In Motherlode, Janet L. Finn and co-editor Ellen Crain honor the powerful, untold stories of women who shaped the cultural, economic, and political heart of Butte, Montana. Known for its mining history and rugged landscape, Butte has often been cast as a masculine place—but beneath the surface lies a deep and complex legacy of women’s endurance, labor, and activism.

Through evocative storytelling, historical records, and personal reflections, Motherlode lifts up the lives of mothers, daughters, labor organizers, caregivers, and community builders. These women carried the weight of family and community while navigating the dangers of mining life, economic upheaval, and societal expectations. The book explores how gender, class, ethnicity, and power intersected in Butte’s history—and how women’s voices have long been central to its survival and spirit.

Part history, part tribute, Motherlode is a work of deep listening and love. It reclaims women’s stories from the margins and invites readers to see Butte, and American history more broadly, through a lens of gendered resilience and resistance.