The establishment of the huge silver and copper mines in western
Montana in the 1880s called for a large and stable workforce,
supplied mostly by immigrants. The mines demanded workers, and
Europe had workers to spare. The population of Montana grew 365
percent from 1880 to 1890, largely as a result of immigration
into Butte and Anaconda. Large numbers of Irish, Germans, Slavs,
Italians, Finns, and “Cousin Jack” miners from Cornwall poured
into Butte to work the mines. These foreign workers settled into
separate ethnic neighborhoods, where traditional food, customs,
and languages prevailed. Some Jewish immigrants moved to the
thriving mining centers and set up retail establishments. In
1910 black settlers in Montana, most of whom lived in mining
towns, numbered almost 2,000. Only after the establishment of
Air Force bases near Glasgow and Great Falls in the 1960s were
there more black residents in the state. Chinese immigrants were
also attracted to Butte, where they set up laundries and
restaurants. Although