'The man who saved Butte': Complex renamed in honor of Don Peoples Sr.

Don Peoples Sr. has been a legend in Butte-Silver Bow County for decades and he’s still drawing thanks and praise.

Commissioners added more honors Wednesday night by changing the name of the former Montana National Guard armory from the Butte Readiness Center to the Don Peoples Sr. Butte-Silver Bow Complex.

Peoples was Butte-Silver Bow’s chief executive when the Atlantic Richfield Co. ceased mining operations in the early 1980s, and he’s widely recognized for leading Butte through the dark economic times that followed.

J.P. Gallagher, Butte-Silver Bow’s current chief executive, recommended the Readiness Center name change. He was at a Montana League of Cities and Towns convention in Billings on Wednesday night but had Council Chairman John Morgan read a statement on his behalf.

“Few individuals have shaped our community with the vision, resilience and dedication that Don Peoples Sr. exemplified throughout some of the most challenging chapters in Butte’s history,” Gallagher said in the statement.

During Peoples’ tenure as chief executive from 1979 to 1989, he assembled a task force that led to new mining operations by Montana Resources, campaigned to get Butte named an “All-American City,” and led economic diversification efforts, among other things.

“Don stood as a tireless leader, offering hope, direction and unwavering commitment to the people he served,” Gallagher said. “Don was a force for progress, always guided by the best interests of his beloved home town in a place proudly known as the ‘Can Do City.’ Don was the embodiment of the ‘Can Do Chief Executive.’”

The Montana Standard called Peoples at home Thursday for comment on the honor.

“I’m very flattered,” he said, joking that some people didn’t have such kind words for him back in the day.

“It was a long time ago,” he said, adding that “Butte is very dear in my heart” and he keeps up with news and happenings here the best he can.

Butte-Silver Bow purchased the Montana National Guard Armory off of Gilman Avenue in 2022 for $2.2 million. The county located some offices there when the Guard moved into a new $34 million facility in Butte’s Montana Connections Business Park.

“As we looked to rename this facility, I felt it was both fitting and well-deserved to honor Don Peoples Sr.,” Gallagher told the Standard on Monday.

Jim Kambich worked for Peoples during his tenure as chief executive and is now Gallagher’s chief of staff. He spoke Wednesday night before commissioners voted 9-0 to formally rename the complex.

About 1,200 people lost their jobs in Butte when the mine closed in 1983, Kambich said. Safeway closed a huge warehouse within the same year, Northwest Airlines quit flying to Butte and unemployment here hit 21%.

Peoples gained state and national recognition for guiding Butte through that period, Kambich said, and Butte became “the Mining City” once again.

“He was the man who saved Butte to be quite honest with you,” Kambich said.

Commissioner Michele Shea said everyone should appreciate Don Peoples Sr. to this day.

“A lot of people don’t realize that if it weren’t for Don Peoples, we might be sitting in the middle of the (Berkeley) Pit right now,” Shea said. “He literally saved Uptown Butte from sure destruction.”