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 Captain William Clark, Sacagawea and their party came across what they called a “boiling hot spring” on a late afternoon in the summer of 1806. Clark wrote in his journal entry: “…we arrived at a Boiling Spring situated about 100 paces from a large Easterly fork of the Small river which beads in the Snowey mountains to the S.E. and S.W. of the Springs. This Spring [15 yds. in circume, boils up all over the bottom which is Stoney] contains a very considerable quantity of water, and actually blubbers with heat for 20 paces below where it rises…I directt Sergt. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Pryor and John Shields to put each a peice of meat in the water of different Sises. The one about the Size of my 3 fingers cooked dun in 25 minits the other much thicker was 32 minits before it became Sufficiently dun.” This spot where the party enjoyed their tasty dinner became the warm, bubbling waters of Jackson Hot Springs in the Big Hole Valley. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz The Wells Hotel in Garnet, Montana was host to what was known as the Calico Ball. Each lady who would like to attend (The Calico) would make a calico necktie that matched the dress she would be wearing to the ball that evening. The neckties were placed in sealed envelopes. When the gentlemen arrived, each would choose an envelope and put the tie on, then he would search for his sweetheart with the matching dress. They would dance the night away and enjoy a supper following the ball. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Coolidge, Montana- In 1914, the town of Coolidge hummed with activity. Named for U.S. President Calvin Coolidge, a personal friend of founder, William R. Allen, life in the town moved to the rhythm of the mine. The streets were full of sound and movement, the clang of heavy machinery a constant in the background, as men came and went from the mine. The little town that once boasted a population of 350 was as modern as any of the time with both telephone service and electricity via lines that ran over the hill from Divide. But the town was short-lived. With the failure of the Elkhorn Mining Enterprise and the onset of The Great Depression, by 1932 Coolidge could no longer support its citizens. Today, Coolidge is a fading reminder of the fortunes made and lost of the mining camps that dotted Montana's mountains in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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