P a g e 8 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r as the leader of the infamous Plummer Gang that was responsible for the bloodshed that occurred around Virginia City and Bannack during the early days. This high crime led to the formation of the Vigilance committee of the Alder Gulch and Montana Vigilantes who sought out and hung over 15 of these road agents between December 1863 and January 1864, including Plummer himself. Also Read: Copper Mines of Butte, Montana: The Richest Hill on Earth Virginia City: The Pride of Western Montana The Montana Territory was organized out of the existing part of the Idaho Territory in 1864, through an Act of Congress and was later signed into law on May 26, 1864, by President Abraham Lincoln. Virginia City was the capital of the territory from February 7, 1865 to April 19, 1875, when the capital was moved to Helena, Montana. Virginia City quickly became a social center as it filled up with permanent structures and transportation hubs. It became the location of Montana’s first public school, newspaper, and telegraph. Thomas Dimsdale was Montana’s first newspaper’s editor, the Montana Post, which was published on August 27, 1864. The first public school opened in March 1866. Shortly after the big boom, Virginia City started to experience a gradual decline. Gold was discovered in the Last Chance Gulch, which is now present day Helena, and more fickle miners moved to find fortune in this new location. A population of over 10,000 eventually trickled down to only a few hundred. It was at that time that the capital of Montana changed to Helena from Virginia City and the town began to devolve into the ghost town it is today. The Boom Ends, but some Mining Continues on… Lode mining did continue in the area for years but nowhere as successfully as prior mining. Between 1898 and 1922, floating dredges destroyed several of the mining camps along Alder Gulch, leaving mounds of tailings and dredge ponds behind. Nearby town, Nevada City, was actually totally destroyed by dredging, and Virginia City somehow managed to survive because it had not been established upon gold-bearing Photo Courtesy of Matt Grover Nevada City was located just a few miles downstream of Virginia City. The townsite was destroyed by large dredging operations in the early 1900s, but many of the structures were moved to Virginia City.
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