This, the third of the six markers, tells of the Milltown Dam and the 1908 flood which, decades later, caused such huge damage. The markers are at the end of a paved walking path which leads downhill from a parking area on Deer Creek Road. Access to the road is from Highway 200 in Bonner via Speedway Avenue.
The 500 acre park extends from the Clark Fork River, just north of the confluence, up the slope to forested lands above. Much of the park is still undergoing restoration and is expected to be fully open by 2015. The viewpoint has an excellent view of the cleanup site, including the old dam site. Though the dam has been mostly removed, its footings remain under water and the old powerhouse to the north of the dam remains in place. From this viewpoint one may also see the 1921 roadway bridge in the distance as well as two of the original Great Northern railway bridges.
THE RISE OF INDUSTRY &
THE FATE OF THE RIVERS
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Much of the copper that helped electrify America at the turn of the last century came from Butte, Montana, a city on the slope of the Continental Divide renowned as the Richest Hill on Earth. William A. Clark, the self-made Copper King and Montana politician, owned mines and Butte's largest smelter, whose toxic wastes flowed directly into Silver Bow Creek at the headwaters of the Clark Fork River.
A COPPER KING'S DAM
Below you, at the confluence of the Blackfoot and Clark Fork Rivers, W.A. Clark built a dam to generate power for his new lumber mill and industries. Finished in January of 1908, Clark's dam was considered state-of-the-art with two million feet of timbers, 5,000 barrels of cement, hundreds of tons of structural steel and thousands of tons of granite. The dam's construction, according to one of Clark's early managers, ensured that "the highest waters known in this vicinity will not affect it in the least." That bold claim was soon tested as the two rivers experienced their greatest flood in recorded history.
A RAGING TORRENT
Weeks of heavy rain and snow melt in June of 1908 flooded the Clark Fork River, destroying homes, bridges, rail lines, and threatening the new dam. Clark's managers steadfastly proclaimed the dam's safety and bemoaned the circulation of rumors. "There is no more danger of the power dam going out," one told the press, "than there is of the mountains washing down into the river." But the dam did fail and a mountain did indeed wash into the river. Stripped of precious metals, crushed rock from the Richest Hill on Earth swept into the river as mine waste, spreading contamination from Silver Bow Creek down the Clark Fork River to the new reservoir behind the Milltown Dam and beyond.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Clark Fork River was named not for William A. Clark, the Copper King who built the Milltown Dam, but rather William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806.
MILLTOWN SUPERFUND TIMELINE
1908
Milltown Reservoir flooded with contaminated sediments.
1980
Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), better known as the Superfund law.
1981
Arsenic discovered in Milltown drinking water; homes placed on bottled water.
1983
Milltown Reservoir listed as the first federal Superfund Site in Montana; the State of Montana sues ARCO for natural resource damages at Milltown and other upper Clark Fork River sites.
1985
New, safe drinking water well installed for Milltown residents.
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1996
Study of possible cleanup options nearly completed. Ice jam occurs.
1997
EPA and State begin multi-year effort to reevaluate and expand possible cleanup and restoration options.
2000
Dam removal and cleanup is proposed by Missoula County and the Clark Fork Coalition.
2003
Milltown Superfund Redevelopment Working Group begins community and park planning work.
2004
EPA and the State of Montana propose dam removal.
2005
The State of Montana, the United States, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, ARCO and NorthWestern Corporation reach a negotiated agreement to remove the dam and contaminated sediments and restore the river and floodplain.
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2007
Clark Fork bypass channel built; sediment removal begins.
2008
Milltown Dam powerhouse demolished; dam breached.
2009
Dam's spillway removed; sediment removal concludes.
2009-2012
Roughly 17,000 feet of river channel and 400 acres of floodplain are reconstructed in former reservoir area.
2010
Clark Fork River diverted into new channel.
2010-2012
State of Montana acquires former reservoir and surrounding lands to create Milltown State Park and begins park development.
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From the marker