Though it may have been seen as still being a lumberjack's town in the 1930s, it is possibly better known today as
the town that was poisoned. In 1919 vermiculite was discovered in the nearby hills and a mine and processing plant put into operation, continuing in production until their closure in 1990. Vermiculite proved to be an excellent material for building wall insulation, fire-proofing and soil conditioning.
Unfortunately, the Libby vermiculite also contained small amounts of carcinogenic asbestos, containing minuscule, hook-like, glassy fibres which pierce the lining of the lungs and never come out. Not only were the miners and plant workers of Libby exposed to the asbestos, but the waste material from the plant was donated to the town as soil conditioner for parks, school yards and sports fields, exposing the entire population. As a result, 400 Libby residents have died and at least half of the town's population of 3,000 exhibit symptoms of exposure, from respiratory ailments to cancer.
The town of Libby has been a
Super Fund Site since 2002, with cleanup ongoing. The situation has been termed one of
America's worst man-made environmental disasters and the owner of the mine since 1963, the WR Grace Company, has been facing lawsuits for two decades or more and at least one settlement has been approved, this for $43 million. The company was also ordered to pay the U.S. government more than $54 million to cover Super Fund cleanup costs.
The town, however, appears to the visitor passing through to be just another small American town, with the usual amenities of parks, library, fire department, police department, etc., with the locals carrying on with their lives as usual. There's really no visible hint of the town's health disaster other than a Super Fund memorial in one of the riverside parks.
Today Libby is also known as the
City of Eagles for its more than 40 eagle sculptures. The 40 plus eagles scattered about Libby and area were all created by Todd Berget and long time friend Darien Greason. A teacher at Libby Central School, in his spare time Berget creates steel eagles for his business,
Custom Iron Eagles of Libby.
Coordinates given here are for the old town hall, now the police station. It was one of two gifts received by the city of Libby from the WPA in the '30s, the other being the Lincoln County Courthouse. The old town hall is much more photogenic than their new one and would have been the one in use at the time that the WPA writers passed through.
The entry from the American Guide Series book
Montana, A State Guide Book follows.
LIBBY, 193.7 m. (2,053 alt., 752 pop.) is a lumberjacks' town. They come in from nearby logging camps for supplies and occasional celebrations that are vastly exaggerated in legend and fiction. The lumberjacks have a style all their own, and a swaggering vitality that seems to be increased rather than diminished by their exhausting and dangerous work.
Though they do not invariably appear in brilliant checked shirts and mackinaws, stag pants, calked boots, and wiry black beards, the streets of Libby nevertheless give evidence that this is Paul Bunyan's country. Libby's sawmill, second largest (1938) in Montana, saws between 60 and 80 million board feet of lumber annually.
Libby, named for the daughter of one of a group of prospectors who discovered gold on Libby Creek in 1862, is the seat of Lincoln County, one of the most mountainous and heavily wooded areas in the State. Much of the region is not readily accessible, but its scenery and fine fishing repay the effort to reach it. Near the town the rare mineral, vermiculite, is mined (see INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE).
In the PUBLIC LIBRARY, left wing of the courthouse, is a photostatic copy of a map of the Kootenai region drawn in 1813 by David Thompson (see HISTORY). The original is in the British Museum.
From Maine: A Guide 'Down East', Page 244