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w w w. d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m
At the height of Butte's mining
boom, around 20,000 Serbians
were living and working there.
The legacy lives on today, with the
Butte phone book full of Serbian
names. The mayor of Butte even
declared an official Serb Day holi-
day that corresponds to Serb Fest.
You may have noticed that we also
have a town named Belgrade in
Montana, named after the capital
of Serbia. But that's another story
for another time.
In the late 1800s, the popula-
tion of Butte had swelled to some-
where around 100,000 people,
with 20,000 of those being Serbian
miners. Because there was no Ser-
bian Orthodox Christian church
in Butte when they arrived, they
contacted a priest, who first came
to Butte in 1897. That priest, Fa-
ther Sebastian Dobovich, is now
recognized by Orthodox Chris-
tians as a saint.
Saint Sebastian's legacy
lives on today in the descen-
dants of the Serbs who lived in
Butte during its boomtown days.
Although you likely won't hear
anyone speaking Serbian at Serb
Fest, they still hold fast to the
traditions passed down to them
from their ancestors. If you're
fortunate enough to enjoy some
Serbian cuisine at Serb Fest, you
will likely be enjoying a fami-
ly recipe that has been passed
down for generations.
The story of Butte's Serbian
population is about as American
a story as you'll find anywhere.
THIS CELEBRATION OF SERBIAN FOOD, MUSIC, CULTURE, AND HISTORY
BEGAN IN 2017 AND HAS BEEN GOING STRONG. THE FREE FESTIVAL IMMERSES
VISITORS IN THE SIGHTS, SOUNDS, SMELLS, AND TASTES OF SERBIA.
CHERYL
ACKERMAN
CHERYL
ACKERMAN
CHRISTOPHER
MUHLENFELD
CHRISTOPHER
MUHLENFELD
CHRISTOPHER
MUHLENFELD
