SEPTEMBER 2021 Ghost Towns and History of Montana Newsletter From the Daily Yellowstone Journal Sept. 3, 1885 M y s t e r i o u s M o n t a n a M a i d Lizzie Borden took an axe, Gave her mother 40 whacks. When she saw what she had done, She gave her father 41. You may have heard this popular rope jumping rhyme before, but did you know that the Borden’s maid, Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan made her home in Montana not long after serving as a key witness in the murder trial? It was a hot August morning in 1892 when the Borden’s would face a gruesome death in their home in Fall River, Massachusetts. For Bridget, the Borden’s Irish housekeeper, the morning had started like countless others. Bridget rose early to prepare breakfast for the family. The meal would be light on The Borden family home in Fall River, Massachusetts, now a bed & breakfast. (Credit: Chicago Tribune / Contributor/ Getty Images) https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ this particular day as the whole household had been suffering from intestinal problems. Andrew Borden (Lizzie’s father) and house guest John Morse (Lizzie’s uncle) left the family home around 9:00 am to conduct business errands. Lizzie’s sister Emma was not home at this time as she
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 o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r was staying in nearby Fairhaven after a family dispute. According to Bridget’s testimony, Mrs. Borden (Lizzie’s stepmother) had asked her to wash the windows inside and outside as they were “awful dirty.” Bridget said she didn’t see Lizzie about as she started to her task of cleaning the windows. Once outside, Bridget stated that Lizzie asked her “Maggie, are you going to wash the windows?” Bridget replied. “Yes. You needn’t lock the door; I will be around here, but you can lock it if you want to; I can get water in the barn.” Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan Not long after Mr. Borden arrived home, much earlier than his normal schedule due to the recent illness he and his family were suffering from. Bridget was still busying herself in and out of the house tending to the windows. She testified that she let Mr. Borden in the house as he had to ring the bell because the front door was locked by bolt from the inside. Bridget also testified that she overheard Lizzie and Mr. Borden’s conversation once inside. She heard Mr. Borden ask Lizzie where Abby (Mrs. Borden) was, and Lizzie replied that she had gone out to visit a sick friend. Bridget then said that she too had felt nauseated like the rest of the family, and she went outside to vomit. When she came back into the house, she headed up to her room in the attic for a rest. She states this was about 10:55 am because she heard the town’s bell ring at 11:00 am only a few moments later. The next thing Bridget heard was Lizzie calling from downstairs, “Maggie, come down! Come down quick; father’s dead, somebody come in and killed him.” Lizzie wouldn’t allow Bridget in the sitting room to view the body, she instead sent her to retrieve the doctor. Dr. Bowen pronounced Mr. Borden dead and requested a sheet to cover his body. Lizzie then asked Bridget to please go upstairs and check on Mrs. Borden as Lizzie was sure she’d heard her come in. When Bridget entered the upstairs guest bedroom, she found Abby Borden’s lifeless body. Lizzie Borden was accused of murdering her father and stepmother after they were found hacked to death. The Borden murder inquest began on August 9th and lasted for three days. It took the jury about an hour and a half to come up with a not guilty verdict. Bridget Sullivan gave important testimony at the hearing. What really happened at the Borden residence on that fateful summer morn? Was Bridget involved somehow? Did she help? Was she silenced by Lizzie? Was she paid off? Was she simply in the wrong place at the wrong time? We may never know the answers to these questions, but we do know where she would end up living out her days…Montana.
P a g e 3 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 It is believed that sometime after the trial, Bridget traveled back to Ireland but only stayed for a period of a few months. She would end up in Anaconda, Montana sometime after 1896. By 1897 she was listed on the census as a domestic worker. It has been documented that Bridget served as the Winston’s longtime maid in their home on Main Street. Alice and George Winston were some of the city’s first residents to reside on Main Street south of the business district. George Winston served as Anaconda’s first city attorney and clerk. It seems as if Bridget had moved far enough away from her dark days at Fall River to leave that recognition behind. Even some of Bridget’s family in later years were Winston Home, photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz shocked to discover that their ancestor was that Bridget Sullivan. In 1905 a marriage certificate was issued to Bridget Sullivan and John Sullivan. They were married on June 21, 1905, at St. Paul’s Church and lived in various homes throughout the city before purchasing a home of their own on Alder Street. John was a jack of many trades, working as a laborer, furnace man and smelterman. The couple never had John and Bridget Sullivan at home on Alder Street. Photo Courtesy of Naomi Sullivan Old Sullivan Home on Alder Street. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz any children. Neighbors on Alder Street described Bridget as a kind and sweet woman. Family members remember her as having been “tall, bent, and used a cane.” And, “strong-willed,” “liked her wine.” Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Bridget’s husband John passed away in 1939. She would move to Butte just twenty-five miles away from Anaconda in 1942. Bridget was living with her niece, Mary Sullivan (mother of Anaconda’s deputy sheriff, Tim “Sox” Sullivan) on East Woolman Street before her death. She died at the county hospital in Butte in March of 1948 from cardiac failure. She is buried next to her husband in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Anaconda. Did she take her secrets about the Borden case to the grave? Did she have any secrets to keep??
