Do You Know Which Town in Montana is the MOST Irish?

I’ll give you a couple hints.

This town is the home of Evel Knievel, and the “33rd Irish County.” This beautiful town claims most of the population is Irish in Montana. The Irish families would arrive in New York at Ellis Island and make their way west. These nomads traveled through the rough terrain of North Dakota and finally ended up in this part of the country to mine. 

The Founder of this Town in Montana

One man is responsible for bringing the Irish by the thousands to this town, and his name is Marcus Daly. He brought the Irish to this wilderness town to mine the Treasure State. He originally found a silver mine, but it was the discovery of the huge copper mine nearby that made him rich and famous. Daly built a smelter in 1895 and established the nearby town of Anaconda. 

Why the Irish Stayed in this Town

The Irish stayed in this town of Montana due to its beautiful surrounding mountains. By 1917 the town had nearly 100,000 inhabitants. Today, the town sadly only has 34,000 people (about twice the seating capacity of Madison Square Garden) living in it.  

Do you know the town yet??  

It’s Butte, Montana!  These days the town goes all out for St. Patty’s Day celebrations as they fill the streets with a parade and of course, pub crawls. A big piece of history lives in Montana for the Irish. These folks were the backbone of what Montana is today. Yay for history!