World Museum of Mining

Founded in 1963, the World Museum of Mining is an outdoor museum dedicated to preserving the enduring history of Butte, Montana and the legacy of its rich mining and cultural heritage. Butte was a prolific mining town for a century, and was home to one of the world’s most productive copper mines of all time. The museum is located on an actual mine yard, named the Orphan Girl Mine. The museum offers over fifty exhibit buildings, numerous artifacts in the mine yard that tell the history of mining and its influence on the town of Butte. Underground mine tours are also offered to visitors. Additionally, the museum maintains a photo archive that holds over 22,000 photographs, negatives, and glass plate negatives that depict mining history.