Belt owed its existence to the coal mines located there in the 1890's. In those days the population was 4,000. The Anaconda mine employed 1,000 men and produced 2,500 tons of coal daily. The bituminous coal went to the Anaconda smelters in Great Falls and fueled the Great Northern R.R. The coal boom ended during the 1920's, and smaller "wagon mines" continued production into the 1950's. A ventilation fan from the major mines came from the East Belt.