Entry No. 53 — the Helena file — filed under: ruins
Kelley Mine Yard
Opened in 1949, the Kelley Mine was the last active underground mine on Butte Hill before closing in 1983. Today, its towering steel headframe—the tallest in Butte—stands over the yard, while its underground shafts are flooded with toxic water. Although some of the historic brick surface buildings have been adaptively reused by a local distillery, the massive headframe remains a silent monument to Butte's copper mining era.
The story
Underground mining on Butte Hill didn't go out with a quiet sigh—it ended right here in 1983, when the pumps stopped at the Kelley Shaft. Opened in 1949, the Kelley was the last underground holdout on the Hill. Once the power was cut, miles of subterranean shafts deep below the yard slowly filled with millions of gallons of toxic, acid-heavy water, turning the deep earth into a flooded vault you'll never see.
Above ground, the site tells a stranger story. The Kelley boasts the tallest steel headframe in Butte, rising over a yard that sits squarely in the crosshairs of federal environmental remediation. Atlantic Richfield monitors the soil while snowmelt drains off through designated Superfund channels like Kelley Channel "B." Yet right alongside the heavy environmental oversight, historic brick surface buildings in the yard have been repurposed by Headframe Spirits, turning an industrial ruin into a working distillery.
What it's like
Don't expect to hop the fence and scale the steel. The mine yard itself is private property, wrapped in chain link and actively managed, so keep to the public side of the perimeter. Your best angle is from the paved BA&P Hill Trail, where you can walk or bike right past the perimeter for an unimpeded view of the massive headframe silhouette against the sky. After snapping your shots from the trail, trail-hop down into town to drink spirits distilled inside the former mine's brick footprint.
The move: Walk or bike along the paved BA&P Hill Trail to view and photograph the towering Kelley Mine headframe against the Butte skyline, then head into town to sample spirits crafted by the distillery that now occupies the historic mine buildings.
📍 Before you go The mine yard itself is private property, fenced off, and partially occupied by an active distillery, but the iconic headframe is clearly visible from the public BA&P Hill Trail.
- 📍 Butte
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: Butte, MT 59701, USA
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current access before you go.
Pair it with
- Mountain Consolidated Mine — Compare Butte's tallest headframe at the Kelley with 'The Con' just 0.3 miles away, once one of the deepest underground shafts on the Hill.
- Diamond Mine — Pair the site of Butte's youngest underground shaft (Kelley, 1949) with the nearby Diamond Mine headframe, erected in 1898 as the oldest surviving steel frame on the Hill.
- Uptown Crystals & Wellness Shoppe — Head under a mile down into Uptown Butte after walking the trail to contrast raw industrial copper history with polished minerals and crystals.
Good to know
Can you go inside the mine yard or climb the headframe?
No. The yard is private property, fenced off, and subject to active environmental management. You can get clear, unobstructed views and photos from the public BA&P Hill Trail.
Why is the Kelley Mine historically important?
Opened in 1949, it was the last active underground mine on Butte Hill before subterranean operations ceased in 1983, ending a century-long era of underground copper extraction.
What is the connection between the mine and local spirits?
Local craft distillery Headframe Spirits adaptively reused the historic brick surface buildings in the mine yard for its production facilities.
Is the underground mine flooded?
Yes. After operations shut down in 1983, the deep underground shafts flooded with acidic, heavy-metal-bearing toxic water, making the site an ongoing focus of Superfund monitoring.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: headframespirits.com · Wikipedia · digitalcommons.mtech.edu
last checked: 2026-07-20