In 1920, my great-grandfather received the patent rights for the Hawkesworth Drill, in the United States, Canada, and Internationally. Eventually making the Anaconda Copper Mining Company of Montana, hundreds of millions of dollars.

Then they erased him from history.

Arthur Lee Hawkesworth’s name was deliberately scrubbed from corporate archives. No records. No acknowledgment. Not even a whisper of the man whose revolutionary drill bit saved lives and transformed the mining industry.

My aunt had begun piecing together the truth in her book “Butte: An Unfinished Story,” a short family history. When she passed the torch to me, it ignited a passion I could not ignore. I had to know: what really happened to my great grandfather?

My father and grandfather were both born in Butte, Montana. I grew up listening to firsthand accounts of life in that thriving, mining city. A place that was barren, bitterly cold, and populated by people who were legendary for being “Butte Tough.”

As I read my great-grandfather’s letters and researched historical records, the questions multiplied. The internet allowed me to dig deeper into the history of Anaconda and Butte, to uncover what really happened—and to set the record straight.

Why would the most powerful corporation in Montana deliberately erase the achievements of a man who made them a fortune?

As I delved deeper into ACM’s records, I uncovered a web of deceit and corruption that reached the highest levels of the corporation. Anaconda, the “powerful snake of Montana” was one of the largest companies in the world, and nothing, especially not Arthur Lee Hawkesworth, would stop them from maintaining their monopoly on the mining industry.

However, there is more to the story. Arthur’s invention would cut steel costs in half. Steel companies were terrified of the ramifications of worldwide use of the new detachable drill bit.

ACM had a personal stake in keeping Arthur’s legacy buried. Because of what they did to him. But so did the steel companies and others.

A Love That Defied Convention

Arthur Lee Hawkesworth, an impoverished English Unitarian and descendant of the legendary Josiah Wedgwood, meets Mamie Winifred Lynch, the daughter of a working class Irish Catholic family. They marry in 1895 and begin their journey together as pioneers in the rugged Montana Territory.

Their relationship defies the deep-seated prejudice between the Irish and English communities. They endure devastating loss and forge a life together through love, commitment, and determination. An enduring love story that challenges the era’s rigid societal norms.

The Invention That Changed Everything

Arthur is a mechanical savant haunted by his famous ancestors—Darwin, Wedgwood, and Ryerson—and pressured by his mother to honor their legacy.

As a loyal employee of the massive Anaconda Copper Mining Company, he dreams of stepping out from the corporate shadow and creating his own empire.

His obsessive work takes him away from Mamie and their children, straining family bonds. But his tireless efforts result in a groundbreaking innovation: a detachable drill bit that revolutionizes hard rock mining and the machinery to manufacture them to scale.

Mamie, steadfast in her Catholic faith, endures the losses and hardships with unwavering spirit, holding their family together while Arthur pursues his vision.

The Corporate Battle

Arthur’s invention attracts the attention of both ACM’s corporate heads and the steel companies, but rather than compensate him fairly, they move to undermine his efforts.

Arthur battles sabotage, duplicity, and industrial espionage as Anaconda works to replicate his design. Their hostility eventually transforms into grudging respect, forcing them into an exclusive purchase agreement.

Arthur hopes to secure a prosperous future for his lineage, particularly his beloved son, whom he envisions managing the family empire. Victory seems within reach.