Extant mentions of the Deer Lodge Valley prior to 1860 are found as occasional remarks in records written for other purposes. Consistent record-keeping begins with the writings of
Granville Stuart and others in the early 1860s. 1860 marks the beginning of permanent occupation of both the valley and the future site of the city of Deer Lodge by
European-Americans.
Fur trade era Before 1860, the Deer Lodge Valley was not the territory of any
American Indian group. Gatherings were held there, including horse races. American Indian groups from the west,
Flatheads,
Pend d'Oreilles et al. passed through the valley as an alternative route to and from the buffalo hunting grounds to the east. The first documented visit to this area by European-American explorers occurred in 1805–1806, when
Lewis and Clark's
Corps of Discovery expedition passed by the Deer Lodge Valley without entering it. Evidence of earlier incursion, probably by Spaniards, was noted by miner James B. Beattle on Sugar Loaf mountain in the Race Track mining district on the west side of the Deer Lodge Valley. Early European trapper/traders passing through the valley referred to it as "the Deer House Plains". The Clark Fork river was called the Arrow Stone River in the 1830s. Catholic Father
Pierre-Jean De Smet brought the first wagons known to have passed through the valley, in 1841. In 1846, the Deer Lodge Valley became part of the United States and
Oregon Territory with the signing of the
Oregon Treaty by the U. S. and
Great Britain. From 1853 to 1863 it was in
Washington Territory, then briefly part of
Idaho Territory until the creation of
Montana Territory in 1864. European-American settlement of the valley gained momentum during the 1850s and 60's, with the primary site being at present-day Deer Lodge. During the 1850s, trapper/traders from
Fort Hall began wintering herds of horses and cattle in the valley. Also during that decade placer gold finds were made near present-day
Gold Creek, first in 1852 by
Francois (Bennetsee) Findley, followed in 1856 by Hereford, Saunders, Madison et al., and in 1858–61 by James and Granville Stuart, Reese Anderson et al. In 1860–62,
Lt. John Mullan oversaw construction of the
Mullan Road, which connected
Walla Walla, Washington Territory with
Fort Benton, then in
Dakota Territory. The Mullan Road passed through the north end of the Deer Lodge Valley.
European-American settlement, Montana gold rush John Francis (Johnny) Grant built the first permanent structures in the valley in 1859–60, at Grantsville near present-day
Garrison. During the next two years, placer gold discoveries at Grasshopper Creek, Alder Gulch and other locations to the south caused a population decline in the valley, including the abandonment of Grantsville and American Fork. Beginning in 1864 with gold strikes to the north, Deer Lodge City grew rapidly as a base for supplies to mines in the surrounding mountains. had proposed to start a business in Cottonwood. Creation of Idaho Territory in 1863 induced a name change to Idaho City. With the 1864 designation of Montana Territory, Deer Lodge City became the choice. Montana's first territorial legislature defined most of the boundaries of
Deer Lodge County, establishing the county seat at the placer mining camp of Silver Bow City, near Butte. In September 1865, county voters transferred the seat to Deer Lodge City. During the first half of the 1860s, Granville Stuart described valley social life as including many gay dances and parties, which was the way of the Metis. By 1866, Johnny Grant and many of his fellow Metis had become disenchanted with their increasingly numerous neighbors from "the States". In that year, Grant sold most of his Deer Lodge Valley holdings to
Conrad Kohrs and in 1867 led a mass exodus of Metis families to the
Red River country of
Manitoba, Canada. In 1869, the
Territorial Prison was located at Deer Lodge. Also that year, the town site plat for Deer Lodge City was recorded. Perhaps its most prominent building was the former St. Joseph's Hospital.
State of Montana, Powell County Deer Lodge City was incorporated in 1888, with a mayor and aldermen as officers. Montana achieved statehood in 1889 and a battle ensued between Helena and Anaconda over the location of the capitol in which Helena finally triumphed in 1894. In 1896, Anaconda took the Deer Lodge County seat away from Deer Lodge. This began a battle which culminated in the creation of
Powell County in 1901, with its county seat at Deer Lodge.
Frank Conley After statehood, the State of Montana let a contract to run
Montana State Prison, which was awarded to
Frank Conley and Thomas McTague. They held the contract until 1908. In that year, the State took over running Montana State Prison, appointing Frank Conley as warden. Conley remained in that capacity until 1921, when Governor
Joseph M. Dixon replaced Conley with
M. W. Potter. The Governor then commissioned an investigation of Conley's administration. This resulted in the
MacDonald Report, which would be used as the basis for a civil lawsuit by the State of Montana against Conley. The year following,
Montana Attorney General Wellington Rankin sued Conley for misuse of state funds and materials, in the case
State of Montana vs Frank Conley. The case took three months to try and resulted in the State of Montana being ordered to reimburse Conley. Deer Lodge City celebrated with a victory party. Frank Conley was elected the fifth (1892–93), seventh (1895–1903) and tenth (1907–1928) mayor of Deer Lodge City. When he resigned for the last time, an article in the
Billings Gazette called him 'the longest serving mayor in American history'. Mayor Conley was instrumental in bringing the division headquarters and shops of the
Milwaukee Road to Deer Lodge City in 1910. Over the next decade, he presided over
upbuilding the town's infrastructure to accommodate the rapidly expanding population. He was also responsible for the building of the City Hall.
Montana State Prison Opened in 1871, the
Montana State Prison has been an economic cornerstone for the community since its founding. In 1908, inmates W. A. Hayes and George Rock killed guard John Robinson and seriously wounded Warden Conley in
an attempted prison breakout. In 1959, a prolonged riot occurred at the prison, led by
Jerry Miles and
Lee Smart, which resulted in the slaying of Deputy Warden
Ted Rothe and the eventual suicides of Miles and Smart. All inmates were moved in 1977–79 to a
new state prison facility outside of Deer Lodge. The town of Deer Lodge employs the Powell County Museum & Arts Foundation to manage the
old facility as a museum.
Superfund site In the 1870s,
Butte developed into a rich silver mining camp.
Marcus Daly's discovery of rich copper veins in his Anaconda mine launched the
Copper Kings era at Butte. In 1883, Daly established his smelter facilities at newly platted
Anaconda, Montana. Anaconda immediately became Deer Lodge County's major population center and employer. Smelting activities at Butte and Anaconda left behind enormous amounts of toxic wastes. Flooding on
Silver Bow Creek and
Warm Springs Creek, particularly in the great valley flood of 1908, spread toxic wastes from Butte through Deer Lodge City, to the
Milltown Dam, just east of Missoula. As a result of legal actions begun in 1983 and culminating in 2008, the course of the Clark Fork River from Anaconda to the Milltown Dam was declared to be a
Superfund cleanup site. Cleanup costs are financed from the settlement with
ARCO (now BP-ARCO).
Economic decline In 1961, the Milwaukee Road ended its
Olympian Hiawatha passenger trains. Limited passenger service between Minneapolis and Deer Lodge continued until 1964, at which time all Milwaukee Road passenger service to Deer Lodge ended. In the 1970s, the
Anaconda Copper Company suffered financial setbacks which ultimately caused its 1977
merger with ARCO. By 1982, ARCO had closed down the
smelter at Anaconda and stopped mining copper at Butte. In 1980, the Milwaukee Road shut down its
western extension. All of its infrastructure from
Seattle, Washington to
Miles City, Montana was torn out, including the rails themselves. ==Geography==