Ghost Towns and History December 8, 2019 Ghost Towns and History of Montana Newsletter G R A N I T E , M O N T A N A The Madisonian (Virginia City), Dec. 23, 1909 “Montana’s Silver Queen” now sits idle some 8,000 feet above sea level. In its heyday, the town bustled with a couple thousand residents. They worked hard but played hard too. Locals could hit a home run on the baseball team, toot their horn in the brass band, take a spin around the roller rink or waltz the night away on one of the Northwest’s finest dance floors; made of marble and located on the second floor of the Union Hall. A stiff drink was available at one of the 18 saloons and ladies awaited their men in the Red Light District. It all began in the early 1870s when Eli Holland made a silver discovery near the peak of Granite Mountain. One story says that Holland was trailing a wounded deer while hunting and the creature kicked up a piece of silver with it’s hoof, giving Eli Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz
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