SEPTEMBER 2022 Ghost Towns and History of Montana Newsletter From the Dillon Tribune June 5, 1891 Montana’s Ghost Town Loop– Canyon Creek, Vipond Park & Quartz Hill Accessed via: https://montananewspapers.org Welcome to part four of Montana’s Ghost Town Loop (article links can be found at end of this article) which brings us back to our starting point and completes the loop. This 70-mile loop tour in southwest Montana passes through scenic territory with plenty of camping options while visiting ghost towns and mining camps that helped establish the state. You will find it easy to social distance yourself from others and world events as you enjoy this loop. If you missed the last entry you can read it here. This week we will visit the very photogenic Canyon Creek Charcoal Kilns, the ghosts of Vipond Park and the ghost town of Quartz Hill. Canyon Creek Charcoal Kilns Furnaces in a smelting operation require large amounts of fuel to heat the ore in order to release the precious metal trapped within. The choice of fuel for the nearby Glendale smelter we visited in the last installment was charcoal. Charcoal is produced by burning cord wood under controlled conditions. In the early 1880's, twenty three brick kilns were constructed on Canyon Creek, about five miles from the Glendale smelter, where timber was abundant along with clay for making the bricks. These kilns employed scores of men, both to operate and to harvest the huge amounts of wood to keep them burning around the clock. A good wood cutter who could cut and deliver two cords of wood per day was paid $8 - 10 for his efforts. As wood was depleted in the immediate area around the kilns a wood chute was conCourtesy of https://northwestrving.com
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