The Lexington Mine is the site of the only remaining strike fence at Butte mines.
Typical of many Butte mines, the Lexington experienced several distinct periods of operation accompanied by major changes to its built environment. Butte capitalist Andrew Davis invested in developing the Lexington first. Beginning in the mid1870s, he used a horse-powered whim to raise silver ore and treated his production at the old Hendrie stamp mill nearly a mile downhill (site of today’s Lexington Gardens). After encountering an exceedingly rich vein of silver, in 1881 Davis sold the Lexington to a group of French entrepreneurs for $1 million in cash and $2 million in stock. The French group upgraded the mine’s surface plant significantly, installing a steam- powered hoist at the shaft and constructing a 60-stamp mill with roasters about 600 feet west. An aerial tramway linked the works. By the late 1880s, the Lexington had yielded nearly $8 million in silver and was the deepest mine in Montana at about 1500 feet. Rich ores were all but depleted by then, and operations further suffered when the price of silver plummeted in 1893. The mill closed for good, but small-scale mining continued until a fire destroyed the shaft house in early 1903.
In late 1904, Copper king F. Augustus Heinze leased the Lexington and ushered in the next major episode of development. Instead of silver, Heinze intended to exploit the mine for zinc, a base metal primarily used in galvanizing iron and steel against corrosion. His crews equipped the shaft with one of the largest wood headframes ever in Butte, erected a wood-framed hoist house north of the shaft, and constructed a new mill east across Main St. The first reduction plant in Butte designed specifically for treating zinc ore, the mill failed to live up to expectations and created so much dust that nearby residents successfully secured a court injunction for its closure.
The Anaconda Mining Company (ACM) acquired the Lexington around 1916. Although only a minor producer, the Lexington contributed to the supply of Butte copper and zinc that aided the US and its allies in winning World War I. ACM did not operate the Lexington again until 1938, as a second world war loomed on the horizon. Mining continued until 1943 when operations ceased while the company rebuilt the surface plant, replacing the old wooden works with a steel headframe and a steel-frame hoist house and constructing two change houses for a large force of miners. After reopening in 1946, the Lexington became one of the top producers of zinc and copper in Butte. In the early 1950s, the company drilled a nearly mile-long tunnel from a site north of the Anselmo Mine to the Lexington’s 400-foot-level and started using it as a haulage tunnel for production from the Lexington and other Walkerville mines. Mining and production continued strong until 1957 when ACM closed the Lexington for good.
In recent years, ARCO conducted a cleanup project at the Lexington in anticipation of transferring the property to the local government. In addition to removing ruins and waste, the company refurbished the old 1940s hoist house. This work made the building available for entry and viewing.
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