Montana Tech
The Enabling Act of 1889 laid the foundation for the Montana School of Mines, providing for the first federal land grants for the establishment of mining schools. This landmark provision thus recognized the significance of mining industries to the newly admitted western states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington. A commission appointed by Governor J. E. Rickards to investigate establishing such a school in Montana determined that the heart of Montana’s mining industry — Butte — would be the ideal location.
At the foot of Big Butte, with its sweeping view of the surrounding area rich in mineral ores, the cornerstone of Main Hall was laid in the fall of 1896. Designed by Montana’s premier architect John C. Paulsen, the splendid Renaissance Revival style building was completed in 1897, but it presided over Butte unoccupied for lack of additional funds. Thanks to the generosity of local benefactors, the school finally opened in 1900 to 39 students, 36 men and three women. Two degrees were offered, electrical engineering and mining engineering.
During the next decades, architects George Carsley, C. S. Haire, Floyd Hamill, and Walter Arnold left their marks on the campus following Paulsen’s lead. Federal assistance during the 1930s allowed expansion and extensive landscaping, which greatly enhanced the campus.
The Montana School of Mines earned its excellent academic reputation partly because Butte offered unsurpassed opportunities in practical observation and firsthand mine experience, a facet of training not emphasized by other mining schools. Today, the school is named Montana Technological University but is known as Montana Tech. It serves about 2,500 students.
Montana Tech Arch
Arch Spans Park Street Entrance to Campus
The Montana Tech Arch was funded by Bob and Pauline Poore, philanthropists in the Butte community. The arch was designed by local architect Harold “Pete” Godtland, and was modeled after Bob Poore’s alma mater’s arch, Sather Gate on the UC Berkeley campus. The Montana Tech arch was dedicated in…
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Marcus Daly Statue
Statue Pays Tribute to One of Butte's Three Copper Kings
Marcus Daly, one of Butte’s three copper kings, died November 12, 1900, at age 58. Within weeks, the Marcus Daly Memorial Association was organized with the primary goal of commissioning a monument. The group contracted internationally known sculptor Augustus St. Gaudens, the Irish-born designer…
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Chancellor's Residence
Home was a WPA Project
Francis A. Thomson was the first school president to enjoy this fine residence, completed during his tenure in 1936. Thomson had declared upon his arrival in 1928 that, because of its barren grounds, the school had the “ugliest campus of any educational institution” in any of the continents.…
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Science and Engineering Hall
This site was first home to barracks for the Student Army Training Corps during World War I. When the war ended, the barracks were converted into what was described as a freshman drawing room and a physics laboratory and office. However, in the winter of 1920 McKinley Elementary caught fire,…
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Engineering Hall
Building was Originally a Gymnasium
The north half of this building was constructed in 1910 as a gymnasium and auditorium, designed by noted Montana architect C.S. Haire. It was the third campus building. As Montana Tech grew during the next decade, expansion became crucial. Engineering students in particular required spacious…
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Leonard Field
Originally Nicknamed the Bean Bowl
The Montana State School of Mines attempted to build an activity field in 1920 but was unsuccessful due to lack of funding. In 1931, the Silver Bow County Emergency Relief Association took on the task of creating the field, with the assistance of unemployed miners. It was the beginning of the Great…
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Main Hall
First Building Constructed for the School of Mines
Main Hall was the first building constructed for the Montana State School of Mines. Originally known as the “School of Mines building,” its cornerstone was laid on December 29, 1896. Designed in the Renaissance Revival style by John C. Paulsen, one of the Rocky Mountain region’s most prominent…
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Museum Building
Brass Doors Depict the Evolution of Mining
The placement of this building on the corner overlooking Leonard Field and Summit Valley in 1939 added balance to the existing Montana Tech buildings and rounded out the campus. Designed by Butte architect Walter A. Arnold and constructed at a cost of $191,314, the three-and-one-half-story Art Deco…
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Mill Building
Huge Boilers, which Supplied Heat to Campus Buildings, Still Intact
Only nine of Main Hall’s twenty-five rooms were originally heated by furnace. To remedy that situation, the Mill Building was constructed during 1907 and 1908 to house a large heating plant. This second campus building furnished steam heat to Main Hall and, later, to other campus buildings. It was…
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Chemistry and Biology Building
Construction Halted by Court Ruling, Strike, and Partial Collapse
Construction for the Chemistry and Biology Building began in 1920 after Montana citizens supported a $250,000 special bond issue for it. The bond, however, was challenged in court, and progress was halted. Building resumed and stopped again when workers went on strike for five months. Shortly after…
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Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology
The Montana State Bureau of Mines and Metallurgy was created in 1919 under the direction of Dr. C.H. Clapp, then president of the Montana State School of Mines. Clapp was director of the Bureau from 1919 to 1921. After his departure, the Bureau floundered a bit until Francis Thomson became…
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Big M
Iconic Symbol Was Constructed by Students in 1910
The students of the Montana School of Mines constructed the Big M in May of 1910. The student body gathered to place the emblem of their school in “the most conspicuous place” they could--on the face of Big Butte. They made the letter 67 feet high and 75 feet wide. The M was laid out by surveying…
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