Ghost Towns
The ruins of a settlement in Garnet ghost town.


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During the late 1850s prospectors discovered the first significant Montana gold strike at Benatsee Creek, north of the Deer Lodge Valley. By the turn of the century thriving boomtowns were scattered throughout the state. When the gold disappeared, so did the people. What remains of the once wild and roaring mining camps are a number of historic Ghost Towns.

All these towns were once bustling with gold and silver seekers, who filled the saloons, hotels and shops when not digging in the ground. Some also brought their families. Their homes stand alongside other time-worn buildings. Now these ghost towns are tourist attractions, even in winter when the icy cold gives them an added eeriness.

Stand at the center of any of these forgotten cities and listen closely to the howling wind. You may hear the sounds of honky-tonk pianos, or catch a fleeting glimpse of a miner clutching a cache of gold.

From the time that gold was first discovered in Gold Creek in 1852 to the first major gold rush boom in Bannack in July, 1862, and all the way through today, millions of dollars in gold, silver, copper, zinc and other precious ores have been scoured from the mountains of Montana.

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Region 2

Hell Gate

In 1860 Frank Worden and Christopher Higgins packed merchandise over the new Mullan Road from Walla Walla to the Missoula Valley. They built a trading post in the valley, and their store became the center of a small settlement known as Hell Gate or Hell Gate Ronde. The discovery of gold on Wild Horse Creek in British Columbia and the rush to Alder Gulch provided a stream of customers for the business. By 1865 the partners had built a sawmill, a grist mill, and a warehouse four miles east of Hell Gate. A village grew up in that area and became known as Missoula Mills, later Missoula. In the winter of 1863-1864, local citizens worried about six of Henry Plummer's gang loitering here, until a posse from Alder Gulch rode in and hanged them all.

Located in the northeastern corner of the Garnet Range at the headwaters of McGinnis Creek, Coloma and several other mining camps, including Reynolds City, Springtown, and Yreka got their starts in 1865 when prospectors found gold in Bear Gulch and Elk Creek. This started one of the last large Montana gold rushes and within weeks, 6,000 people moved into the Garnet Mountain mining districts. The settlement of Coloma, on the north side of the divide, was the largest next to Garnet, which would be developed later.

Garnet

40 miles east of Missoula in the Garnet Mountains, and north of I-90 at Bearmouth, Garnet is one ghost camp that refuses to die. Almost 6,000 feet up, it has never had a bonanza strike, yet miners still insist its day will come. This area is now mostly under the administration of BLM and is being restored, with the exception of a few privately owned lots. Gold was discovered in 1862, drawing over a thousand people to the town of wood and log structures which remained active until 1912, when a major fire destroyed a large portion of the town. It is recorded that the "Nancy Hanks" mine poured out $10,000,000 in gold. The mine was owned by two partners. After a disagreement, one partner sold his share to the other for $50. Named for the ruby-colored stones found nearby, Garnet became a boom town with the discovery of gold in the 1860's. This well-preserved ghost town offers a glimpse of life in a turn-of-the-century gold camp. Although not as wild as its contemporaries, Garnet had it's fair share of drinking, gambling and prostitution, but the majority of the women were married, and community dances were held on a weekly basis.

Some 20 buildings still stand, including a jail, post office, blacksmith shop, school, cabins and a hotel. Garnet also had a dozen saloons to wet a parched throat after a tough day of mining. Davey's Store, a dry goods shop, operated into the 1940s.

For the adventurous at heart, spend a winter evening with the ghosts in Will's Cabin, or Ole Dahl's Place, the home of a saloon keeper and speakeasy during prohibition. Winter access from December 1 to May 15 is by snowmobiling, snowshoeing or skiing only. Winter hours are weekends only from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Open in summer daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost is $2 per person for 12 years and over. Every penny of your fee goes to preserve Garnet Ghost Town.

On a clear day, it's possible to see 10 wildlife areas, dozens of mountain peaks, open valleys and several towns from these lofty heights of almost 7,000 feet.

