Walkerville is a town in Silver Bow County,

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, that is an

enclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is so ...

of the

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 ...

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 ...

. The population was 639 at the 2020 census. Walkerville is a suburb of

, and the only other incorporated community in the county, as well as the only part of the county that is not part of Butte. Part of Walkerville is included in the Butte-Anaconda Historic District. Walkerville represents some of the earliest mines in the district and preserves the early

mining camp A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry. Historical mining communities Australia * Ballarat, Victoria * Bendig ...

flavor present in the 1890s to 1910s.

History

Walkerville is a suburb of Butte, Montana and is home to some of the earliest mining sites in the area. These sites attracted many investors to Walkerville in the late 1800s. Walkerville is named for four of those investors: brothers Joseph, Samuel, Matthew and David Walker of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

; they had purchased the lucrative Alice mine upon recommendation by their agent (and later Copper King) Marcus Daly. There were many different types of materials mined depending on the location of a given site. Copper and silver were two of the most commonly mined materials. In 1893, silver prices dropped, but the town's economy continued to thrive due to its copper production. The town incorporated in 1890, and by the early 1900s almost 2,500 people lived there, mostly Cornish and Irish immigrants who came to work in the mines. Walkerville's economic success continued until 1918 when the end of World War I caused copper prices to drop. In 1955, the Anaconda Company decided to begin open-pit mining operations, which transformed Walkerville. Residents opposed open-pit mining on the grounds that it took away jobs. But extracting metals was cheaper with the open pit method, and as copper prices dropped after World War II, the old Alice Mine transformed into the Alice Pit. Blasting in the pit, located in the middle of Walkerville, angered residents who complained of noise, flying rocks, and cracking basements. The Anaconda Company offered to buy property at fair market prices and sold homes back to residents for one dollar on the stipulation that the home be moved. Many residents moved away. When the blasting and digging rendered Sibyl, Rose, and Pearl streets impassable, they were condemned and fenced off. Mayor Jimmy Shea responded by demanding that the Company formally petition the city council to discontinue and vacate the streets. With this leverage, the city council demanded the Company pay to repair city utilities, build a new road, repair damaged streets, build safety fences, keep the pit one hundred feet from homes, and build a new ballpark. Eventually, the Company acquiesced to most of these demands. Even so, Walkerville's fight with the Company became more bitter as the pit continued to expand. In 1961, the City of Walkerville sued Anaconda for damaging city property. The Alice Pit never reopened. By 2015, nearly all of the town's many mines are abandoned. Some of these sites have become very dangerous and plans are being made to restore or remove them.

Geography

Berkeley Pit is to the south. The town is on the U.S.

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 ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Neighborhoods

* Corktown * Sun View Terrace * Seldom Seen * Dewey's Point * Chicken Flat * Butchertown * the Corra Butchertown was named for Rollo

Butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...

, Walkerville's first permanent resident.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 675 people, 304 households, and 175 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 344 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 93.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.1%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 3.3% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.3%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.3% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 3.9% of the population. There were 304 households, of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.4% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age in the town was 44.2 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.3% were from 25 to 44; 33.8% were from 45 to 64; and 15% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 714 people, 297 households, and 195 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 343 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.26%

, 0.14%

, 4.06% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.70% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 3.22% of the population. There were 297 households, out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were

living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.00. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $28,009, and the median income for a family was $29,861. Males had a median income of $27,404 versus $19,063 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $14,156. About 9.9% of families and 12.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 18.8% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Media

The FM radio station KMTZ is licensed in Walkerville. It plays adult hits.

Education

The municipality is in the Butte Elementary School District and Butte High School District. Butte Public Schools has two components: Butte Elementary School District and Butte High School District.

References

External links

Butte History and "Lost Butte": Walkerville, 1881
{{authority control Towns in Silver Bow County, Montana