ore taken out daily-which Is sold to G
he Copper Co of Butte, in whose works C
t is reduced-yield from 20 to 60 per-
cent copper" Copper in those days
Is said to have commanded q price of =
80 cents a pound and silver was worth !
s1.29 an ounce. Other writers intimate
that not copper ore but copper matte
was shipped. Whether this was true
IS to the first shipments it was true
With regard to shipments in the 7Os.
But the RamSden Smelter did not 6
prove a success so that the credit for :
he first successful smelter appears
% belong TO the Montana Copper Co.
# which G. T. Meader for whom Mea
ierville is named. was the directing :,
pfrit. II
Ramsdell, the father of the Butte &
copper industry, was a freighter in Z
itead Of miner. He was born June IS,
1924, in Huron, later changed to Otta-
va county, Ohio. In 1847 he removed a
o Bureau county. ILL.,, to become a d
armer. v
In 1857 he removed to Macon. Mo-. n
md engaged In the livery business In q
he course of a couple of years the
western fever" got into his blood. He b
old his business in 1859 and removed IL
nth his family to Denver, where heI
ngaged. not in mining, but In "the "
freighting business" until al
- Al