On the way, you'll pass the Sand Park Cemetery, resting place of long-ago residents. The cemetery, some four miles from Garnet, was the only spot the locals found soil sandy enough to dig their 6-foot-deep graves. All other terrain was too rocky.

Beartown (Bearmouth)

One of the earliest in the Bearmouth area, this ghost town yielded a cool million in gold and silver in 1866, housed the notorious "Beartown Roughts", sought to be the State Capital, then died. There is a steep cliff here where local folklore say a Chinaman buried a fortune in a five pound baking powder can. Hundreds have sought it, but it has never been found. By 1868 Beartown was described as several stores, saloons, gambling houses, a blacksmith shop and other businesses typical of mining camps. A school was built in 1881.

Soon after the discoveries at Bearmouth, prospectors searched the interior of the Garnet Range for other placer and lode deposits. The discoveries were not long in coming, for within a year the lode deposits at Top o' Deep, located about four miles east of Garnet, were made. The next year, in 1867, the rich deposits in the Garnet (or First Chance) district were located. Copper Cliff in 1891 and Coloma in 1897 followed sometime later.

Coloma

On the way to Garnet Ghost Town, Coloma is often called the "Mystery Camp," as very little is known about Coloma. The town was active from 1893 to 1906. During that period, the entire Coloma district produced approximately $250,000 in gold. The area was active again in 1918-1921 and 1932-1950. Mines near the site still remain, some containing possibly profitable deposits are sometimes worked in the summer. The structures are dated by old newspapers and mail-in catalog orders from the 1920's and 1930's, which were commonly used as insulation in the cabin walls. Still standing are mining shafts, rusting ventilation systems, pumping machines, and the remains of narrow-gauge railroad tracks. Eventually, the Coloma area would support two mills which crushed the ore that was hauled out to Helena, Butte, or Anaconda to be treated.

Coloma is located off I-90, between Drummond and Missoula. It is also accessible from the Garnet Range Road southeast off MT 200. Coloma is a few miles above Garnet at the end of the trail. Coloma can be reached from Montana Highway 200 by traveling southeast on Garnet Range Road about seven miles. Garnet Range Road continues on a circuitous route for about 13 miles through the old mining camp sites of Reynolds city, Springtown, and Beartown before making its way to Garnet.

Copper Cliff

The name of both a ghost town and a small mining district, 30 miles east of Missoula, near Garnet Ghost Town. The district was named for a cliff in the area, a rugged mass of quartzite about 150 feet high, with blue, green, yellow, and white streaks. The Copper Cliff copper-bearing lode was discovered in 1890 or 1891, but mining activity was sporadic.

Region 3

The Mineral County area started being developed following the building of the Mullan Trail in 1859. There was something of a competition between the towns of Saltese and Superior for the position of county seat when Mineral County was carved from the west side of Missoula County in 1914. However, the early mines on the west side of the county, such as the Tarbox and Last Chance, were not as successful as the mines on the east side, such as the Iron Mountain, Keystone and Amador. Consequently, Superior became the county seat.

Montana City

From Pioneer Park in Libby head south on Main then continue south on Cedar Creek. Montana City consists of rescued and original buildings preserved by Zarita Zook, a former Hollywood dancer who fell in love with the area. When pioneer era buildings were to be torn down the Zooks moved them to their site along Cedar Creek. In the 1980's they held nightly Vaudeville shows in the restored theatre and invited visitors to tour the preserved buildings. They are considering reopening the site to the public during the summers. A great place to take the kids!

Pardee

The town of Pardee, clinging to a mountainside in Hall Gulch about ten miles north of Superior, was settled in 1888-1889. By 1890, Pardee boasted a saloon, a boarding house, gambling and dance houses, a Miner's Union Hall and a post office, as well as various mining structures and cabins. Iron Mountain Mine was one of the most profitable silver mines in the state. By October of 1889 fifty men were working at Iron Mountain and 20 tons of ore were being sent to Helena daily. Pardee grew and declined as the mine's success varied, and was largely abandoned in 1897 when the mine was shut down by the State Mine Inspector for not having two mine openings, a state law. A final shipment of twenty-seven carloads of concentrates, averaging $50 a ton, was shipped from the property in October 1897. A fire leveled most of the town of Pardee shortly thereafter.

