Montana's Capital Contenders

Montana's Capital Contenders. . Grasshopper Creek, where gold was discovered in 1862 in what would later be named Bannack, became the first territorial capital. The territorial legislature moved the capital to Virginia City on February 7, 1865. While Virginia City enjoyed the prestige of being the territorial capital, its population was shifting, and Helena, where gold was discovered on July 14, 1864, was growing. , In 1868 a bill was introduced into the assembly to give the capital to Deer Lodge, it was amended to read Helena instead. The ballots from the election of 1868 were destroyed by fire in the territorial secretary's office in Virginia City, which raised suspicions. Five years later Montana Supreme Court settled the matter in Helena's favor. , The debate over where Montana's capital should be did not end their, however. , It was agreed that a permanent site should be chosen by the people's vote in the general election of 1892. Of the seven cities that competed - Helena, Deer Lodge, Butte, Bozeman, Great Falls, Boulder and Anaconda - Helena and Anaconda advanced. , The fight over the location of Montana's capital was one of the ugliest in Montana's history. William Andrews Clark was a financial power in Montana - a mining millionaire - and so was Marcus Daly, head of the Anaconda Copper Company. Their economic rivalry and affluence spilled beyond their corporate interests and permeated all Montana politics. No businessman or politician was exempt fro the ramifications of the feud; no expense or county spared in the struggle. , It was a close election, but Helena won, 27,028 to 25,118. Later it was said that Clark had spent nearly $500,000 on the capital fight and that Daly had spent more than $2.5 million. Since only 52,000 men could vote, the two copper kings had sent $56 (equal to $1,356 today) per voting man.