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 Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Hassel, Montana got its start as a placer camp called St. Louis in the 1860s. It had emerged around Indian Creek (west of Townsend) and the gold it had produced. In 1875, The Helena Independent described the camp as “a live little place and a good winter camp for all who have employment…Some 35-40 men at work. Mr. John Murray is keeping a boarding house at Cheatem, two miles above town and feeding more than half the camp with the best the market affords.” Placer mining died out by the 1880s causing stamp mills, sluicing operations and later, dredging, to take over. A Post office was opened in 1895 which prompted the camp to change its name. As both Montana and Missouri were commonly abbreviated as MO, mail and freight were getting mixed up between St. Louis, Missouri and St. Louis, Montana. The town held a meeting, and the new name of Hassel was chosen after an early day miner. The new wave of mining revived the camp and was reported as such by a representative of the Helena Weekly Herald in 1896: “There is a vast change since my last visit…At that time…a few of the pioneer miners, Wm. Rick, Joe Hassel, Geo. Weston, Charlie Moffit and Frank Lewery were ‘sniping’ around the gulch making a good living and wondering if the palmy days of ’66 would ever return. After a twenty-seven-year sleep rich quartz mines are being discovered, hundreds of busy prospectors swarm through the hills and the old gulch has taken on life anew.” Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz The huge Diamond Hill Stamp Mill was operating at full capacity by 1898. The town once had 200 people, several businesses, a masonic lodge and many miners’ homes. $5 million in gold was reportedly taken from the mining district. By 1910, most mining in the town had ceased and folks had moved on. Great Falls Daily Tribune– March 17, 1920 https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz
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