Butte Hill was called the Richest Hill on Earth during the 1880s．Gold，silver，and eventually copper have been mined there．Marcus Daly and William Clark controlled the largest mines and competed both in business and politics．
Clark wanted to be a U．S．Senator，but Daly opposed him．In the campaign of 1899，Clark was accused（被告）of bribery（贿赂）．He won，but resigned rather than face an investigation by a Senate committee．Two years later，Clark won his Senate seat in a second election．He was helped by F．Augustus Heinze，another mine owner．Heinze had arrived in Butte long after Daly and Clark became millionaires．But Heinze became wealthy though clever use of mining law and court suits．
First Daly，then the others sold their properties（道具）to a single corporation，which became the Anaconda Company．The Company organized an electric power company，built a railroad，and constructed dams．It also controlled forests，banks，and newspapers．Anaconda became so important in the life of the state that Montanans referred to it simply as “The Company”．
Montana became the 41st state on Nov．8，1889．In the years that followed，dams were built that provided water for irrigation（灌溉，冲洗）and electricity for industrial use．Food processing plants opened and railroads were extended．
During the early 1900s，Montana made increasing use of its natural resources．New dams harnessed［利用（河流、瀑布等）产生动力（尤指电力）］the state’s rivers，providing water for irrigation and electric power for industry．The extension of the railroads assisted the processing industries．New plants refined（精制的）sugar，milled flour，and processed meat．In 1910，Congress created Glacier National Park，which became an attraction for tourists．
Many lost their farms and their jobs．The U．S．government continued to develop natural resources in Montana．More than 10，000workers were paid to build the Fort Peck Dam．Others helped with irrigation，soil conservation（保存，保持，守恒），and construction of parks and public roads．This program was called The New Deal．
Jeannette Rankin of Missoula was elected to the U．S．House of Representatives in 1916．She was the first woman to serve in Congress．She won fame in 1941as the only member of Congress to vote against U．S．entry into World War II．Rankin said she did not believe in war and would not vote for it．
The Great Depression（1929－1939）also hit the nation．Demand for the state’s metals dropped because of the nationwide lag in production．Drought contributed to the drop in farm income，crought on by the depression．
However，state and federal programs continued to develop Montana’s resources during the 1930s．The building of the giant Fort Peck Dam helped provide jobs．Completion（完成）of the dam in 1940provided badly needed water for irrigation．Other projects included insect control，irrigation，rural electrification（电气化），and soil conservation．The construction of parks，recreation areas，and roads also continued under government direction．In 1940，Montana voters elected Republican Sam C．Ford of Helena as governor．He was only the third Republican state governor in Montana history．
Montana’s economy flourished during World War II（1941—1945）．Flour，meat and metals were all in demand．After the war，prices for grain dropped and many farms were abandoned in search for work in the cities．Oil was discovered in Williston Basin and the Anaconda Aluminum Company opened a large plant in northwestern Montana．
In 1972，Montana voters narrowly approved a new state Constitution．The Constitution went into effect in 1973．
Montana’s gas，oil，and coal industries expanded rapdily during the 1970s，when an energy shortage developed in the United States．Coal production increased sharply，from less than 3million to more than 30million tons per year．Huge，open－pit strip mines operated at Colstrip and other southeastern Montana sites．The Montana Power Company built four coal－burning，electric power plants at Colstrip．A 30percent coal severance tax（采掘税，开采税）contributed needed funds to the state．But，in the early 1980s，fuel prices fell，and Montana’s production leveled off．
Montana’s traditionally important industries experienced major difficulties during the mid－1980s．Farmers suffered hardships（困苦，艰难）brought on by drought，low farm product prices，and reduced sales to foreign markets．The lumber（〈美〉木材）industry cut fewer logs（原木）than in the past．In addition，the mining industry lost thousands of jobs．The Anaconda Company，once the leading mining company in the state，gave up copper mining altogether．
Montana，today，remains a state rich in natural resources．But state leaders seek to broaden（扩大）Montana’s economy by attracting small business and by promoting electronics and other advanced－technology ventures．The Science and Technology Alliance，created in 1985，looks for new uses for raw materials．The state is also working to expand its tourist industry．
Governor州长
2004年11月2日，Brian Schweitzer被选为蒙大拿州自1998年以来第一任民主州长。在2005年1月3日成为蒙大拿第23任州长。Brian1995年出生在Havre，他在家里六个孩子中排行老四。他在父母开办的牛场长大。他德国和爱尔兰祖父母在世纪之交移民到蒙大拿并且在Hill County建立起了自己的家园。他的父母仍然在Geyser附近务农。
On November 2，2004Brian Schweitzer was elected as Montana’s first Democratic governor since 1988．Brian Schweitzer became the 23rd Governor of the great state of Montana on January 3，2005．
Brian was born in Havre in 1955，the fourth of six children—five sons and a daughter—of Kay and Adam Schweitzer．He was raised on his parent’s registered cattle ranch in the Judith Basin，Montana．His German and Irish grandparents immigrated to Montana near the turn of the century and homesteaded（家园，田产）in Hill County．His parents still farm near Geyser．
Brian earned a Bachelor of Science（理学士）degree in International Agronomy（农艺学，农学）from Colorado State University，and later earned a Master of Science degree in Soil Science from Montana State University．Brian married Nancy Hupp，his college sweetheart，in 1981．Nancy was raised in Billings and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Botany from Montana State University．