JULY 2023 Ghost Towns and History of Montana Newsletter From The Big Timber Pioneer July 19, 1917 TOUGHEST TOWN IN THE WORLD Accessed via: montananewspapers.org Among the "ghost" towns of the Treasure state, in whose balmy days flourished the romance of hard and fast living there is probably none which will live longer in the memories of the pioneers of northern Montana than McCarthyville, which is acclaimed by Montanans who sojourned there, to have been "the toughest town in the world." McCarthyville was a city for a period of only 18 months. For the most part a railway construction camp at the time when the Great Northern Railway company was building its line into the mountains of Northern Montana, its population, always Arabic in disposition, wandered away, following the rails that Jim Hill was then laying toward Puget Sound. The garish, false-fronted frame dance halls, saloons and stores were wrecked for the lumber and the sturdier log buildings succumbed to the elements. Today, this "wild and woolly" camp is represented only by a quartet of untenable cabins squatted on the little prairie far below the Great Northern grade. The town was started by Eugene McCarthy and a partner whose name was Will Hardy. Mr. McCarthy is one of the pioneer characters of Kalispell. In an interview given by him a few years ago, McCarthy told, in brief, the story of the establishment of the town. In the course of his story, he said: “We really started the town in September platting it into lots and filing the Photo Courtesy of Northwest Montana Historical Society
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 plat in the courthouse at Missoula. The contractors put in their headquarters and in a few days we had a city started. At that time there was a state law providing that liquor could not be sold within two miles of a construction camp except within an incorporated city. So we incorporated. A little while later the county attorney arrested the whole town—that is all the saloon keepers—but the case fell through because the town was incorporated. I was elected mayor and I believe I was the youngest mayor in existence. I was just over 20 years old. Now I guess I’m the oldest mayor in the country, in point of service, because my successors never qualified and according to law, I'm still the King. Before winter came McCarthyville was a complete city. We had a city government, although I don't believe there was a single ordinance on the books, a post office, sidewalks, Red McConnell's dance hall, three hotels, a dozen short order houses, three stores besides the company's commissary; in fact everything to supply the necessaries and luxuries of life as it was lived thereabouts. That town in its balmy days was a real, live settlement. It was a place for rough men and there was nobody else there. From Cut Bank west, there was no other town and we were the metropolis of miles of country full of working men. All the supplies for the camps went out from McCarthyville and all the men from the camps came in for their pay. Winter and summer the construction on the big grade from the summit down was pushed and the camps held from three thousand to four thousand men. That made an enormous payroll for one town. Any man could get a check any time for what was due him, so there was always big money circulating in the town. McCarthyville also had the company hospital and in the winter of ninety and ninety-one that was the busiest place in the young city. Laborers were scarce in the west, so the company brought them out from the east, most of them picked up in cities. They would come by train to Cut Bank and from there on, would have 60 miles of hiking across the prairies and over the summit.” DIED LIKE FLIES "It was about as tough a jaunt as any man would want and it was a whole lot more than most of these city-bred fellows could stand. They weren't used to the altitude and hardly any of them had enough clothes. They would start out from Cut Bank, in the dead of winter, and usually they'd get caught in a blizzard out on the flat. Then a couple of days later they'd wobble into McCarthyville and drop into a bunk with pneumonia. Well, there wasn't many of 'em lived through. Buryin's got too frequent and we begun to take notice. Not that they bothered us much in the way of attending services, because we didn't have no time for funerals and anyway, there was no minister in town. I think that was about the only institution we ever lacked, though. It got so that every morning just at daylight a big Swede that was acting as nurse would haul out a big sled on which there was loaded a body wrapped in a blanket. Then he'd start off up the creek to perform the obsequies by digging a hole in the snow and rolling the corpse off the sled. After this had been going on for some time, my partner. Will Hardy, said to me, ‘I’m
