Anaconda was founded by Marcus Daly in 1883 as a smelter site to reduce the metal-bearing ore mined in nearby Butte. The establishment of the smelter in Anaconda was due entirely to the abundance of water which is necessary in the reduction of metal from ore.
For many years Anaconda enjoyed a stable economy based on the operations of the Reduction Works of the Anaconda Company. Copper smelting was the dominant industry and the main key to the local economy. Other metals and products important to the local economy included: 99.99 percent zinc, lead, silver and gold as bi-products of the copper operation. In it's most productive times, the Anaconda Company employed about 1,100 people. Through the years Anaconda-Deer Lodge County enjoyed being one of the leaders in the state regarding high average wages and low employment.
The court house manager told us that when the smelter shut down in 1980, 700 people lost their jobs and the people of Anaconda were sure they would become a ghost town. Surprisingly, through preseverance the town and county has survived and is a charming community of 10,000 today. However, there are many who believe the huge slag piles that are still evident at the edge of town continue to pollute the groundwater with carcinogens to this day but I haven't read anything to corroborate those statements.
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