Orphan Girl Mine

World Museum of Mining

Useful Information

Location:	Butte
Open:	APR to OCT daily 9-18. Underground Mine Tours daily 10:30, 12:30, 15:00. [2007]
Fee:	Museum: Adults USD 7, Children (13-18) USD 5, Children (5-12) USD 2, Children (0-4) free, Seniors (65+) USD 6. Underground Tour: Adults USD 10, Children (13-18) USD 8, Children (5-12) USD 3, Children (0-4) not recommended, Seniors (65+) USD 8. Both: Adults USD 15, Children (13-18) USD 11, Children (5-12) USD 5, Seniors (65+) USD 12. Groups: USD 1 less each. [2007]
Classification:	Silver Mine, Zinc Mine, Copper Mine, mining museum, artificial mine
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:	D=90 min.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	World Museum of Mining, 155 Museum Way, P.O. Box 33, Butte, Montana 59703, Tel: +1-406-723-7211, Fax: +1-406-723-7211. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1875	mine opened.
1956	mine closed.

Description

Hell Roarin' Gulch is an authentic reproduction of an 1890's mining town and the home to the World Museum of Mining. Despite the exaggerated and arrogant name, it is a nice museum of more than a century of American mining history. The mines were open between 1880s to 1920s, and many remains from this era are shown. The mining town has 35 buildings which were constructed from old materials, but 15 historic buildings were relocated to this site from their original location on the whole.

The mining structures on the premises are the Orphan Girl Mine with its 35 m high headframe and hoist house. This mine was different from all other mines of Butte, which is a copper center, but here silver and zinc were mined. Also the mine is comparably cool, which means that it was very popular among the miners. The owner of this and several other mines in the area always used this mine to show it to visitors and inverstors, as it was the least strenuous.

Although there is no underground mine, which is still open, there is a newly constructed sort of artificial mine. The so-called Underground Mining Exhibit is located in the lower level of the Orphan Girl Hoist/Engine House. Real mining equipment is displayed in a faked underground mine to explain the mining process step by steps.