Event Details

Butte

Montana County Seat Challenge

Butte, Montana; Silver Bow County

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Event Elevation: 6,263 feet

Butte is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers 718 square miles, and, according to the 2020 census, has a population of 34,494, making it Montana's fifth-largest city. Established in 1864 as a mining camp in the northern Rocky Mountains on the Continental Divide, Butte experienced rapid development in the late 19th century, and was Montana's first major industrial city. In its heyday between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was one of the largest copper boom towns in the American West. Employment opportunities in the mines attracted surges of Asian and European immigrants, particularly the Irish; as of 2017, Butte has the largest population of Irish Americans per capita of any U.S. city.

Silver Bow County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,133. Its county seat is Butte. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the single entity of Butte-Silver Bow. Silver Bow County comprises the Butte-Silver Bow, MT Micropolitan Statistical Area.