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 Rock Springs School- Memories of Lois Bain Angvick From the 1st to 8th grade I went to school at the Rock Springs School, West of Reserve, MT. It was a three mile horseback ride from our ranch. Photo by Liselle Strassman The Rock Springs School was your typical one room country school that taught grades 1-8. There was a barn for our horses and a teacherage as well. The teachers I remember included Mae Hark, Marie Summers and Anna Walikonis. They taught us many things including music, singing and reciting poems. I remember playing baseball in the spring and the boys pushing us girls too high in the swings. In the winter months we brought soup to school in a pint jar and put the jars on the furnace to have warm soup for lunch. To get water we walked down the hill with empty buckets to the Mork place, filled them up and walked back to school uphill. I also recall having pie socials at our school. A pie social is where the women prepare and decorate a lunch basket which usually had fried chicken and a pie. The men had to bid on the baskets and whoever bought the lunch basket got to have lunch with the woman who prepared it. My favorite memory of all was when my best friend Rose Lossing and I raced horses at noon. We raced down to where the road splits and back. It was probably close to a one mile race. Half a mile down, half a mile back. I won every time on my dads Appaloosa mare named 'Appy.' It was fun until my dad caught on. One Saturday morning he needed to use the saddle horse and as soon as he got his foot in the saddle she took off. He came into the house and asked if I had been racing that mare and before I could even answer he told me, "Don't even bother, I know you have. I barely got my foot in the saddle and she took off!" Article reprinted from our magazine, Ghost Towns of Montana and Beyond Photos by Liselle Strassman at Abandoned Montana- Until They All Fall Down at: https:// www.facebook.com/Abandoned-Montana-Until-They-All-Fall-Down-672550499457568/ Photo by Liselle Strassman
P a g e 5 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 Labor Day The late nineteenth century was a time of national labor unrest when workers nation-wide protested deplorable working conditions. Labor unions in New York City celebrated the first Labor Day on Tuesday, September 5, 1882. Ten thousand workers took unpaid leave to march from City Square to Union Hall. The idea caught on, and many states followed New York’s lead. In 1891, Montana joined nine other states whose legislatures had previously designated the holiday: New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Colorado, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey and Ohio. On September 7, 1891, flowers looked their prettiest and birds sang their sweetest when Montana celebrated that first Labor Day. Deer Lodge was the main center of celebration where people from all points gathered. They came from the country, from outlying camps, and on the train from Butte. Seventeen rail cars dispatched some two thousand visitors and two bands. They formed a procession and marched to a pavilion prepared for the occasion. Hon. E. D. Matts of Missoula, who authored the legislation making Labor Day a state holiday, addressed the crowd. Other speeches followed, filling two hours. The crowd listened intently. At four o’clock, rail cars brought five hundred more guests from Butte where all the labor organizations had marched in a huge parade. Revelers quietly scattered, some participating in races and games, others strolling the grounds among the trees and quietly enjoying the holiday. An evening of dancing brought the pleasant day to a close. Several years later in 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed legislation designating the first Monday in September a federal holiday. Congress passed the Labor Day act on the heels of a violent strike by employees of the American Railway Union in Chicago. Federal troops were called in and thirty-four workers lost their lives during vicious riots. This photo by N. A. Forsyth, taken circa 1905, shows the dangerous working conditions in Butte's mines that contributed to labor strikes and unrest. Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, ST 001.168 Although President Cleveland was not favorable to unions, he signed the act in an attempt to mend damaged ties with American workers. While we celebrate the workingman’s holiday today more as a symbol of summer’s end and the start of the school year, we should remember that it was a originally a workingman’s holiday born of national unrest. –Ellen Baumler 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 Early telephone operators often worked ten to twelve hour days for as little as thirty dollars per month. In 1907, Butte operators struck and were granted a minimum wage of fifty dollars per month, an eight-hour workday, and a closed shop. These operators are working in Helena in 1906. Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, PAc 75-43 folder 23
