Anaconda, county seat of Deer Lodge County, which has a

consolidated city-county In local government in the United States, United States local government, a consolidated city-county (#Terminology, see below for alternative terms) is formed when one or more city, cities and their surrounding County (United States), county (Lis ...

government, is located in southwestern

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, United States. Located at the foot of the Anaconda Range (known locally as the "Pintlers"), the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

passes within south of the community. As of the 2020 census the population of the consolidated city-county was 9,421. As a consolidated city-county area, it ranks as the ninth most populous city in Montana, but as only a city is far smaller.

History

Anaconda was founded by Marcus Daly, one of the Copper Kings, who financed the construction of the Anaconda smelter on nearby Warm Springs Creek to process copper ore from the

Butte In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...

mines. Daly originally named the site "Copperopolis", but that name was already used by Copperopolis, Montana, a small mining town in Meagher County. Instead, Daly accepted the name "Anaconda", and on June 25, 1883, Daly filed for a town plat using that name. There exists another story that the name was selected by the United States postmaster of the time, Clinton Moore. However, Moore filed the post office application in October 1883, well after the town plat was filed. When Montana was admitted as a state in 1889, Daly lobbied to have the capital moved to Anaconda, and Montana legislators decided to hold two referendums in 1892 and 1894 to choose a capital city. The campaigns for the referendums were heated, ending with a victory for Helena, the location supported by Daly's rival William A. Clark. In 1903, the

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America ...

won its first victory west of the Mississippi when Anaconda voters elected a socialist mayor, treasurer, police judge, and three councilmen. The Socialist Party had grown within the expanding Montana labor movement. Initially, the Anaconda Copper Mining Company tolerated socialist activities, but when the Socialists gained political power and threatened to implement reform, the company systematically undermined the party. City workers and councilmen refused to cooperate with the new mayor, and the company began to fire Socialists. In the long run, labor lost ground in Anaconda and the company exerted ever greater political control. The Anaconda Company expanded smelting capacity over time; by 1919 the Washoe Reduction Works could boast that its 585-foot (178 m) smokestack (

Anaconda Smelter Stack The Anaconda Smelter Stack is the tallest surviving masonry structure in the world, with an overall height of about , including a brick chimney tall and the downhill side of a concrete foundation tall. Provides precise dimensions via two drawin ...

) was the tallest masonry structure in the world and that the smelter-refining complex constituted the world's largest non-ferrous processing plant. In 1980, Atlantic Richfield Company closed the smelter, bringing an end to almost a century of mineral processing. While some aspects of the operation had been cleaned up under environmental laws, closing the smelter resulted in a large area contaminated with hazardous wastes. Since then, an operation for environmental cleanup was put into place by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and executed with the assistance of ARCO. The multimillion-dollar cleanup and redevelopment has resulted in the "Old Works" Golf Course, a championship 18-hole course designed by

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...

. Anaconda joined with Deer Lodge County to form a consolidated city-county government in 1977. Part of Anaconda is included in the Butte-Anaconda Historic District.

Geography

Central Anaconda is

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

, and is surrounded by the communities of Opportunity and West Valley. * Elevation: * Average annual rainfall: * Average length of growing season: 114 days * Average annual snowfall: * Average annual temperature: The county area is , characterized by densely timbered forestlands, lakes, mountains and recreation grounds. The county has common borders with Beaverhead, Butte-Silver Bow, Granite, Jefferson and Powell counties.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Anaconda has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

Demographics

For Anaconda, US Census Bureaus's 2015-2019

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

showed a median household income of $41,820. Anaconda had earlier peaks of population in 1930 and 1980, based on the mining industry.

Arts and culture

On main street is the Washoe Theater, which is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. It was the last theater constructed in the United States in the Nuevo Deco style. The theater was designed in 1930 by B. Marcus Priteca, an architect from Seattle and opened in 1936. It was listed by the NRHP for architectural significance in 1982. It currently is used for showing films, plus periodically hosting plays and other types of entertainment.

