Bannack Montana Ghost Town (Part 1)

 

Bannack, Montana Ghost Town (Part 1)

In July, 1862, John White and several other “Pikes Peaker’s” discovered gold along Grasshopper Creek, as they named it.  They called it that due to the large numbers of grasshoppers along the shore.  Little did they know, the creek had already been named “Willards Creek” by Lewis and Clark.  White quickly filed a mining claim, and by the fall, Bannack had a population of about 400.  By spring, the population had grown to 3,000.  Bannack was named after the Bannack Indians, who frequented the area.  Bannack is now a state park, and many of the buildings have been preserved so we can all appreciate the lives that once lived here.

This building was once owned by the Turner family, and it also served as a Post Office and barbershop in addition to a residence. 

Here are some views from inside the Turner House.  I really love the old wallpaper.  I would love it as quilting fabric!!

This building was the Assay Office, and was one of the first and important buildings in Bannack.  It analyzed the minerals brought in by the miners.  Interestingly, some of Bannack’s gold was assayed at 99.5% pure as refined gold.  Most gold is assayed at 80% - 95% pure, so Bannack’s gold was more pure.  This building also served as the stage station and butcher shop..

As is true for many buildings in Bannack, this building not only served as the City Drug Store, it also was a general store, another assay office and even a school when the regular school was in disrepair.  In addition, the first telephone in Bannack was installed in this building in 1889.

This brick building had 2 very different lives.  It is the first brick building in Bannack, and was built in 1875 to serve as the Beaverhead County Courthouse.  However, in 1880, the town of Dillon was established by the Utah and Northern Railroad, and because of the railroad, Dillon became the economic heart of the county.  After several political battles, it also became the county seat, and this courthouse was no longer needed.  However, in 1981, it was purchased by Dr. John Singleton Meade for only $1,250, and remodeled it and turned it into a rather plush hotel.  The hotel operated on and off, as mining activity increased or decreased, until the 1940s.

It was amazing walking into Hotel Meade.  As we entered the front door, a beautiful winding staircase was off to our right.  I could imagine the ladies in their finest coming down those stairs for dinner.  The stove that now sits just outside the kitchen is impressive, too. We got to go upstairs and see some views from the window, see some rooms in a state of disrepair, and get to see a vintage quilt on a bed from the era. The furnishings in that room were donated by the Sons and Daughters of Montana Pioneers and Their Friends.

This building, Skinner’s Saloon, was moved from nearby Yankee Flats to Main Street, Bannack, in 1863.  The owner, Cyrus Skinner, and a man named Henry Plummer had both served time in San Quentin Penitentiary in California.  This saloon served as a popular gathering place for Henry Plummer’s Road Agents.  Although Skinner left Bannack before Plummer was hanged, he was tracked down and hanged for his alleged role as a spy for the Road Agents.  After Skinner left, this building served a more legitimate use as a general store.

We were able to enter this building as well, and it was interesting to see the bar that perhaps was used as a counter in the general store, some table, chairs and a piano that was most likely used when this was a saloon, and, perhaps most curiously, a barber’s chair!

This is a collection of various mining tools and equipment used over the years in Bannack.  When you think of what heavy equipment looks like today, these almost look like toys – although they are a tad heavier!!

Off in the distance, we could see The Gallows, were used to hang those who were determined to be criminals.  Vigilante justice was often swift, and resulted in hangings that weren’t necessarily warranted.

Here we have Bachelors’ Row!  When miners first arrived at Bannack, during warm months, they slept wherever they could, caring more about mining gold and other minerals, than where they slept at night.  However, when the weather turned cooler, and then cold, they quickly built this row of cabins that is parallel to but behind Main Street.

The Roe/Graves House was built by William Roe in 1866 or 1867.  Although Roe did file a mining claim, he made his living by opening a general store and meat market and soon after licensed a banking business to buy gold.  He was one of the vigilantes who captured Plummer (mentioned above) and later moved to Dillon.  F.L. Graves then acquired the house and developed the first electric gold dredge. 

This church was the only one specifically built as a place of worship  Before the church was built, when traveling ministers would come into Bannack, they found the bars and saloons open on Sunday.  One of them, “Brother Van” as he was known, went into one of them one day and announced he was a minister.  The owner of the saloon then announced that the saloon would be closed for one hour.  Brother Van had a good voice and sang a popular song of the day, “A Diamond in the Rough”.  People were hungry for that type of entertainment, and stayed to hear more and also get some religion! 

The church was another building we could walk into, and both Jeff and I thought the pews looked a lot like student desk seats, minus the desks!  The piano was also in the church, off to the side, stored.  I did get a very nice picture of the arched window above the entrance door.  However, we didn’t see any sort of alter, or podium from which the minister might do readings and homilies.

These two buildings rounded out the end of one side of Main Street in Bannack.  Bootleggers Cabin (top) housed the last known bootleggers to operate in Bannack.  When they learned the law was after them, they disappeared in the night.  The second building (bottom) was Xavier Renois’ Cabin.  This little cabin was built with hand tools by Renois, a French Canadian.  He was a member of the Masonic Lodge and the school board.

This rounds out the first half of our exploration of the ghost town of Bannack, Montana.  Stay tuned – there’s lot more to come!!

Enjoy!