Centerville in Butte in Silver Bow County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

Cornish of Centerville

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 6, 2024

1. Cornish of Centerville Marker

Inscription.
The Cornish were the first ethnic group to come in numbers to Silver Bow County. They were in great demand because of their expertise in mining, which goes back over 3,000 years. The Cornish are of Celtic stock and maintained their own culture.

Their flag named after St. Piran, patron of Cornwall and Cornish miners, is black for the tin ore mined and white when the ore is processed.

Centerville would be their major place of residence as they worked the mines nearby. Cornish businessman J.E. Williams built the first hotel in Centerville. T.J. Bennetts had one of the largest grocery and department stores on the hill. William Penrose had the first newspaper and would be instrumental in forming the Sons of Saint George and funding the Trinity Methodist Church. Centerville businesses with names like Barker, Trevaill, James, Opie, Clymo & Thomas all had Cornish roots.

Cornish wrestling would become popular nation wide. They brought the pasty, which would become the signature food of Butte. They brought with them their love of bands and would form many including the Alice Band and the Centerville Brass Band.

Their unique culture

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would add to the great melting pot that is the United States.

[photo captions]
Klondike Bar 1899 Center & Main • Pasty • Cornwall • Cornish Miner 1880s • Alice Brass Band • Barker Paint Co. 1885 • T.J. Bennett Mercantile • Trinity Methodist Church 1890 • 1891 • Sons of Saint George Convention 1926

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Immigration • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers.

Location. 46° 1.438′ N, 112° 31.885′ W. Marker is in Butte, Montana, in Silver Bow County. It is in Centerville. It can be reached from Wells Street just south of East Center Street. The marker is on the Butte, Anaconda & Pacific (BA&P) Hill Trail, overlooking the historic Mountain Consolidated Mine site. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Butte MT 59701, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in andspecifically outhwest Montana, in Gold West Country, in Mining Country. It is also in the American Mountain West

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 6, 2024

2. Cornish of Centerville Marker

Looking south from the Butte, Anaconda & Pacific (BA&P) Hill Trail. The historic Mountain Consolidated Mine site is in the right background, and the city of Butte is downhill in the distant background.

Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Irish of Centerville (here, next to this marker); The Con Hoist House (here, next to this marker); Mines of Centerville (a few steps from this marker); The Con (within shouting distance of this marker); The Con Headframe (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Welcome! To the Top of the World (about 500 feet away); St. Lawrence O’Toole Church (approx. ¼ mile away); Walkerville and the Lex (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Butte.

Also see . . .
1. Centerville Neighborhood, Butte (Montana Historical Society).

Excerpt: The neighborhood’s large Cornish population worshipped at Trinity Methodist Church (still extant) and gathered at the Sons of St. George Hall, now gone except its foundation. Cornish miners found work in copper king William A. Clark’s mines, among them the Mountain View, also known as the “Saffron Bun” for the
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large number of Cornishmen employed there.

(Submitted on August 21, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. The Forgotten Celts (Southwest Montana Blog).

Excerpt: The Cornish in Southwest Montana have never gained quite the same status as the other British Celts, they often get lumped together with “the English.” Nonetheless, the Cornish were integral to Montana history. Since ancient times, Cornwall has been famous for its tin and copper mines. By the 19th Century, Cornishmen had gained so much fame that one historian called them “the world’s best miners.” In America, the Cornish were affectionately called “Cousin Jacks,” perhaps because of their tendency to write back to relatives in Cornwall whenever a mine needed workers. Their hard rock mining expertise proved invaluable in Butte. In 1879, C.F. Kellogg wrote that the city’s population “[was] nearly 50-50 Irish and Cousin Jacks.” Beyond Celtic roots and a propensity for mining, the Irish and Cornish had very little in common. Butte’s Irish almost universally identified as Catholics and Democrats, while the Cornish were staunch Republican Methodists. Brawls frequently broke out between the Cornish and the Irish, and some mines used this to their advantage. The Steward for example pitted Cornish and Irish shifts against each other; prominent tally sheets challenged each nationality to outdo the other. This rivalry even manifested itself in the legendary Daly-Clark feud. Clark hired so many Cornishmen that one of his mines earned the nickname “Saffron Bun” after a Cornish delicacy. Daly, on the other hand, “made Butte an Irish town,” with his equally blatant preference for hiring Irishmen.

(Submitted on August 21, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on August 21, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 19, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 6 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 21, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.