Butte, Montana has always been rich in history. No doubt, a mining town proud of its heritage. People from many walks of life and various countries came to Butte in the late 1800's in the hopes of building their own individual legacies within the community. Hard workers of Irish, German, Italian, Chinese, African descent and more, have made Butte what it is today. Each of them homesteading and mining to provide for their families and put food on the table.

One can only imagine what it was truly like for these homesteaders. From the Irish to the Italians, many descendents have been researched along the way. Well, now a group of archeologists hope to bring to light new findings of African American homesteading in Butte during a Brown Bag Lunch Series, presented by the Butte Archives, Wednesday, August 24th at noon. The series at the Archives will focus on an archeological survey conducted at Homestake Pass by the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, the University of Montana and Montana State University. According to Micah Chang and Ayme Swartz, members of the Homestake Archeological Field School, surveys by students, were done in this area to study the African American homesteading and mining community near the east end of Butte. Professional  archeologists worked with students to  unveil evidence of their involvement in the community and the valid mark they left in history. Montana’s African American community and the lives they led in Butte, hasn't been examined as extensively until now.

The Brown Bag Lunch Series, always informative and educational! Again, this archaelogical series will take place August 24th at noon at the Butte Archives, 17 W. Quartz Street. For details, please call (406)782-3280

Literary source material courtesy of Kim Murphy Kohn of the Archives.

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