The Silver Smelter: Barely a Memory

The United Smelting and Refining Co., Circa 1900, 1994.038.0151 THM

Paris Gibson broke ground for the Montana Smelting Company on March 5th, 1888.   The smelter processed silver and lead ore from Neihart, Wolf Creek and the Barker District as well as shipments from out of state.  At the turn of the century, it was one of the largest of its kind in Montana. There was fierce competition with the Helena and Livingston Smelting and Reduction Co. which eventually led to them consolidating the two companies under the name of United Smelting and Refining Company in 1891.  It later became the American Smelting and Refining Co.

Sanborn Map 1900, showing the layout of the silver smelter.

The works were planned and laid out with a view to treating a large tonnage of ore.  The plant was built on the sloping ground on the south bank of the Missouri River just below the famous Giant Springs.  The loaded cars would arrive at the track scales, situated at the highest point, and after being weighed were switched to the side-tracks leading to the sampling works, the crusher house, or placed directly at some ore bin for unloading depending on the character of the ore.

The roaster building was an immense structure, 150 by 600 feet, and there sulfur was extracted from the ore before further processing.  There were twenty furnaces.  The Engine house was a brick building, 60 by 205 feet in size with an iron roof.  A machine shop was connected with the engine room.  The boiler house had five steam boilers, 16 feet long and 60 inches in diameter.  The assay office was situated next to the general office.  The laboratory had a boiler, sand bath, five Becker’s balances and all other possible things it would need.  The general offices were a handsome appointed brick building with three stories.  The General Offices, Assay office, Laboratory and the Managers residence were all of French architectural design. 

Offices of the Montana Smelting Works, by J. C. Cowles, Circa 1890, 2005.105.1-17 THM

Even from the start, the silver smelter did not meet its expectations.  Between lack of ore and competition, the silver smelter never ran at full capacity. Fluctuations in smelter operations caused constant turnover in workers.  The Panic of 1893 brought the price of metals down.  The national railroad strike of 1894 added to the troubles.  American Smelting purchased mines to try and save the smelter, but it closed in 1901.  There was talk of refurbishing the plant, but the renovation never happened, and the plant was permanently abandoned.  The homes of the workers were moved, and buildings torn down.  Finally, on August 17, 1928, the stack for the plant was blown up.

Great Falls Tribune September 23, 1928.

Giant Springs with Silver Smelter in Background, by C. R. Abbey, 1901, 1982.105.0003 THM