Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1937-07-10
FIRST SCHOOL in
BUTTE-1865-66

The first school In what is now
Silver Bow county stood on what Is
now the site of the Butte hotel. It
was taught by Thomas G. Porter in
the winter Of -66-the first year
of its existence. He conducted the
school until ne found that funds
were ObtainabIe for a teachers sal
airy and then he turned the school
over to Colonel Wood.
The above facts are obtainable from
biographical sketch Of Mr.. Porter
and from w. L. Robbins, one of the
first seven pupils to attend school In
what is now Silver Bow county and the
only survivor of that first class taught
by T. @. Porter. Mr.. Robbins resides at
Butte.
The following biographical sketch OF
MIR. Porter printed IN 1884 and touch
ing on his connection with the first
Butte school reads as follows:
Thomas G. Porter, Butte, public adj
ministrator of Silver Bow county, is
one of the very first settlers of the
Butte camp, having located here in
October, 1864, and has continued his
residence down to the present time. He
was born at London. England, in 1885,
came to America in 1843, and made his
home at Gloversville, N. r, until 1858,
when he moved to Illinois.
stampede and mined in Colorado until
1854 On hearing of the discoveries in
Alder glllch he Joined party Of pros
pectorS and reached that famous camp
In 1864. where he mined until October
and then moved to the Butte camp. At
that time there were q dozen white
men there. Among them were George
w. Newkirk, Dennis OIeary, @. 0.
j. r. Beck, Joseph Rams
-s.1y
liam Owsley." (Of this number only
four remained in 1880.
ION arriving here he engaged In
mining and is still interested in several
paving mines. He 1t was who organized
the first school district in what is now
Silver Bow county in the winter OF
1866. The schoolhouse was built on
the present site Of the st. Nicholas
hotel The Butte, it is stated, and old
the st. Nicholas. Meyer Genzberger, a
pioneer of 1882, identifies the sites Of
these two hotels as indical.
"Afr. Porter conducted this school
until he found that funds were obtain
able to pay q teacher, when he turned
The school over to Colonel Wood, the
first regular teacher"
w. L. Robbins states that the school
5erm under teacher Porter was either
snIGG OF lOUT ulOub4lc 1Oll6S o1AQ AACA1~
,ifies the school as "a log cabin only
! little way from the Porter cabin,
where I stopped" History identifies
his first school house as "Oatman
nall," which was probably a bit of
western wit-as calling Jack Jones
Fat Jack" because he was anything
1ut fat.
The Porter biography continues: 'In
1867 he, with OLeary, Ramsdell and
William Parks, erected the first smelt-
ng works in the Butte region, but
after operating the blast by horsepower
md expanding $1,000 economically, the
was voted failure. Mr. Por-
,er is now interested In the Posey."
THE directory of 1884 gives no such
nine as the 'Posey," but it does list
he Poser" Eagle Bird and Morning
star, fraction Iodes). eHe was elected
subtle administrator of Silver Bow
county in 1882, in which office he has
served faithfully. He Is a fair spect-
men of the old-time miner, claiminG
| thousand warm friends in the camp
ne helped establish"