MAY 2021 Ghost Towns and History of Montana Newsletter From the Lewistown Furniture Co. May 25, 1909 T H E W E L L S H O T E L As so many old buildings still survive in this great state of ours, I often hear people say, “If only those walls could talk!” We may never get all the tales and tribulations out of those walls but thankfully, now and then, a tidbit or two has been left behind for us to enjoy. Through family members, newspaper articles and the general “grapevine”, those walls do get a chance to tell their story. It was a bitter cold, snowy March 17th in 1898 when Mr. and Mrs. Wells opened the doors to their grand hotel in Garnet with a celebratory ball. John and Winifred waited on tables themselves and served supper to over 180 guests in the dining room which was decorated with flags and green bunting. The guests were more than impressed with the fashionable hotel; carved moldings, stained glass, painted wallpaper and chandeliers throughout the three-story building showed that Mrs. Wells indeed believed in luxury. She designed this hotel after one she owned in nearby Beartown. The music would play on all through the night and the party would continue for the next three days. The Wells Hotel by Jolene Ewert-Hintz https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ John Kilkelly Wells travelled the world before landing in the gold fields of Nevada and California. He would follow the gold to Idaho and then on to Montana, arriving in Bannock in the summer of 1865. Winifred came to Montana in 1868. The two would marry in 1871. John and Winifred grew their family substantially with nine children. John was quite a businessman; he operated a butcher shop in Beartown and a hotel in Yreka all while continuing to mine. In 1898, John was elected Granite County Assessor.
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