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 Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Mr. Smith and Mr. Grande divided the sheep and Mr. Grande and his brother Anton settled on a ranch along Comb Creek. A small settlement known as “Comb” developed as other Norwegian immigrants arrived. Many worked for Martin and it is said that they only English they spoke was to say “M.T. Grande.” Locals have shared an amusing tidbit revealing that when the different groups of Norwegians gathered here, they chatted with each other and one commented that “I don’t think English is hard to learn, I’m understanding already,” thinking that he was learning English when it was actually just a different dialect of his own native tongue. The town of Comb would move to become what we now know as Lennep, Montana. Lennep was a station along the Milwaukee railroad and is said to be named after a railroad auditor’s hometown of Lennep, Germany. The post office opened in 1903 and wouldn’t close until 1962. In 1914 the mercantile opened and the post office was re-located there from a log home across the street. The mercantile carried a small supply of dry goods and the large hall upstairs was used for dances and other community events. When the passenger train stopped passing through Lennep in the 1960s, the store and post office soon closed their doors. The school would serve local children clear up until 2010. Just seven miles up the road, Castle Town would see its boom in 1886 when silver and lead were discovered in the area. At its peak, the town would house over 2,000 residents and support numerous businesses. The town struggled with the transportation cost of moving ore. They desperately needed the railroad to reach their camp and Richard Harlow was taking on the task until the silver market crash of 1893 urged him to continue the line down the river. It would be the Norwegian population that remained after Castle’s demise. They decided they needed to form a Lutheran church in the vicinity. They first met in people’s homes or schools until the gorgeous Trinity Church of Lennep was constructed in 1914 at a cost of $4300. The church still holds services twice monthly. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz
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