P a g e 3 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 goin' to kill that Swede; he's gettin' on my nerves with his everlastin' funerals at daylight.' 'No,' I said, 'we don't want to get the Swede—the doctor's our man.'” DOCTOR QUITS HIS JOB "This doctor had come from Great Falls, where we understood, he had built up a fine reputation as a veterinarian. He had a contract with the construction company to look after the sick and injured men for a dollar per man per month. But these men who had just come in weren't on the payroll yet, so we figured it out the doctor wasn't doing much to bring them back to the full vigor of youth. Hardy agreed with me that the doctor probably was to blame for all these sudden demises, so we organized a committee of prominent citizens to go to the hospital that night. The hospital was right in town and at that time was one of the poorest buildings there. It was a low, log cabin, no floor, and the only window was a hole covered with a canvas flap.” DROPS “SWEDE” WITH A PISTOL "We went over in a body and I knocked at the door. The Swede opened it part way and then when he saw who it was he tried to shut it but Hardy reached over my shoulder and tapped him with the butt of a gun. He dropped like a beef. Then we cast a glance about for the doc, just in time to see his heels following him through the window. The canvas dropped and that was "curtains" for him. McCarthyville never saw him again. Then we had another doctor and the death rate was much decreased.” -Excerpt from The Bozeman Courier, April 23, 1926, Accessed via: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ Dedicating the Going-to-the-Sun Road Glenn Montgomery cooked for several of the crews that built Going-to-theSun Road and was head cook for West Glacier Park. But never in his career did he feed more people than on July 15, 1933, the day Going-to-the-Sun Road was dedicated. Park officials expected to serve lunch to twenty-five hundred people before the opening ceremony. The day before, Montgomery gathered his groceries, including 500 pounds of red beans, 125 pounds of hamburger, 36 gallons of tomatoes, 100 pounds of onions, and 15 pounds of chili powder. The brew bubbled on four woodstoves in nine copperbottomed washtubs until midnight. Crews transported the first batch of hot chili up to Logan Pass and transferred it to waiting cook fires to keep it hot. Meanwhile back at headquarters, Montgomery prepared a second batch that cooked the rest of the night. Nineteen-year-old Ernest Johnson, who worked on the road’s construction at forty cents an hour, stayed up all night helping to stir the chili. At the dedication of Going-to-the Sun Road Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, 956-617 The morning dawned sunny and clear, drawing four thousand people to the festivities on Logan Pass. The chili stretched thin, but with additional hot dogs and coffee, everyone got something to eat. Johnson later said that he slept through the event, but helped clean up the mess. He never saw so many paper plates in all his life. –Ellen Baumler From Montana Moments: History on the Go Ellen Baumler is an award-winning author and Montana historian. A master at linking history with modern-day supernatural events, Ellen's true stories have delighted audiences across the state. She lives in Helena in a century-old house with her husband, Mark, and its resident spirits. To view and purchase Ellen’s books, visit: http://ellenbaumler.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html
P a g e 4 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 Lemhi Pass, at 7,373 ft. above sea level, is a narrow gap in the formidable mountains of the Bitterroot Range, the backbone of North America- the Continental Divide. It has always served as a passageway for people moving through the mountains in this region. Many stories unfold at Lemhi Pass. Here, on August 12, 1805, Meriwether Lewis, George Drouillard, Hugh McNeal, and John Shields reached the most distant fountain of the mighty Missouri, accomplishing a key mission of the Corps of Discovery, to explore the Missouri River to its headwaters. From the Continental Divide, they beheld immense ranges of high mountains still to the west, a view that foretold a difficult journey ahead. Pressing on to the west, they first tasted waters flowing to the Columbia River. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Five more times, members of the expedition and the Shoshone Indians that came to their aid crossed Lemhi Pass- the last time on August 26, 1805. Lewis collected a plant at the head spring of the Missouri that was new to scientists of the day- Mimulus lewisii, Lewis' red monkey-flower. Just west of the pass, a baby was born to a Shoshone woman who was helping pack the expedition's gear. Other stories of Lemhi Pass include Indian battles, trappers, gold rush stagecoaches, and the Civilian Conservation Corps. In 1932 Sacajawea Memorial Area was established at Lemhi Pass to honor the young Shoshone woman who played an important role as interpreter, guide, and counselor to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In 1960 Lemhi Pass was designated a National Historic Landmark. The landmark is a high point on the 3,700 mile Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, which intersects the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail at Lemhi Pass. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz The scene of countless brief episodes in people's lives- remembered, forgotten and yet to come- Lemhi Pass is more than a passage through the mountains. The National Historic Landmark affords a passageway through time, where visitors can reflect on a broad scope of history in the natural landscape of the Rocky Mountains.- Courtesy of USDA Forest Service Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz
P a g e 5 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 Parker Homestead– A Kingdom of Hope Like the cottonwoods that shelter this cabin, the Parker family who built it dug their roots deep, weathered many seasons of hardship, and drank what sustenance they could from the soil. The Parkers were among the thousands of Americans who took advantage of the Homestead Act of 1862 to stake their dreams on the arid Montana plains. Like so many other families, they notched out Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz a living with sweat and optimism, and enjoyed little in the way of material comfort. In the 1890’s, newlyweds Nelson and Rosa Ellen (Harwood) Parker refurbished a miner’s shack on nearby Antelope Creek. A few years later they built a cabin for their growing family on the Jefferson River, but a spring flood washed that home away. The Parkers escaped in a rowboat, Rosa clutching the youngest of her three children between her knees. They vowed to move to dry ground. In 1910, Nelson filed a patent to homestead 160 acres here. They built this sod-roofed cabin, and hauled water from creeks and ditches for years before they could afford to dig a well. Eventually the Parkers built a larger home near Three Forks, and abandoned this cabin. In 1939, Orville and Josephine Jewett bought the place for their family of four children. The Jewetts farmed, hunted, trapped, and sheared sheep through the Depression and World War II. When they lived here, the cabin had three rooms, all painted with calcimine or white-wash. Bright linoleum covered wideplank floors, curtains softened the windows, and the laughter of the Jewett’s four children rang across the fields. The Parker Homestead lies along the Jefferson River southwest of Three Forks. It was formerly a state park but now lies on private property owned by a local family. Garnet Mining District In the usual version told of the discovery of the great placer mines of the Garnet Range, gold was discovered in the area then known as Bear. The mouth of Bear Gulch is located about eleven miles west of Drummond and the first discovery is credited to the Jack Reynolds party, in October of 1865 in Elk Creek Gulch. Reynolds' discoveries led to a rush of miners into Bear Gulch (the upper part of which is called First Chance gulch), Elk Creek Gulch, Deep Creek Gulch and Bilk Gulch. It is known because of Leeson (1885) and the Morse Family descendants that Colonel George W. Morse and partners took about $250,000 worth of Gold out of Bilk Gulch. But perhaps the role of John Lannan in these events has been overlooked. The Society of Montana Pioneers (1899) states that Edward Lannan, John's son was born in New
P a g e 6 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 York in 1856 and traveled with his father and mother Bridget from Kansas across the plains via the Lander cut-off. They arrived at Bearmouth in September of 1864, a full year before Reynolds. In Wolle's version of events, John mined during the winter and in the spring traded his claim for a cow. Then he brought his wife Bridget and son Edward to the area. He built a ferry that carried people and supplies across the Hell Gate River (Clark Fork), from the Mullan Trail to the gold mines. This crossing site became a major traveler's stop and eventually even included a hotel during Lannan's tenure at the mouth of Bear. Besides raising sheep, a garden and operating the ferry, John ran gold to Deer Lodge and returned with currency. He also operated a milk route. Known as Bearmouth, the stop became a stage stop on the Mullan Road, then a railroad station for the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1883. It was also the shipping point for all of the ore removed from the Garnet District during the mining booms. John's wife Bridget was an immigrant from Ireland, born in 1829 and traveled the above route with Edward and John to Bannack, then Helena and arrived at Bearmouth the same year as Edward. By August 1911 the Philipsburg Mail stated Chris Lannen (sic) (Edward's brother) had over forty thousand sheep and averaged eleven and one quarter pounds of wool from each animal per shearing. The US Federal Census of 1880 has John age 50 and Bridget age 54 living in Hells Gate Valley in the county of Deer Lodge with the following family members: Peter age 21, Christopher age 13, John age 19, and Edward age 29 plus a person named Charles Harris age 30 and another male named Ah Unknown age 46. Ah must have been a Chinese servant. There are no records available in the 1900 census for either John or Bridget. At this time obituaries are unavailable. In "Report on the construction of a military road from fort Walla Walla to Fort Benton" (1998) compiled by John Mullan there is a member of his crew named Lannon. He has no first name and his trade is listed as ? (pp.37a). Then in the "Itinerary for the Route" on page 39 is the statement: "Thirty first day - -Move to Lannon's camp. nine miles. Road excellent. May have to double team at Beaver Tail Butte. Wood, water and grass abundant." Mullan's work crew was in the area in 1861 and 1862. Lannon's is shown on Mullan's map below not far east of "Close Creek" (now named Rock Creek) at Beavertail Hill.
