Take a Virtual Walking Tour Through Anaconda, Montana There are a lot of beautiful small towns in Montana, but not many with a history like Anaconda, Montana. According to westernmininghistory.com, Anaconda was established in 1883 by Marcus Daly. Daly was one of the three "Copper Kings" of Butte, Montana. It was the site for a new smelter to treat ores from Daly's Anaconda mine. Anaconda was going to be called Copperopolis, but that name was already in use by another Montana town at the time. The 585 foot tall Washoe Smelter smoke stack can still be seen today. It is recognized as the tallest surviving free-standing masonry structure in the world.