BUTTE — Paper documents such as wedding certificates, photographs, and handwritten notebooks sit alongside artifacts such as a copper menu from a 1903 presidential visit to Butte. Together, they tell a story.
WATCH: A 1957 wedding dress still holding rice. A copper menu from a 1903 presidential visit. A handwritten notebook from Butte's first city council. 🏛️ The Butte-Silver Bow Archives is turning donated treasures into exhibits that bring the Mining City's history to life.
That is the mission of the Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives, where staff have been combining artifacts and documents to share pieces of Butte's history through rotating exhibits.
Lindsay Mulcahy, assistant director of the archives, said the combination of objects and records does something neither can do alone.
"It connects people to the place that they're living in, the place that they're visiting. It really makes it real for them and shows them how important our history is here," Mulcahy said.
The archives hosts three to four exhibits each year, drawing on its collection of donated items to bring history into public view.
"We have multiple exhibits throughout the year — about three to four — and it's a real delight because we get to pull out our treasures from our archives and put them on display," Mulcahy said.
Among the items on display are donated pieces from a 1957 Butte wedding, given to the archives by the couple's family. Kathie Scarrah and her siblings, Terry Dysart and Patty Scarrah, traveled to Butte several months ago to view their parents' wedding items, which were featured alongside a 1920s film and other artifacts in an exhibit celebrating romance in Butte.
"It's a wonderful to the love our parents had for each other and to us and the rest of their Butte rat family," Scarrah said.
Scarrah said donating the items made sense for her family.
"None of us have space for everything that we have inherited. You know, and people have shared these things with the archives because we know it's going to be well protected and well cared for," Scarrah said.
The donated wedding dress still holds rice from the wedding day in the bodice.
"It lets the community remember what kind of city Butte was, and what it can still become," Scarrah said.
With donations like those from the Scarrah family, the archives has a growing list of ideas for future exhibits. The current exhibit focuses on America's 250th anniversary and highlights Butte's contributions to the nation.
Archives Director Aubrey Jaap said the significance of those contributions is not lost on the staff.
"We, of course, here are a little biased, but we think Butte contributed the most...to the nation's history. Not really, but there are really significant events that happened in Butte that do contribute to our national history," Jaap said.
Jaap said the space was not always intended for exhibits, but shows like the Romance of Butte display and the current anniversary exhibit have brought new visitors through the doors.
The archives continue to accept donations that tell the Mining City's story.
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