The city of Anaconda exists solely because
Marcus Daly chose to build the
Anaconda Copper Company smelter at this location. It operated from the late 1800s until September 29, 1980, when it was shut down by Atlantic Richfield, which had bought the company in 1977. By 1915 Anaconda had become the world’s largest copper producer.
With the loss of the smelter, Anaconda shrank somewhat in size and today has roughly the same population (about 10,000) as it did in its heyday over 100 years ago. As a result of mining and smelting operations in the valley, the Butte-Anaconda area and the Upper Clark Fork river basin have been designated a
Superfund Site, the largest in the country.
Anaconda is within the
Butte Anaconda Historic District, the largest in the country and also a
National Historic Landmark. Within the city are many buildings which have been designated National Historic Places. The
Anaconda Company Smokestack, seen in the background, below, is a National Historic Place.