PEER LODGE COUNTY. 



Deer Lodge county is another of the original nine counties of the state. The 

 ■county has been whittled down to such an extent by the formation of new counties 

 that it is of small area at present, ranking next to Silver Bow as the smallest 

 county in the state. 



Like Silver Bow it is small but rich. Likewise it is noted chiefly for its mineral 

 wealth. It is a mountain county, but contains as well, a part of the famous Deer 

 Lodge valley, where truck gardening, farming and fruit raising are conducted suc- 

 cessfully, although on a rather limited area, due to the small amount of agricultural 

 land available. There are also ranches of note in this valley of the Deer Lodge river, 

 which extends over from Powell county into the county of Deer Lodge. 



The chief industry is copper smelting. At Anaconda is located the Washoe 

 Smelter, of the Anaconda Copper Company, which employs many thousand men and 

 has a monthly pay-roll of hundreds of thousands of dollars. This great smelter is 

 the largest and most modern ore reducing plant in the world and smelts about one- 

 fourth of the copper produced in the United States. The ores are brought from the 

 mines at Butte, 28 miles distant, directly to the smelter by the Butte, Anaconda & 

 Pacific Railroad, which was built for this traffic, and which is operated exclusively 

 by electrical power. Even alter an inspection of the smelter one can scarcely 

 comprehen , the immensity of its operations. In connection with the smelter is an 

 •extensive sulphuric plant. 



Constant progress is made in reducing the cost of production of copper by 

 lessening the cost of getting out ore at the mines and in treating it at the smelters. 

 Large savings have recently been affected by the increased use of electrical power; 

 and the mines of Butte and the smelters of Anaconda and Great Falls are models of 

 efficient operation, while the wage scale is the highest in America. 



Anaconda, the county seat, owes its existence to Marcus Daly, founder of the 

 copper industry in Montana, who was attracted to it by the presence, so near Butte, 

 of an abundant supply of water. It has grown into a city of about 17,000 inhabitants, 

 is an attractive place of residence, has one of the most costly hotel edifices in the 

 state, many large business blocks, handsome dwellings, a daily newspaper, and manu- 

 factures lire and building brick. The county court house, the Hearst library, and 

 the Margaret Theatre would be notable buildings in a much larger city. 



The Montana State Fish Hatchery is located at Anaconda in the beautiful 

 Washoe Park. From here each year are sent thousands of fry to repopulate the 

 streams and lakes of the state, to supply sport for the nimrods. 



The population and business interests of Deer Lodge county are chiefly centered 

 in Anaconda at the base of the mountains. In the mountain section are placer and 

 quartz gold mines, extensive forests and scenic beauty spots which attract the eye 

 not only of tourists from outside the state, but also from the people of Montana who 

 take advantage of the good roads and beautiful scenery in that section. The Butte, 

 Anaconda and Pacific railroad recently has extended its lines to the mineral region 

 near Georgetown, where the mineral discoveries indicate that it will become an 

 important mining district. 



At Warm Springs is located the state asylum for the insane, costing $500,000 

 •or more. On the farm attached to the institution, is maintained the finest herd of 

 pure bred Holstein dairy cattle in the state. 



The head of Deer Lodge valley, located in this county is noted as one of the 

 best developed and richest agricultural sections in the state. The markets of Butte 

 and Anaconda absorb all the farmers and gardeners can produce. Live stock raising 

 is carried on, too, to a considerable extent. While wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, hay 

 and all manner of vegetables thrive, there is also a considerable amount of fruit 

 grown and the dairy and poultry industry is very profitable because of the near- 

 ness to good markets. 



The climate of the county is good. Being on the west slope of the Rockies, it 

 is within range of the warm chinook winds in winter, which come from the Pacific 

 Ocean. The mercury rarely falls below zero, and when it does, it is seldom for more 

 than one day at a time. 



The area of the county is 746 square miles. It has 72,106 acres of land that 

 have not yet been homesteaded and 9,471 acres of state land. More than 300,000 

 acres are in the national forests, affording pasturage for livestock during the 

 summer season. 



The assessed valuation of the county in 1918 is $12,866,450 including railroad 

 property. 



