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 Moss Mansion The beautiful Moss Mansion in Billings—now a house museum—is a twenty-five-room residence built in 1903. It was the longtime home of the Preston Moss family. New York architect R. J. Hardenbergh, whose work includes New York City’s Waldorf Astoria, designed the elegant mansion. Mahogany and walnut woodwork, an onyx fireplace, rose silk and gold leaf wall coverings, and stained glass windows are among the luxurious details. Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, PAc 2004-17 Preston Moss arrived in Billings in 1892 on his way to Butte from Missouri and saw Billings’ financial promise. He became a prominent banker; helped develop the sugar beet industry, the Billings Light and Water Company, and the Billings Polytechnic Institute (now Rocky Mountain College); and with a partner ran eighty thousand head of sheep and several thousand head of cattle. He also pioneered the Billings Gazette and was instrumental in the creation of the Huntley Irrigation Project. He even started a toothpaste factory and a meat packing plant. Moss also promoted an idea he called Mossmain. This was a futuristic city he planned to build ten miles west of Billings. World War II intervened, and Preston Moss died in 1947, never realizing this dream. Melville, the Mosses’ middle daughter, was seven when her family moved into the mansion. She was a talented musician and played the harp, piano, and bass from an early age. Melville traveled the world and never married, but the mansion was her home throughout her life. She died in 1984 at eighty-two. Because of Melville’s good stewardship, the grand interiors remain unchanged today. –Ellen Baumler From More Montana Moments 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 Mining remnants and old cabins are spread throughout the Oro Fino Mining District. The district was primarily active as a lode mining district in the 1880's. The principal mine, the Champion, was the nucleus of a small town of the same name. The town was described in 1890 as a village of 60 to 70 buildings in full view, with buildings in the forest, in every gulch on every hill for miles around. The town had a lumber yard, grocery store, restaurants, barber shops, butcher shops, a post office and of course, several saloons. Photos by Jolene Ewert-Hintz
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