P a g e 6 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 HISTORIC HEADLINESSeptember 30, 1910 NO. 2 SCHOOL OPENS MONDAY Enrollment on First Day 150 Four Teachers Employed---School Census Completed. The school at Klein, Camp Two, opened Monday morning with an enrollment of 150 pupils, the opening of school being postponed one week on account of the new addition to the school building not having been completed. This school has experienced a remarkable growth, and the outlook at the beginning of its second year already is that provisions will have to be made for another addition or a new and larger building next year. As it is the district has a very neat four room school building capable of providing for 200 children which is a credit to Klein in every respect. The teachers in charge of the school are Miss Kate Smith, of Billings, principal; Miss Fannie McGibboney, of Kimberly. Mo., sixth and seventh grades; Miss Maud Griffin, of Roundup, fourth and fifth grades; Miss Laura Dunn, of Roundup, primary grades. All the members of the faculty are experienced teachers, and that the present term of school will be a very successful one is a foregone conclusion. Most of the credit for the work accomplished in the Klein school district is due the school board which has unceasingly labored for its welfare. The members of the board are J. L. Fisco, chairman, F. A. Rehder and Geo. Olmstead. W. R. Pickens is clerk of the board. Clerk Pickens recently completed the school census of his district which showed a total of 354 under the age of 21. The state apportionment is based on these figures.- The Roundup Record Newspaper, Courtesy of The Library of Congress Photographic postcard of Klein, Montana. The No. 2 coal mine was located near Klein. The Klein No. 2 Mine provided coal for the Milwaukee Railroad for many years. The photographer was Corliss Fairchild who had a studio at 209 First Street West in Roundup between the years of approximately 1908-1925.- Courtesy of The Roundup Community Library and The Montana Memory Project Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz The land for Sumner School in Park County was deeded by Fred Sumner in 1908. Heated by a coal stove, the school year would start in October and continue on as long as the funds were available to pay the teacher. Spelling bees, Christmas programs and the Pledge of Allegiance would fill the school until it's closure in 1957.
P a g e 7 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 Elkhorn Mine and Coolidge Ghost Town- Located 6 miles off the Pioneer Mountains National Scenic Byway, the Elkhorn Mine was discovered on October 24, 1873, by Mike Steel and F.W. Panish. Bill Roe was said to have given the mine it’s name as a result of having found a pair of elk horns in the area. The mine was first opened and worked by a company financed in the East. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Silver ore, which was the mine’s primary metal, was hauled by bull teams as far as Corrine, Utah, where it was loaded on railroad cars and transported to San Francisco. At San Francisco the ore was transferred to ships sailing for Swansea, Wales, where it was treated and made into metal. In 1911, Mr. William R, Allen had begun buying claims in the area and in 1913, he formed the Boston Montana Mining Company, who hired S. W. Hall to come to the mine and examine the Elkhorn properties. Hall spent forty days investigating the claims. Impressed, he urged the company to begin operations which had every indication of a big return. At this time, the seeds of Allen’s dream must have surely begun to form. William R. Allen was born in French Gulch near Anaconda, Montana, in July of 1871. He received his early education in the Deer Lodge county school, then attended the Helena Business College, where he graduated with honors in 1891. As a young man he was employed by Marcus Daly in the early development of the Anaconda smelter and was in charge of Mr. Daly’s lumber business. In 1893, Mr. Allen marPhoto by Jolene Ewert-Hintz ried Eliza Berkin, and they had four children together. Following his wife’s death in 1917, Allen married Ethel Louise deMar, with whom he raised three children. In 1902, Allen was elected to the legislature, representing the Republican party from his county. He served in the capacity until 1908, when he was elected lieutenant governor, serving in this office under Governor Edwin L. Norris until 1913. When he retired from politics, he decided to devote his time to raising money for the de
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 velopment of Montana enterprises. As early as 1914, the community of Coolidge, named after W. R. Allen’s friend Calvin Coolidge, had begun to thrive and at this time work was just Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz beginning on the mine tunnel. The town had both telephone service and electricity provided by a power line carrying 65,000 volts running Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz from Divide over the hill to Coolidge. The cost on completion was $150,000. With more families moving to Coolidge, a school district was established in January of 1922. In 1927, the school district was abandoned and in 1932, the post office was discontinued and the mail was ordered to Wise River. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Text courtesy of www.fs.usda.gov. My/Donor Information: SUBSCRIBE TO THE GHOST TOWNS AND HISTORY OF MONTANA NEWSLETTER! Renewal? Y/N Send a Gift to: NAME____________________________________ NAME___________________________________ ADDRESS__________________________________ ADDRESS_________________________________ CITY______________________________________ CITY_____________________________________ STATE__________________ZIP________________STATE_________________ ZIP________________ Yearly subscriptions are $19.95 (published monthly). Please make checks payable to Ghost Towns & History of MT, LLC and send with this clipping to P.O. Box 932 Anaconda, MT 59711 An easy one mile walking trail lets you discover and explore the abandoned mining town of Coolidge.
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