Crushed ores were hauled from the mill by wagons to the Nine Mile Divide and down Pardee Trail to the Clark Fork River. It was then loaded into flat boats and floated down the river to Paradise. The final journey was on the Northern Pacific Railway to the American Refining Smelter at Helena. In 1890 the railroad finally reached the area and a bridge, paid for in part by the mining company, connected the Iron Mountain station to the main line.

When the Northern Pacific Railroad built the Couer d'Alene branch through Superior (Iron Mountain) in 1891, the hauling distance from mine to railroad was cut almost in half, allowing for large-scale operations and incredible profits. The 100-ton Iron Mountain Mill was connected to the mine by aerial tramway. The ore was loaded into a small, narrow-gauge train that ran along the edge of a steep slope, dumped into a large ore bin at a trestle near the end of the ridgeline, then moved down the mountain to the mill via tramway.

In a mere eight years, the Iron Mountain mine yielded a half million dollars in profits, after paying all overhead costs, including mine development and 15 miles of mountain roads. The region was essentially a one mine district, producing zinc, lead and silver as well as small amounts of copper and gold. While millions of pounds of zinc and lead were produced, only 19 ounces of gold were reportedly recovered in the Twentieth century.

The town was completely abandoned around 1930. At the mine site, the remains of a large, heavy-timbered ore bin still stand and some evidence of foundations of mine buildings. There may be evidence of house foundations just above the mill site but the overgrowth is incredibly thick.

"For a respite from the wet and dirty mine, miners used to walk across the mountain from Pardee to Quinn's Hot Springs for a few days rest and bathing."

Carter / Keystone

Mining began in the area in 1887 when Phillip O'Rourke, and associates located the Keystone quartz lode, it was never a major strike, but a good deal of gold was produced. As a result of this mining activity, a town, known as "Town of O'Rourke," sprouted up along Keystone Creek. By 1891, the name was changed to Carter, after Montana U.S. Senator Thomas Carter who helped secure a post office for the town. Between 300 and 500 miners were estimated to live in the town by 1887, and the town boasted a union hall, general store, hotel, two boarding houses, butcher and blacksmith shops, school and post office. The 1893 depression and associated drop in silver prices forced a near abandonment of the area. The town, later renamed Keystone, was about as wild as they come. Not much is left today, beyond a few leaning buildings and memories. Of all the Mineral County ghost towns, Keystone has the most structures left and the general store is still used for storing hay. The mine produced for a few years, but was never as profitable as Iron Mountain. The ore was sent to (Wild Horse) Plains via flatboats, the boaters were forced to blast spots in the Missoula River (now known as the Clark Fork) to avoid "dragging" the boats on the bottom.

Don't seek this one out unless you crave adventure, for it is located in some of the wildest country imaginable.

Taft /Silver City /Saltese

Taft is a ghost camp of 3 or 4 unoccupied frame buildings. In 1908, when the Milwaukee Road was driving its St. Paul Pass Tunnel through the Bitterroot Mountains, it was a town of 2,000 inhabitants whose many saloons, gambling houses, dance halls, and flimsy buildings crowded the narrow valley. In the winter of 1909-10 the town was almost entirely destroyed by fire. When Idaho and Washington were dry and Montana wet, Taft was one of the supply points for bootleggers operating in the dry States, and was visited frequently by residents of such towns as Mullan, Wallace, and Kellogg, Idaho. But even that could not keep it alive. It saw its last real activity in 1916, when an electric power line was built across the Coeur d'Alene Mountains to connect the railroad substation at East Portal, 2 miles west with Thompson Falls.

An article in the Chicago Tribune described Taft as "the wickedest city in America . . . plague spot of vice." It was said to have 200 to 500 prostitutes and one "decent" woman.

Louisville

Sixteen miles along Cedar Creek out of Superior on U.S. 10 is this ghost camp of the 1870s. It was a part of the Cayuse Creek stampede which brought 10,000 gold seekers to the vicinity.

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