Government and politics

Deer Lodge County voters have a record as the most consistently Democratic county in Montana for Presidential elections. These voters have not supported a Republican candidate since

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

in 1924. In the last five elections before 2016, the Democratic candidate has won by 21% to nearly 49% of Deer Lodge County's vote. In gubernatorial elections, the only Republican to carry the county in the last twenty years was Marc Racicot in the 1996 election. In that election the original Democratic nominee, Chet Blaylock, died and Marc Racicot carried every county. The city is currently in the 36th and 39th districts of the

Montana Senate The Montana State Senate is the upper house of the Montana Legislature, the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Montana. The body is composed of 50 senators elected for four years. Half of the Senate is up for election every two years. ...

and is represented by Democrat Sara Novak and Republican Terry Vermeire in the 2025 legislative session respectively. Anaconda is also in the 71st and 77th districts of the

Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House In the event that the parti ...

, which has been represented by Democrat Scott DeMarois and Republican John Fitzpatrick since 2023 and 2025 respectively. This is the first time since 1945 that the city has been represented by a Republican in the state House of Representatives. Elected in 2017, Bill Everett is the current CEO. The CEO is elected by a plurality vote on a non-partisan ballot for a four-year term.

Sports and recreation

Hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

– There are hundreds of square miles of hunting available to the public in the area. With permit, hunting is permitted for fowl,

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

, elk,

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

and

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

. *

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

– Many nearby mountain lakes and streams offer such primary fishing spots as Silver Lake, Georgetown Lake, Echo Lake, Storm Lake, Racetrack Lake, Warm Springs Creek, Warm Springs Ponds, and the Big Hole River. *

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

– The Old Works Golf Course is a

-signature

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

, developed of

brownfield land Brownfield is previously-developed land that has been abandoned or underused, and which may carry pollution, or a risk of pollution, from industrial use. The specific definition of brownfield land varies and is decided by policy makers and l ...

. A local country club and an 18-hole championship golf course are located at Fairmont Hot Springs. * Skiing – The area has many trails for cross-country skiers, and the nearby Discovery Ski Area has downhill skiing with 15 downhill double-black diamond trails and of groomed cross-country ski trails. *

Darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Point ...

-The annual Winter Getaway dart tournament, held in several local establishments, is the largest regional dart tournament in Montana. *

Museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

s – The Copper Village Museum and Arts Center provides visitors and residents with art and history of the local area. *

Hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

– Hiking opportunities in and around Anaconda include trails up to mountain lakes and a mountain that can be climbed without technical equipment. A walking trail is on the north side of Anaconda next to Warm Springs Creek. *

Drag Racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, mos ...

– Lost Creek Raceway was founded in 1986 and hosts over 20 events a year bringing racers from Washington, Idaho and Montana. *

Mountain Biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

Education

Four schools are part of Anaconda School District 10, including a

Head Start program Head Start is a program of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and families. It is the olde ...

; Lincoln Elementary (grades K-3), Fred Moodry Intermediate School (grades 4–6), and Anaconda Junior-Senior High School (grades 7–12). The mascot of Anaconda Junior-Senior High School is the Copperheads. The Hearst Free Library serves the area.

Infrastructure

Anaconda is on

Montana Highway 1 Montana State Highway 1 (MT 1) is a state highway in Deer Lodge and Granite counties in southwestern Montana, United States, extending west and north from the Anaconda I-90 Junction, through Anaconda and Philipsburg, to Drummond. ...

off of

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

. The Highway extends to Drummond and is known as the Pintler Scenic Loop. East of town is the Montana Highway 48 junction. Bowman Field is a public airport located three miles (5 km) northeast of Anaconda., effective 2007-12-20 The nearest commercial airport is Bert Mooney Airport in Butte. The Community Hospital of Anaconda provides medical care to the town.

Media

The ''Anaconda Leader'' is the local newspaper. It is published twice weekly. KGLM-FM is licensed in Anaconda. It is owned by Butte Broadcasting Inc.

Film credits

Anaconda has been a filming location for a few movies, documentaries and a TV show, including: * 1960 - ''Perch of The Devil, '' Harvey Richards Media Archive (Estuary Press) * 1974 - ''The Legendary Mountain. '' Montana State University Film and T.V. Center * 1978 - ''The Other Side of Hell,'' Aubrey-Lyon Productions * 1981 - ''Today,'' NBC News Production * 1985 - '' Runaway Train, '' Golan-Globus Productions * 1986 - ''Better Pictures, '' Left Handed Pictures * 1987 - ''Portrait Of America, '' Turner Broadcasting System * 1992 - ''Return to Better Pictures, '' Sloppy Films * 1993 - '' Return to Lonesome Dove,'' Artisan Home Entertainment * 2005 - ''Backroads of Montana, '' Montana PBS * 2008 - '' Prodigal Sons, '' Big Sky Productions * 2012 - ''

Diggers The Diggers were a group of religious and political dissidents in England, associated with a political ideology and programme resembling what would later be called agrarian socialism.; ; ; Gerrard Winstanley and William Everard (Digger), Will ...

