P a g e 2 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y and before the sheriff arrived, all the bullion in the mill disappeared. The uncertain fate of the out of work miners and their families was relieved by food and aid sent in from the valley and from company warehouses. Only a few souls remained when the property was purchased by the Great Northern Mining and Development Company in 1897. Just a year later, the mines were once again in full production and a new 150 ton mill was erected. Ownership would switch hands a few more times while the population climbed to 1500 and $1,250,000 in gold was produced. The mill was dismantled around 1916 and future ventures never breathed life back into the town. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz To Get There: From Lewistown, head east on Hwy 87. Turn north on Stillman Road. Turn left at Gilt Edge Road, follow about 2 miles to town. Robber’s Roost Pete Daly built a log roadhouse at this site in 1863. Unlike most roadhouses of the time, which provided meals, companionship and a place to stay for weary travelers, Daly’s was allegedly a hangout for Montana’s most notorious criminal gang- the “Innocents”. It was reputedly led by Henry Plummer, the Sheriff of Bannack and Virginia City. His deputies were supposedly members of the gang. According to legend, the Innocents watched travelers stopping here on the Virginia City and Bannack Road. If they looked like easy targets to the crooks, there were Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz plenty of places to rob them in the wilderness between the two mining camps. Although not a member of the Innocents, Daly was well aware of their activities. Most of the members of the gang, including Plummer, were killed by the Vigilantes in early 1864. This log building is traditionally known as Robber’s Roost. It was not, however, constructed until several years after Plummer’s gang met its grisly end. Unlike its predecessor, this building functioned more as a traditional stage stop. Pete Daly lived to a ripe old age and was one of the valley’s most prominent citizens at the time of his death in 1915. Robber’s Roost is located South of Sheridan, MT on Highway 287.
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