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 The Carroll Ranch spanned four generations. In 1903, Frank and Ann Carroll traded their homestead in nearby Polaris for a homestead here. They lived in tents with their 8 children while constructing the first building, which they completed just in time for the winter of 1904. Over the years, the family acquired other homesteads, eventually expanding the ranch to encompass some 13,000 acres, from the northeast side of the pass all the way to Jackson. The Carroll family sold the ranchlands in the late 1950s, more than 100 years after their greatgrandparents immigrated from Ireland. Yet the family name endures- Big Hole Pass is still known locally as Carroll Hill. The Hamilton Ranch restored and still uses the original ranch house that the Carrolls built in 1903. Cowboys from other ranches would bunk at the Carroll Ranch when their cattle drives stopped for an overnight rest. Because cattle can lose about 1 percent of their body weight for every 10-15 miles of walking, it is important to the economics of ranching to take regular breaks when moving cattle to markets or to distant pastures. –Courtesy of Interpretive Sign at Site GOOD TIMES AHEAD Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz The year just passed has been a fruitful one for Zortman and the coming year is full of promise for the camp. During 1907 there was little evidence of great things; yet there was the steady progress toward permanency, which must be demonstrated before capital can be expected to invest in the country. Steady development work has progressed on many mining groups up to the point where of a certainty we know that we have the mines- dozens of them and the coming year will see some of these grow into the producing class. Indeed, it is only within the past year that the great Ruby mine has been exploited and the permanency and extent of her great ore bodies defined. The exploration company began the year with little in sight, but a few strokes of the pick under the direction of a competent mining man, and a veritable bonanza is exposed. There will be many more during 1908 and from and after February, the output of gold of the Little Rockies will equal, if not exceed the whole of the balance of Montana. Cripple Creek never was a greater camp and if this district was in Nevada, 100 miles from wood and water, Zortman would have had 5,000 population long ago. As it is, easy of access and in the heart of civilization, people have passed it up in order to penetrate the wilderness. – Little Rockies Miner (Zortman, MT), Jan. 9, 1908, accessed via www.montananewspapers.org Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz
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