P a g e 7 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 13) THE SHOEMAKERS SHOP (Private) was originally owned by N. Norem. This shop provided new shoes and shoe repair for the residents of Elkhorn. The booming town needed such craftsmen like the shoe maker. A blacksmith, butcher, jeweler, and other craftsmen were also present in Elkhorn at one time. 14) THE COMMUNITY CHURCH (Private) became the place of worship required by the town. Many of the men working in Elkhorn were family men, and part of a family’s activities included attending church services as often as possible. The church, which burned in 1912 a victim of dreaded fire, is only a vacant place on main street. 15) & 16) THE MINER'S CLUB HOUSE AND THE SALT HOUSE (Private) that once stood near the shoe makers shop are also only sites marked by signs. The Miner's Club House held private meetings and social gatherings of the miners, while the salt house was originally a residence and was later used to store salt. 17) THE MINE WATCHMAN'S CABIN (Private) served as the first doctor's office for Elkhorn, but due to its proximity to the Elkhorn Mine, it became the live-in quarters of Ed Rattell, the mine watchman. From this cabin Rattell kept a close eye on their “goings on" around the mine. 18) THE ELKHORN MINE (Private) first discovered by Peter Wys in 1870, was the namesake for the town of Elkhorn. A.M. Holter turned it into the dominant producing mine of the area after its purchase in 1872. It was owned by such people as A.M. Holter, the London-Swansea Developing Company, John Henry and Frank Longmaid, and several others. The big mill is gone now, along with many other of its old buildings. Its tailings and a few remaining buildings are the only remnants. 19) THE CEMETERY Picket wood and iron rod fences border several grave sites. Stone and wood headstones are present to mark the unfortunate one's resting places. Many headstones belong to small children and teenagers who lost their lives in the diphtheria epidemic that struck Elkhorn in the late 1880's. A) Mark Moreau's - "Dog House" (private) B) Mobeck's Cabin (Private) C) Old Boarding House - Spruile Brader birthplace. (Private) Bannack, Montana- "We had extremely cold weather here the week before last. The mercury in the thermometers after going forty degrees below zero froze in the bulb. I never knew such cold weather. I was so afraid that the children would freeze their noses or ears that I got up a number of times in the night to see that their heads were covered. Their beds would be covered with frost."- Mary Edgerton, Winter 1863-1864 Photo: Old cabin on a cold winter's day in Bannack. P.S.- when I took this photo it was only about -23 but it was still pretty cold! Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz GRAPE CATSUP —Take five pounds of grapes and stew over a slow fire until soft; then rub through a sieve. Add two and a half pounds of sugar, one tablespoonful of allspice, one of pepper, one of cinnamon, one of cloves, half a tablespoonfull of salt, and a pint of vinegar. Boil slowly until thick and smooth, then bottle. -From The Ismay Journal, November. 14, 1913
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