Museums 101: Mining Town Organizations (Photo Diary)

Hell Roarin’ Gulch is the re-creation of a mining town which is a part of the World Museum of Mining in Butte, America (okay, Butte is located in Montana, but calls itself Butte, America rather than Butte, Montana). The re-creation is more than just a bunch of old buildings: it is like either stepping back in time or walking into a movie set. Several of the buildings provide some insights into organizations that played an important role in the life of an early mining town: unions; the Catholic Church; and fraternal lodges.

Union Hall

Butte’s first union, the Butte Workingmen’s Union, was formed in 1878 when the mines cut wages from $3.50 per day to $3.00 per day. In 1885, the Butte Miner’s Union was formed and membership was limited to miners. In 1886, the Silver Bow Trades and Labor Assembly was formed when the Knights of Labor joined with the Butte Miner’s Union and the Tailor and Typographical unions.

Church:    

The log structure for the new St. Patrick’s at Brown Gulch was dedicated on August 15, 1922.

Knights of Pythias:

The Fraternal Order Knights of  Pythias was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1864. The Lodge was inspired by a play by the Irish poet John Banim about the legend of Damon and Pythias which illustrated the ideals of loyalty, honor, and friendship. The first Butte lodge was established in 1879. In the early 1900s, there were four lodges in Butte with almost 1,000 members. The lodge is still active today with over 30 members in Butte.

Order of Hibernians:

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