Remembering Columbia Gardens: The Happiest Place In Montana

One of the most historic towns in Montana and the United States is Butte.

Butte, at one time, was a producer of 1/3 of the world's copper and because of this, a handful of folks became extremely rich off the backs of thousands of others. One of those men was William A. Clark.

Clark, one of the "Copper Kings" decided to do something for the community and his workers, so he built a place were folks could go with their families and enjoy themselves, in 1899, Columbia Gardens opened in Butte.

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The "Gardens" as locals referred to it, was free and had many different things to offer including a dance pavilion, actual flower gardens, a lake, an arcade, and different amusement park rides that would be added throughout the years.

For over 70 years, people would enjoy Columbia Gardens, however, all good things must come to an end.

What happened to the Columbia Gardens?

In 1925, Clark died and the Anaconda Copper Mine took over ownership until the Gardens closed in 1973. As you can imagine, closing down the Gardens wasn't a popular idea, and soon after it was closed, a mysterious fire took place on the property, which was normal back in those days.

Some 50 years later, many residents of both Butte and Montana have only heard of Columbia Gardens, however, there are still those around that remember. In fact, one of the sweetest love songs you'll ever hear is about the Gardens, The Ballad of Willie and Millie written by Walkin' Jim Stoltz.

So, why did Columbia Gardens close after 50 plus years? According to research, expansion was the reason the Gardens are no more. The Anaconda Company needed the land to continue their mining operations, so the place that was beloved by so many, had to go.

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