, ''Half Yard Productions * 2016 - '' Dead 7, '' Syfy * 2016 - ''Lester Leaps In, '' Montana Mafia Productions * 2018 - ''Jeremy Bass: We Will Be You, '' Annie McCain Casting * 2018 - ''Far Cry 5: Inside Eden's Gate, '' Asylum Entertainment * 2019 - ''Worth The Wait, '' Maney Telefilm Co. * 2019 - '' Mickey and the Bear, '' Utopia * 2020 - ''Trail of Justice, '' Eagle Ridge Studios * 2020 - ''Two Eyes, ''Two Eyes Productions * 2020 - ''Backroads of Montana, '' Montana PBS * 2022 - ''The Ghost Town Terror, '' Travel Channel * 2022 - '' Father Stu, '' Sony Pictures Releasing * 2022 - ''

1923 (TV series) ''1923'' is an American Western drama television series. The series is a prequel to the Paramount Network series ''Yellowstone.'' It serves as a sequel to the series '' 1883'', with Isabel May reprising her role from the latter as narrator Els ...

, '' MTV Entertainment Studios * 2024 - ''Ghosts of Gold Creek, '' TBA * 2025 - '' Broke (2025 film)'', Sony Pictures Home Entertainment * TBA - ''Brown '', Dark Frames * TBA - ''Hunter Grail, '' Moai Films, Screenland Productions

Notable people

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...

– actress; lived in Anaconda briefly as a child; she was born in Jamestown, New York. * John H. Collins – classical scholar * Frank Cope –

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

* Joseph Paul Cretzer - Bank Robber & Alcatraz Inmate * Marcus Daly – founder of Anaconda, and one of the " Copper Kings" of Butte * Lester Dragstedt – first surgeon to successfully separate conjoined twins * Wayne Estes – college basketball star * Jim Connors -Chief of Law Enforcement * Bert Glennon – cinematographer and director * Raymond Hunthausen – Roman Catholic Archbishop of Seattle * Rob Johnson – former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

* Ed Kalafat – NBA

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, having played and won championships in both the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball League (NBL) and the Basketball Association of America (BAA) prior to ...

basketball player * Nancy Keenan – politician,

NARAL Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America and commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose rest ...

president * Hal C. Kern – film editor * Angela McLean – Lieutenant Governor of Montana *

Jesse Laslovich Jesse A. Laslovich (born October 3, 1980) is an American attorney and politician who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Montana from 2022 to 2025. He previously served as a member of the Montana House of Representatives an ...

- Montana Attorney & US District Attorney for District of Montana * Milan Lazetich – football player for

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

* George A. Lingo – politician in the Alaska Territory * Jack Morris, S.J. – born in Anaconda, founded and named the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. * Casper Oimoen – Olympic ski jumper * Bill Ray – Alaska businessman, politician, writer * Roger Rouse - Professional Boxer * Michael Sells – Islamic studies expert * Bridget Sullivan -

Lizzie Borden Lizzie Andrew Borden (July 19, 1860 – June 1, 1927) was an American woman who was Trial, tried and Acquittal, acquitted of the August 4, 1892 axe murders of her Patricide, father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. No one else was c ...

's maid. Lived in Anaconda for the rest of her life until her death. * George Leo Thomas – First Roman Catholic Archbishop of Las Vegas. * Ralph "Papa" Thorson – bounty hunter, subject of '' The Hunter'' starring

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

Lester Thurow Lester Carl Thurow (May 7, 1938 – March 25, 2016) was an American political economist, former dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management, and author of books on economic topics. Education Born in Livingston, Montana, Thurow received his B.A. ...

– economist * John H. Tolan – U.S. Congressman from California * Gene Vuckovich - Montana Senate of 39th District * Thomas J. Ward – Medal of Honor recipient in the Civil War

References

External links

Official website

Chamber of Commerce

Clark Fork Watershed Education Program

Video portrait of Anaconda
* {{Authority control Company towns in Montana Cities in Deer Lodge County, Montana County seats in Montana Populated places established in 1883 1883 establishments in Montana Territory Cities in Montana Anaconda Copper Consolidated city-counties