P a g e 4 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r Photo Courtesy of glendalemontana.com By 1879, Glendale was home to a weekly newspaper, The Atlantis. The town’s merchants and businesses included a brewery, several saloons, general merchandise stores, hotels, a livery stable, an opera house, two dentists, a hospital, and, eventually, a two-story schoolhouse. Glendale also boasted the largest skating rink in the Northwest. An article in the Helena Independent from 1877 highlighted the rapid development of the new smelter town. It described Glendale’s reduction works, operated by the Hecla Consolidated Mining Company, as the central focus for any first-time visitor. The success of the entire camp, both directly and indirectly, relied on these works. Not only Glendale but also Trapper, to a large extent, depended on them. While some ores from Trapper were sent to Argenta for reduction, their quantity and the employment generated by their shipment were minimal compared to the steady demand for ore at the Glendale works, which employed a significant number of people in the process. The foundation of the reduction works was laid a little over two years ago. Ever since then, improvements have been going on until the present time, when the works look as complete as anything can be, although we hear there are still additions to be made to them. The works as they stand consist of two water-jacket cupola furnaces, one reverberatory furnace already finished, and another, to be used in smelting copper, now in course of construction. The power furnished by a 28 inch leffel turbine wheel. By this wheel are worked a blake crusher, a set of cornish rollers, a rotary force blast of immense force, and the different lathes, etc. that are occasionally used. By the crusher and the rollers, the iron ore used as a flux for the copper, is pulverized. When sufficiently fine it is mixed with the copper ore which is so soft as not to require crushing, and the mixture is then ready for the furnace. From the furnace there are three spouts, one for metal and two for slag, and by some improvement in the interior construction of Glendale furnaces stream of metal is constant, while others are tapped for slag. By this improvement the slag is kept from reaching the bottom of the furnace, and, consequently from chilling. The smoke stack through which the smoke and fumes from both furnacPhoto Courtesy of glendalemontana.com
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