{"id":3390,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:58:08","latitude":46.03073238983728288076235912740230560302734375,"longitude":-112.5214898586273193359375,"title":"Badger State Mine","subtitle":"1880-1966, 4169 Feet Deep","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/110700557f74bd70ae334ee1e247074e.jpg","address":"No street address","all_locations":[],"zoom":16,"creator":["Story of Butte","Nancy Woodruff","Butte Historical Society"],"description":"The Badger, like most of the works on the eastern end of the hill, was principally a copper-bearing mine. Its large deposits of zinc and lead, however, gave this mine importance during war years. Before the Berkeley Pit was excavated, dozens of other mines pierced the surrounding landscape, all of them extracting copper.<br />\r\n<br />\r\nThe two buildings behind the substation to the west housed huge pumps that supplied compressed air to the inner depths of the Badger and many other mines. Still visible at the Badger are the headframe, hoist house, and auxiliary hoist house. The two steel towers are called idler towers. They supported the tremendous weight of the slack hoist cables.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"No public access","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":[],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/110700557f74bd70ae334ee1e247074e.jpg":{"id":5310,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Shift Change at the Badger-State Mine, 1951","description":"Men coming off shift at the Badger-State Mine, including Frank Cunningham in the striped coat. | Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives | May, 1951 | C. Owen Smithers","thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/110700557f74bd70ae334ee1e247074e.jpg"},"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/b1eda769f2eb0c6aa1a6908907592b9a.jpg":{"id":5311,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Badger-State Mine, 1927","description":"World Museum of Mining | August 18, 1927","thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/b1eda769f2eb0c6aa1a6908907592b9a.jpg"},"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/1f8873aefb60b5d6cdfbab63f4d5f5b5.jpg":{"id":5312,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"View of Badger-State Mine","description":"The Badger-State Mine, looking to the southeast, taken around 1920. | Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives | Circa 1920 | C. Owen Smithers","thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/1f8873aefb60b5d6cdfbab63f4d5f5b5.jpg"},"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/1d7b461c7cdfffd1081e2f655c6849b1.jpg":{"id":5313,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Badger-State Mine Looking Toward McQueen","description":"Badger-State Mine with mine yard, looking toward the East Ridge with McQueen and East Butte neighborhoods visible in the valley below. | Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives | C. Owen Smithers","thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/1d7b461c7cdfffd1081e2f655c6849b1.jpg"},"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/f6e15683764fb787745bcf8fcbe9d86e.jpg":{"id":5315,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Badger-State Mine Yard","description":"View of the Badger-State Mine, looking west from the headframe toward the hoist house. This is a vertical photo. Click on the title to view the full image. | Library of Congress | Historic American Engineering Record","thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/f6e15683764fb787745bcf8fcbe9d86e.jpg"}}}