The county of Deer Lodge was built on the proceeds from copper and copper smelting, so a copper topped courthouse is quite appropriate.
Originally named
Copperopolis, the city was renamed by the postmaster who discovered that there was already a
Copperopolis in Montana. He chose the name
Anaconda after the Anaconda Mine in Butte. Today a city of over 9,000 population, Anaconda is part of the
Butte–Anaconda Historic District, the largest Historic District in the nation with over 6,000 contributing properties. The city itself contains many National Historic sites and districts. Anaconda is the county seat of Deer Lodge County, with the governments of the two amalgamated into one, making the
Deer Lodge County Courthouse also the city hall, not to mention its being a
National Historic Place.
For a very small county, this is really quite a grand courthouse, but then it also has been forced to serve as the Anaconda City Hall. Built in 1898, its exterior is 100 percent stone, topped with a copper dome on its tall bell tower. In a town built solely on copper, a copper dome was absolutely necessary.
Grand as it is on the outside, the Courthouse-City Hall is equally fine on the inside, as the photos below will attest. Especially worthy of a visit is the interior of the building's dome, with stained glass at the peak and frescoes surrounding the dome's walls.
DEER LODGE COUNTY COURTHOUSE
This valley known by Native Americans as “Lodge of the White Tailed Deer” officially became Deer Lodge County when this area was part of the Territory of Idaho. After the creation of the Territory of Montana in 1864, the first territorial legislature named Deer Lodge one of Montana’s original nine counties. The county seat, first located at Silver Bow and then Deer Lodge, moved to Anaconda in 1896. A bond election in 1898 assured funding for the construction of a county courthouse. County Clerk Martin Martin suggested placing the building at the head of Main Street rather than in the middle of the block so that “A stranger visiting Anaconda has no need to ask where the court house is.” Architects Charles E. Bell and John N. Kent, who also drew the plans for the state capitol in Helena, were commissioned to design the building. Deer Lodge County officials moved from Anaconda’s City Hall into the new facility in the spring of 1900.
The grand Neoclassical style building, constructed of buff-colored dressed sandstone, features a central two-tiered, domed tower. On the interior, the dome’s painted ribs dramatically simulate structural members. Frescoes and county seals by Consolidated Artists of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, adorn the panels between the “ribs.” Other interior appointments include an ornate spiral staircase of oak and marble treads, oak banisters, and cast iron risers. Decorative square cast iron newel posts, originally capped with electric lights, are especially noteworthy.
From the NRHP plaque at the building
DEER LODGE COUNTY COURTHOUSE
The first Deer Lodge County was created by the Idaho Territorial Legislature when this area was a part of Idaho. It was also one of the nine counties established by the Montana Territorial Legislature in 1865 when Montana was separated from Idaho. Its name came from the valley called by the Indians "Lodge of the White Tailed Deer."
The boundaries of Deer Lodge County have undergone numerous changes. "Silver Bow, Granite and Powell Counties were created from portions of Deer Lodge, and parts of it were added to Lewis and Clark and to Flathead Counties. The first county seat of Deer Lodge County was at Silver Bow, but was changed to Deer Lodge City in 1867. The town of Anaconda was formed by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company in 1883. The new town grew rapidly and the county seat was moved from Deer Lodge to Anaconda in 1896.
Consideration for building a courthouse for Deer Lodge County began about 1897. The county commissioners purchased the site and hired architects Bell and Kent (Charles E. Bell and John N. Kent) of Helena to design a courthouse and a jail. Upon acceptance of the design, a bond issue was put before the voters of Deer Lodge County. It passed January 25, 1898. Construction began that spring and the building was finished in early 1900. Contractors for the building were Dolan and Hamill of Anaconda. Total cost of the courthouse and the adjacent jail reached slightly more than $100,500.
The building is significant both for its impressive and stately architecture and for the three quarters of a century in which it has housed the county government of Deer Lodge County.
From the NRHP Nomination Form