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Montana Road Trip – Butte MT

Author: Brenda Phillips Brenda Phillips: MT43 News Office Administrator

We have been to Butte several times and each time we find something new. This trip was to tour the Historic Clarke Chateau. The Chateau was the home that William Clarke had built for his son Charles as a wedding gift in 1898. It is about 2 blocks from the Copper King Mansion.

The building is used as a center for the arts. There is a ballroom on the 4th floor that is used for weddings and dances. Later in the day, after we left, there was a tango class scheduled. The tours are self-guided but we were lucky enough to visit with the Museum curator to learn some of the history of the building.

A gorgeous grand piano sat silent with the sheet music for the state song “Montana”. The curator said that the song originated on this house. Charles Clarke’s wife challenged Charles Cohan to write a song for Montana, which was set to music by Joseph Howard.

The grand staircase and magnificent woodwork in the home were to be admired.

After that we went uptown to the Montana Tech Mineral Museum. For a girl who likes to pick up rocks, this place was so cool. There is no charge to wander among the massive collections of minerals, pretty gems and rocks.

One room had a bunch of stones that glowed in the dark under fluorescent lights. The displays were all well done, with names, descriptions, and locations where the rocks were found. They said there are over 13,000 rocks in the collection with only about 1300 rocks on display. A lot of the rocks are donated by private collectors. I wonder if they will want the rocks I collect. My husband says I have a lot of leverite (leave her right there) so I doubt they will want them!

This was a great day trip!

Article Images

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PhotoCredit: Brenda Phillips
Image 1 Caption: Clarke Chateau Butte MT
Image 2 Caption: Grand Staircase
Image 3 Caption: Stained Glass Windows In Clarke Chateau This picture is really dark except the Windows. If you can make it look good use it. Otherwise skip it.
Image 4 Caption: Display floor With All The Pretty Rocks
Image 5 Caption: Brenda Phillips with a large amethyst crystal