All of us cringe when a beautiful garden is left to ruins, or worse yet, ripped out of existence.

It’s been nearly 40 years since the Columbia Gardens, the elegant recreational jewel for the hardworking residents of Butte, Montana succumbed to the Berkeley Pit. I never saw it, but the thought of what was there is poignant.

Columbia Gardens

The Columbia Gardens were created by William A. Clark, one of the infamous Copper Kings, for the hardworking people at the turn of the century. The 21 acre amusement park was replete with a carousel, giant swings, a rollercoaster, and a swimming area. The greenhouse grew more than 150,000 plants for people to see. (And keep in mind, Butte is a Zone 3 growing area). Plus, it was all free.

Picture this green oasis in the middle of the richest mining town in the world where arsenic and other minerals poisoned surrounding areas. Friends of mine saw it first hand when they lived there in the 1950s, and always told me how beautiful it was. To say it was a treasure is an understatement.

A few years after William Clark died in 1925, Columbia Gardens were purchased along with other mining interests by the Anaconda Company. They kept up the gardens until the early 70s, yet eventually closed it for good in 1973.

The Berkeley Pit

Throughout the history of underground mining in Butte, hundreds of miners died in horrific accidents. (If you ever think history is boring, pick up a few books on the mining days of Butte. You won’t be able to put them down.) The Berkeley Pit was started in 1955 by the Anaconda Company. It was safer than the underground alternative to extract copper. The pit continued to grow until it reached a mile and a half long, a half mile wide and roughly 1700 ft. deep. As it expanded the company bought and destroyed residential communities such as Meaderville and East Butte. The Columbia Gardens were part of the collateral damage.

When ARCO (the company who bought it from the Anaconda Company) shut it down in 1982. They turned off the dewatering pumps, and it filled with water. Now “The Pit” is a major tourist attraction in Butte where you can pay a small fee to stand on a platform above one of the largest Superfund sites in the country. The acidic water is highly toxic with heavy metals. In 1995 a flock of geese had the misfortune of landing on the water. Over 300 birds died.

Thoughts

So what made me think of this enormous loss? I went to Helena yesterday to speak at the Montana State Garden Club convention, and met Norman DeNeal, an icon I’ve wanted to meet for years. Over a decade ago he spearheaded the project to create gardens at the Lexington Stamp Mill, including a recreation the renowned butterfly that was once a feature in the Columbia Gardens. I believe the original garden was made using pansies. But Norman filled in this 40-ft. wide butterfly using lettuce varieties as an example of creating a garden that is beautiful and useful.

It’s inspiring to see a glimpse of what was once a glorious space. I’m heartened that Norman took on this ambitious project to bring elegance back to Butte.

The photo of the butterfly garden is from buttemontanaonline.com.