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 The above comments leads one to believe that John Lannan (Lannon) may have been with Mullan and then went back to get his family and returned to Montana. It is documented that the Lannan family arrived at Bannack then moved to Helena and Bridget and Edward spent the winter in Helena before moving to the mouth of Bear. If John had set up a camp at the site while building the Mullan Road during the winter of 1861-62 he certainly would have felt comfortable returning to the area to mine, earn a grubstake and then settle down with his family. Hopefully more information will be discovered in the census records about the family in 1860. Mining Camps The camp named Bear grew around mining claims in the narrow gulch above Bearmouth. Bed rock was 70 feet below the surface and the streak of placer gold was very narrow. Water was necessary for placer mining and even when the miners made reservoirs and let water flow only limited hours a day, the season for washing the diggings was very short. Phil Newman’s Sawmill at Garnet As more miners came into the area they moved up the gulches and Yreka, Silver City, and Reynolds City were populated. There are frequent references in the early newspapers about Reynolds City in 1865. Half of the camp burned in a fire on July 18, 1867. The camp was named after the discoverer of the first gold, Jack Reynolds'. The mining camp had a population of about 500 people during the two years it was active. Another camp named Top O' Deep had a post office from 1893 to 1894 with Tillie Kreuzberger as post master. When stamp mills became popular the mining had a resurgence and the camps of Garnet and Coloma sprang up. Garnet's post office was established in 1897 under the name of Mitchell and changed later that year to Garnet. It served 100 addresses and about 1,000 miners. Coloma is located about three miles over the ridge from Garnet and is now located in Powell county. An in depth discussion of the camps and mines is available at the Montana Department of Environmental Quality http:// www.deq.mt.gov/abandonedmines/linkdocs/62tech.mcpx . Garnet is now Unknown residents walking the Garnet main street 1902 on the National Register of Historic Places and managed by the BLM. Frank Davey and Sam Ritchie (Ritchey) are the two most prominent pioneers in the area and detailed in depth in readily available publications so will not be discussed in this blog.
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 MINES Miner’s Union Hall Major mines in the area were owned and operated by the doctors Peter Mussigbrod and A.H. Mitchell plus Henry Grant, James Hartford, Sam Ritchie and Michael McKevitt. All of these names and many more are discussed on the above mentioned abandoned mines web site. One of the most famous of these mines was the Nancy Hanks. The mines were all operated by members of the Miners Union #16 that was established in 1888. The Miner's Union Hall was completed at Garnet in 1889. There is no history of any strikes in the area by the miners and non-union miners were not allowed to work in the area. The literature abounds with figures in the multi-millions for the dollar amount of gold and silver taken from the Garnet Mining District. Since these sources vary greatly in the amounts I will leave it to the reader to decide the contributions made to Montana from this pioneer section of Granite county. We are blessed to be able to drive to the ghost town of Garnet and walk amongst the preserved buildings. One can even reserve a cabin and spend your vacation in the serene setting with the spirits of the brave and hardy men who originally toiled in the area. –Courtesy of the Granite County History Blog The photos in this post are provided courtesy of LouAnn Fessler Sichveland and Myrna Fessler Leipheimer. 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. My/Donor Information: SUBSCRIBE TO THE GHOST TOWNS AND HISTORY OF MONTANA NEWSLETTER! Renewal? Y/N Send a Gift to: NAME____________________________________ NAME___________________________________ ADDRESS__________________________________ ADDRESS_________________________________ CITY______________________________________ CITY_____________________________________ STATE__________________ZIP________________STATE_________________ ZIP________________ Yearly subscriptions are $19.95 (published monthly). Please make checks payable to Ghost Towns & History of MT, LLC and send with this clipping to P.O. Box 932 Anaconda, MT 59711
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