Exhibits

The Orphan Girl Mine Yard

Learn about the Girl’s history and the original structures still visible, including the 100-foot-tall headframe and the Hoist House, which houses exhibits as well as original equipment. You can climb into the cages that were crammed with six or seven miners for their daily trip 2700-feet down the shaft. In the summer of 2013, the Museum received a grant from the MT Office of Tourism to renovate the headframe. Visitors can now walk up into the Orphan Girl, exploring the workings of the headframe, including the ore bins and the Lorry rail car.

66 major exhibits with dozens of smaller items give you a feel for the kinds of equipment that were used in mining from the 1860s to the 1970s.

Hell Roarin’ Gulch

A faithful re-creation of an 1890s mining town, with 15 intact historic structures and approximately 35 buildings constructed from old materials by the many volunteers who put the museum together from the mid-1960s to the 1980s. The buildings are fully stocked with thousands of period artifacts. The town includes several buildings that were brought in as complete, original, historic structures, including two churches, the school house, superintendent’s house, and others.

Mineral & Rock Room

The majority of the specimens contained in the World Museum of Mining display cases were collected by Roy Garrett. Roy worked in Butte’s underground mines for over forty years. His first mining job was at the museum’s Orphan Girl Mine. His love of mining included a passion for collecting and trading minerals. Upon Roy’s death in 1990, his family donated the collection to the World Museum of Mining as that others could enjoy Roy’s hobby.

Pegasus Gold Corporation contributed the funds that allowed the Museum to construct the exhibit. We are deeply appreciative of the support that Pegasus Gold Corporation provided for the endeavor. Without the significant donation, it would not have been possible to exhibit Roy’s collection.

Samie Keith Doll & Dollhouse Exhibit

The Samie Keith collection represents a lifetime fascination with dolls and dollhouses. This exhibit will serve to honor her passion and her devotion to the World Museum of Mining.  You won’t believe the detail when you look into the buildings and houses. Furniture, appliances, and every item of every day life…it’s all there.

Remembering a Fallen Miner

For the first time in Butte’s history those who lost their life in a mining, mill/smelter, concentrator, or railroad accident are memorialized at the World Museum of Mining. Four memorial walls, constructed of polished black granite slabs, are sandblasted with the names of over 2,500 men that lost their lives in the Silver Bow Mining District since 1865.