Belt in Cascade County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Belt Jail
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 18, 2019
1. Belt Jail Marker
Inscription.
Belt Jail. . Lewis and Clark named nearby Belt Butte for its girdle of rocks and, in 1877, John Castner named his town Belt. Coal brought Castner here, and Fort Benton was the first market for his Castner Coal Company. Then, in 1889, the Boston and Montana Consolidated Copper and Silver Mining Company built their reduction works at Great Falls, in part because of the availability of Belt coal. Castner sold his claims to the Anaconda Copper Mining Company, which had absorbed the Boston and Montana, and their mine soon employed a thousand men. The town experienced a boom time and in 1900 was Cascade County’s second-largest community, with a population above 2,800, including French, Finnish, Slav, German, and Swedish immigrants. It was during this boom that the jail was constructed, late in the 1890s, when 32 saloons flourished in town. Fire destroyed the Anaconda mine in 1915 and, in 1930, the smelters stopped using coal. Belt’s population fell off, but it remained a center for this agricultural area. The jail itself survived major floods in 1909 and 1953, and a 1976 fire caused by a train derailment, which destroyed five homes and three businesses.
Lewis and Clark named nearby Belt Butte for its girdle of rocks and, in 1877, John Castner named his town Belt. Coal brought Castner here, and Fort Benton was the first market for his Castner Coal Company. Then, in 1889, the Boston and Montana Consolidated Copper and Silver Mining Company built their reduction works at Great Falls— in part because of the availability of Belt coal. Castner sold his claims to the Anaconda Copper Mining Company, which had absorbed the Boston and Montana, and their mine soon employed a thousand men. The town experienced a boom time and in 1900 was Cascade County’s second-largest community, with a population above 2,800, including French, Finnish, Slav, German, and Swedish immigrants. It was during this boom that the jail was constructed, late in the 1890s, when 32 saloons flourished in town. Fire destroyed the Anaconda mine in 1915 and, in 1930, the smelters stopped using coal. Belt’s population fell off, but it remained a center for this agricultural area. The jail itself survived major floods in 1909 and 1953, and a 1976 fire caused by a train derailment, which destroyed five homes and three businesses.
Erected by The Montana National Register Sign Program.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Law Enforcement
Location. 47° 23.163′ N, 110° 55.718′ W. Marker is in Belt, Montana, in Cascade County. Marker is on Castner Street (State Road 331) near 5th Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 37 Castner Street, Belt MT 59412, United States of America. Touch for directions.
More about this marker. The jail is home to the Belt Museum.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 18, 2019
2. Belt Jail and Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on December 22, 2019. It was originally submitted on December 18, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 196 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on December 18, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
