{"id":109,"ordinal":10,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:58:29","content_modified":"2026-04-17 19:58:29","featured":1,"title":"Butte's African American Community","creator":"Story of Butte","description":"<p>After the Civil War, the American west signified opportunity for wealth and a new start. No one knew that better than the hundreds of African Americans who came to Butte for a better life as free men and women. Charles Flagg was one of the first African Americans to settle in Butte, arriving in the 1880s. Others followed in his footsteps, finding success in the booming town as doctors, lawyers, teachers, business owners, cowboys and laborers. Butte was nothing if not multi-ethnic; roughly 50 nationalities resided in Butte at one time. Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 African Americans lived in Butte in the early 1900s. By 1920, the population began to decline, and even more so after World War II. \r\nBecause mining was strenuous and dangerous, many Butte newcomers avoided the mines. African Americans, like other ethnic groups on the margins of the society, understood the dangers but also sensed an opportunity. They took the jobs they could and started to establish their own neighborhood with churches, lodges, and businesses. Life in Butte was still difficult and full of racial strife, and racism. Too many residents did not welcome the African American community with open arms, offering instead substandard housing, segregated spaces, and inadequate public amenities.\r\n</p>","postscript_text":"","tour_img":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/c54f172d744cf5818f744e1c2b23654d.jpg","items":[{"id":3512,"title":"Making a Difference","latitude":46.01252747738332260496463277377188205718994140625,"longitude":-112.546537399275621282868087291717529296875,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/c54f172d744cf5818f744e1c2b23654d.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/c54f172d744cf5818f744e1c2b23654d.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":null,"custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":3513,"title":"Using Back and Brawn to Build Community","latitude":45.92052929999999832944013178348541259765625,"longitude":-112.4073834000000005062247510068118572235107421875,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/9d45000820428142a4a10a51492bf609.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/9d45000820428142a4a10a51492bf609.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":null,"custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":3514,"title":"Faith and Community","latitude":46.006840811083975495421327650547027587890625,"longitude":-112.540306091177626512944698333740234375,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/01590b84faaa8bf6ab2cd5b31c210676.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/01590b84faaa8bf6ab2cd5b31c210676.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":null,"custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":3515,"title":"Celebrating Community","latitude":46.01138110027253702583038830198347568511962890625,"longitude":-112.53575062748495838604867458343505859375,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/12c8ed507c897fb5b2152e5be3cad868.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/12c8ed507c897fb5b2152e5be3cad868.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":null,"custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}}]}