WARM SPRINGS, MT

Warm Springs is a small community in Deer Lodge County, Montana located just off I-90 near Anaconda. The Warm springs post office opened in 1871. Luther Barnard was the postmaster. Warm Springs was named for the nearby hot water springs.  Hot water seeps from a limestone cone that is about 40 feet high. Native Americans called this the "Lodge of the Whitetailed Deer" giving the Deer Lodge Valley its name. 

The Montana State Hospital, also known as Warm Springs, is located at Warm Springs. It was founded by the Territorial Government of Montana in 1877. Over the years the hospital operated under a variety of names including Mitchell and Mussigbrod, Insane Asylum of the State of Montana, Montana State Hospital for the Insane, Montana State Insane Asylum, Montana State Hospital, and Warm Springs State Hospital.

In 1910 a constitutional amendment was passed allowing the state to acquire the asylum. Negotiations were begun and on December 1, 1912, the Warm Springs Hospital became a state institution. It is the only long term psychiatric hospital operated by the state of Montana.