Underrated Ghost Stories And Mythical Creatures All Over The World: One Hundred And Sixty-Fifth Stop – Butte, Montana

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Underrated Ghost Stories And Mythical Creatures All Over The World: One Hundred And Sixty-Fifth Stop – Butte, Montana

Butte, Montana is best known for its mining history. Although that’s long gone, there are many things to see and do in the area. In relation to its mining history, tourists can go to underground tours and take cultural and historic walking or trolley tours of the town. Visitors can also check out World Museum of Mining, Mineral Museum, Our lady of the Rockies, and more.

Downtown Butte, Montana. (Link: https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/montana/articles/top-10-restaurants-local-eats-in-butte-montana/)

One of the best tourist spots here is the Copper King Mansion. The current owners of this bed and breakfast deny claims of paranormal activities but many are saying otherwise.

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A photo of the Copper King Mansion from the outside. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_King_Mansion)

The History Of Copper King Mansion

The Copper King Mansion, also known as the W.A. Clark Mansion, was built from the years 1884 through 1888. It was a Romanesque Revival Victorian architecture and had 34 rooms. It was built to be the residence of William Andrews Clark, who is one of the three Copper Kings in Montana. Clarks initially went to law school for two years then he taught at a school in Missouri. In 1862, he tried his luck in the mining industry with a friend and they tried to work on it for two years. However, he was more of a businessman so he started hauling supplies to mining camps and helped minors manage their money after their findings at the mines.

William Andrews Clark in an undated photo. (Link: http://downfalldictionary.blogspot.com/2019/11/william-clark-copper-king-fails-to-buy.html)

That was when he made his fortune. Accordingly, he even hit 17 million dollars a month. By the year 1900, he became one of the wealthiest men in the world. He then used his fortune to expand his business opportunities. He became generous to a number of charities, he owned 97 percent of one of the mines in Arizona. Clark also bought newspapers, sugar plantations, sugar factories, and many more.

As his business and fortune grew, he built different mansions in other cities like in New York, Sant Barbara, Washington DC, and Paris. However, he chose to build their main family home in Butte. In the year 1880, he and his first wife, Katherine, had six children so they needed a large place to live in. So, the Copper King Mansion was put into work.

The Copper King Mansion was a sight to see. It cost him half a million dollars and it featured fresco painted ceilings, had elegant parquets made of imported wood, gas, and electric chandeliers, boasted hand-carved fireplaces and stairways, and even treated passersby with stained-glass windows.

Some of the stained-glass windows at the Copper King Mansion. (Link: https://www.emptymansionsbook.com/butte-the-copper-king-mansion)

In 1893, his first wife died. Eight years later, he remarried. The second wife was identified as Anna Lachapelle and they and they had two daughters together. One of the daughters, however, perished because of meningitis. The other remains living in New York.

After Clark and Lachapelle died, one of Clark’s son inherited the mansion. However, that son liked to gamble so the mansion was sold to someone outside the family. The person who purchased the mansion sold all the furniture and later, the mansion was sold to a Catholic church so it became the home of the nuns in the area. After the nuns inhabited the mansion, the top floor was turned into a chapel and the al fresco ceiling was painted over.

It is unclear which year the current owners purchased the home but they renovated the Copper King Mansion so it would look like how it was during its former glory. They were even able to buy back some of the original antiques owned by the Clarks. They ran a restaurant in the main dining room of the Copper King Mansion for many years.

One of the dining areas at the Copper King Mansion. (Link: http://thecopperkingmansion.com/bed-and-breakfast-rooms-rates)

Now, it is a Bed and Breakfast and is being managed by the granddaughter and grandson of the owners. Tours are usually given during the months of May through September.

One of the current owners of the Copper King Mansion. (Link: https://www.commdiginews.com/travel/the-copper-king-mansion-victorian-glamour-in-butte-montana-120012/)

Manifestations At The Copper King Mansion

Although the current owners of the Copper King Mansion say that there are no ghosts or entities lurking in their bed and breakfast, guests and employees believe otherwise.

Some of the most common manifestations include feeling the presence of a cold entity in the game room.

There is also a cheery presence in the old chapel and ballroom. Sometimes, the spirits tease those people who are fearful of spirits. Accordingly, one former tour guide witnessed this as she was very fearful of the possibility of spirits in the mansion. A staff shared, “In the top floor in the 64 foot ballroom, the owner had cleaned out an old trunk one morning, leaving it shut. During an afternoon tour, this tour guide who used to give tours to the public and guests, was explaining about the ball room area. The lid of the trunk flew up all by itself, scaring the tour guide, and startling the other people. This tour guide seemed to be the one the entities enjoyed getting their chuckles from because this person reacted so beautifully, being a little scared of ghosts!”

As for the basement, a light-colored hazy fog that looks like an apparition seems to float around. This hazy fog is likewise spotted on the first floor hallway.

A Guest’s Experience

One guest also shared on Tripadvisor his experience when they stayed at the Copper King Mansion for two nights. The guest shared, “Sometime in the middle of the night I heard a series of creaks (knocks?) that trailed from the sitting room door to my side of the bed and then back. I looked many times and saw nothing. I tried very hard to ignore the sounds but they ended up scaring me to near death! We even got mists on the pictures we took.”

One of the bedrooms at the Copper King Mansion. (Link: https://www.hotel-scoop.com/copper-king-mansion-butte-montana-review/)

Do you have any experiences at the Copper King Mansion? Share in the comments below!

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