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 Rory was born Roderick Duncan McRae to Duncan and Margaret (Munro) McRae at St. Elmo Muskoka, Ontario, Canada in February 1845. He immigrated to the US in either 1862 or 1866 and had an unclaimed letter posted in the Montana Post on November 15, 1866. Rory married Minerva Frances Burden on June 10, 1873 in Deer Lodge and to this union were born: Roderick Duncan Jr.; Margaret (Holton), William, John, Mary “Mamie” (Powell), and Minnie (Cyr). He retired from ranching at the Stone Station and lived for 13 years in Philipsburg, before his death from Mitral Insufficiency on June 17, 1923. – Courtesy of the Granite County History Blog All that remains of Stone Station is this private residence. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz The purpose of the Granite County History Blog (https://granitecountyhistory.blogspot.com/) is to share and seek information on the history of Granite County, Montana. In a few cases our topics will lap over into adjacent counties as mining districts especially do not respect the later boundaries imposed by politicians! It is a project of members of the Granite County Historical Society, an organization founded in 1978 by the late Barry Engrav of Philipsburg and now comprised of 8 members dedicated to preserving and interpreting historical documents, artifacts, and sites in the greater Philipsburg area. Our goal is to interest current residents, folks with family roots, and those with an academic interest in the area to add their knowledge to this blog as an ongoing project to deepen and in some cases correct the narrative of the people and events that shaped history in this part of Montana. The recent explosion of scanned historical documents onto the internet is making it possible to greatly speed up historical research, refine historical chronology, and deepen historical interpretation. Perhaps we are entering into a "golden age" of research into our past! Anyone with an interest in the Philipsburg area or Montana history is invited to discuss the topics of our posts, as well as their own data and sources, which we hope will create an ongoing dialogue about the area now known as Granite County. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Aug. 2- 1881: A trip up to Lion City, a distance of nine miles from Glendale, brings one to the cluster of mines owned and operated by the Hecla Company. Lion City is a busy camp, full of miners. Just above the town are the famous mines that have yielded such an immense amount of smelting ores. They are all being worked at present by the Hecla Company, and are producing well. The Company is working the Atlantis, True Fissure, Cleopatra, Cleve and other mines, all of which are yielding a good grade of smelting ore. On the Cleopatra mine, high up on Lion Mountain, new steam hoisting works are being erected. The business men of the town reported times lively and improving. "Old Mose," who knows, said the prospect was never more inviting. The property offered by Mr. Geo. E. Tarbell in a grand gift distribution to be drawn in Butte is located in Lion City. It is the best property in the town. Mr. Tarbell will announce, early in August, the day of drawing in Butte. Lion City and the mines are looking well, and there are no idle men in that camp. In fact, men are in great demand, and the wages paid are good, which is always the case in a prosperous mining camp. -From the Weekly Miner Newspaper (Butte, MT), Accessed via: www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov Would you like to receive our digital quarterly magazine for free? Just send an email with MAGAZINE in the subject to ghosttownsofmontana@gmail.com
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