P a g e 8 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 due on the bond. This bond worth $151,000.00 and other eastern capital was used to form the Northwest Company, with Pardee as resident manager. The Algonquin (called “The Gonk”) was referred to by Emmons in “Geology and Ore deposits of the Philipsburg Quadrangle, 1913”, as “located in the valley of Flint Creek a few rods west of Hasmark” and located by Dan Brown in 1866. It was sold shortly after being staked to Philadelphia capitalists that included Charlemagne Tower and A.B. Nettleton, also owners of the future Northwest Company. This mine was never really productive but the silver mill built on the site is credited by R. W. Raymond with producing $493,000 in 1881 and 1882. Most of the ore milled at this twenty stamp mill was likely from the Granite Lode (Emmons). According to the January 6, 1899 Philipsburg Mail “…About 8 o’clock last Saturday evening the Algonquin mill and hoisting works at Hasmark were discovered to be on fire and within a short space of time the entire plant was reduced to ashes…” Hasmark had a census of 89 people in the 1880 Census and included Hector Horton: Brick Mason. Most of the population was male laborers but included the Hugh, Fisher, Reed and Showers families and 16 Chinese who were cooks, housekeepers and miners. The seven acres that comprise the Hasmark townsite are currently owned by Librarian Gina Vale and she has restored the building that was the saloon. –Courtesy of the Granite County History Blog Algonquin Mill Drawing The purpose of the Granite County History Blog (https://granitecountyhistory.blogspot.com/) is to share and seek information on the history of Granite County, Montana. In a few cases our topics will lap over into adjacent counties as mining districts especially do not respect the later boundaries imposed by politicians! It is a project of members of the Granite County Historical Society, an organization founded in 1978 by the late Barry Engrav of Philipsburg and now comprised of 8 members dedicated to preserving and interpreting historical documents, artifacts, and sites in the greater Philipsburg area. Our goal is to interest current residents, folks with family roots, and those with an academic interest in the area to add their knowledge to this blog as an ongoing project to deepen and in some cases correct the narrative of the people and events that shaped history in this part of Montana. The recent explosion of scanned historical documents onto the internet is making it possible to greatly speed up historical research, refine historical chronology, and deepen historical interpretation. Perhaps we are entering into a "golden age" of research into our past! Anyone with an interest in the Philipsburg area or Montana history is invited to discuss the topics of our posts, as well as their own data and sources, which we hope will create an ongoing dialogue about the area now known as Granite County.
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