P a g e 2 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 Courtesy of https://northwestrving.com soon made their home in Glendale, which was much tamer and civilized than the (mostly male) mining camps upstream. The population averaged around 2,000 souls for the nearly thirty years the smelter operated. Today you can view ruins of the smelter and several other remaining buildings. Continue up Trapper Creek to encounter the next three ghosts. The first mining camp to be established in the area was Trapper City, which established a post office in 1873. Quickly, the camp boasted a hotel, several saloons, a brothel, general store, butcher shop, livery stable and numerous cabins lined up and down Trapper Creek. The settlement reached a population of nearly 200, but was short lived, as mining operations began to move up onto nearby Lion Mountain. Also growing was the new camp of Lion City at the base of Lion Mountain and by 1878 almost everyone had abandoned Trapper City in favor of Lion City. Trapper City’s businesses followed the residents with Lion City soon boasting three saloons, Remains of a mill in Trapper City Courtesy of https://northwestrving.com Old stamp mill in Lion City two brothels, two hotels, several retail businesses, a school, mining buildings and numerous cabins. At its peak, Lion City had a population of five to six hundred people consisting mostly of miners and merchants. In 1881, the Hecla Mining Company reorganized their mining efforts in the area founding the town of Hecla a short distance above Lion City. The primary reason for the new town was to remove the miners from the saloons and brothels available in Lion City along with providing easier access to the mines. The town grew to an estimated 1,500 to 1,800 individuals and included boarding houses for the miners, a water works, fire protection, a church, a school for 200 students, company offices and other businesses typical of a small mining town. Many buildings remain in Lion City Courtesy of https://northwestrving.com
3 Publizr Home