WEST CENTRA!. :MnNTAXA 



107 



BUSINESS STATISTICS— Number of railrcads, 2: railway mileage, exclusive of 

 spurs and sidetracks. 97. 5S. Number of manufactures, 15; average number wage earners, 

 440: value nf prothicts. $1,180,626. Number of banks. 4. Number general stores. 14; 

 confectionery, etc.. 11: groteries and meats, 11: lumber yards, 3; total number merchants, 

 120. Total assessed valuation 1922 meicliandise, $701,484. Number of grain elevators, 3; 

 total capacity. 120.000 busliels. Number of saw mills, 8. Number of lawyers, 8. Num- 

 ber of physicians. 4. 



AGRICULTURE (1920 census) — ^Number farms. 476; farm acreage, 520,065; im- 

 proved farm acreage. 125,924; irrigated acreage, 64,045: average value all property, per 

 farm. $34,904. Livestock assessed 1922 — number cattle, 15,366; number sheep, 94,277; 

 number horses. 4.479: number swine (census), 1,951. 



Deer Lodge.. Elevation, 4.509 feet. Average date 

 average date first killing frost in fall, September 6. 



An- 

 May June July Aug. Sept. 

 1.65 2.22 .90 .81 1.26 

 51.3 61.1 67.7 64.1 55.4 

 Population Countv Seat, 3,780. 

 -No. 



CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA — At 

 last killing frost in spring, June 11; 



Jan. Feb. Mar. 

 Ave. Prec. .70 .48 .92 

 Aver. Temp. 21.6 24.0 30.1 



County Seat, Deer Lodge. 



County Agricultural Agent 



April 



.82 



40.6 



DEER LODGE COUNTY 



D 



EER LODGE, in southwestern Montana, its 

 northern half on the Pacific coast slope and 

 its southern half on the Atlantic side of the 

 continental divide, is primarily an indus- 

 trial county. At Anaconda, the county seat, 

 is the largest and most modern ore reducing 

 plant in the world. One-fourth of all cop- 

 per ore produced in the United States is 

 treated here. "N^'hen operating at capacity 

 it employs 4.000 men. Plants for the utili- 

 zation of smelter by-products have been 

 erected, including one for making sulphuric 

 acid, another for making arsenic, and an- 

 other that manufactures super-phosphate 

 fertilizer. There is some farming and truck 

 gardening in the Deer Lodge valley, on the 

 Pacific coast slope. Stock raising is the 

 principal industry on the eastern side of the 

 mountains, winter forage being put up in 

 the valley along the Big Hole River, while good summer range is found in the 

 national fox'ests that occupy more than half the total area of the county. 



While the Deer Lodge valley was one or the first places iti Montana to be 

 settled, and Deer Lodge county one of the original nine counties when the territory 

 of Montana was created, the present county did not assume 

 importance until INIarcus Daly decided to build a smelter for 

 the treatment of Butte ores. For this purpose, he founded in 

 1SS3 the town of Anaconda, and built a I'ailroad, since electri- 

 fied, to connect it with Butte, 28 miles distant. From a plant 

 treating 500 tons of ore daily, the works have been enlarged until now they have 

 a capacity of 12.000 tons of ore every 24 hours and a monthly payroll of .$300,000. 

 Besides having the largest copper smelter in the world. Anaconda is the 

 largest producer of unrefined arsenic in the United States and ranks second in 

 refined white arsenic. The sulphuric acid plant has a capacity of 70,000 tons a 

 year. The acid is used in making super-phosphate fertilizer. The capacity of the 

 present phosphate plant is 10,000 tons a year, but work of enlarging it to a 

 capacity of 30.000 tons is under way. The phosphate rock is shipped from mines 

 at Conda, Idaho. 



A fire brick plant is operated in connection with the smelter, being built to 

 make refractory brick that would take the place of a product that was imported 



Biggest Copper 



Smeller in 



World 



