Friday Photo: Growing Up in Butte

A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of hearing UM professor Janet Finn speak about children in Butte in the early 1900s, and she inspired me to share this photo.


N.A. Forsyth, photographer. Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, ST 001.108

The "Young Prospectors" in this c. 1909 photo are digging their own mine. Janet argues that grown-ups braved the dangers of Butte's copper mines so that their children could have a better life. In her words, "Children were, quite simply, Butte's reason to be."

What do you think? You can read more in Janet's book, Mining Childhood: Growing Up in Butte, 1900-1960.