Bannack Montana Ghost Town (Part 2)

 

 

Bannack, Montana Ghost Town (Part 2)

Let’s continue with our tour of the ghost town of Bannack, Montana.  This had to be the most complete deserted ghost town we’ve seen to date.  Without further ado, let’s continue our tour…

The building on the right in the image is The Bessette House, the home to one of the view individuals who lived to what was considered old age back in these days.  Mitty Bessette arrived in Bannack in 1864, and lived until 1919.  After he died, this house was used to house those suffering from illnesses that required they be quarantined until they recovered or died.  For that reason, it is believed to be haunted. The building to the left in the image was the Spokane Mining House.  It served as the place of business for one of the last companies to try hard rock mining.

The Ovitt Store was like many buildings in Bannack, in that it had several different “lives”.  Some of the “lives” it had were as a boarding house, bakery and saloon before Mabel Ovitt bought it .  Mable was born in 1896, and was the town author, writing a book on Bannack and the Vigilante/Road Agent activities, known as “Golden Treasure”.  In addition to being an author and running the store, Mable owned a mine in the hills above Bannack, and she was forever seeking the Mother Lode.  Sadly, in 1968, while heading to her mine, while opening a gate, Mabel’s car’s transmission failed and Mabel was crushed beneath its wheels.  She is buried in Bannack’s cemetery and her headstone reads, “Our Golden Treasure”.

Building #19 – When the gold rush was at its peak, the Bannack Jail was rarely used.  After all, people would rather be mining gold than watching prisoners.  The larger image of the jail is one of two jail buildings, and it was built around 1863.  This was the first jail in what became The Montana Territory. For prisoners in the jail, when they looked out the barred windows, the gallows were plainly visible.

We did have a bit of fun at the jail.  Jeff went inside and you can see him peeking out of the window.  Inside, the building is definitely showing some wear.  I was amazed at the small slot that was what I think of as the food slot, where meals were placed, so prisoners could eat.

This small building, Chrisman’s Store, served many purposes – news bureau, university, and social settlement, which applied apparently only to men.  But, then, most of the residents, at least in Bannack’s early days, were men.  It is believed that Henry Plummer had his office in the back of this building, and Dutch John Wagoner was hanged from its rafters.

These two buildings are known as the Gibson Houses.  The larger, 2 story house was originally known as the Montana Hotel.  When the Gibson’s acquired it in 1890, they continued to use it as a rooming house.  The smaller building was used as their home.  In a former life, it was a blacksmith shop.

This building served as both the Masonic Lodge in Bannack and the Schoolhouse.  The Lodge built the combination building in 1874.  The Lodge is on the second floor, reached by outside stairs on the side of the building.  You can see them toward the back of the building.  There isn’t much to see of the Lodge portion of the building, so I didn’t photograph it.  The school is on the first floor, and served students from K – 8^th grade.  The school was over 70 years old when it closed in the early 1940s.

Inside the schoolhouse, you see rows and rows of desks are still there.  There is an old fashioned merry-go-round outside in the front yard area, and visitors are instructed NOT to try to ride on it!

Doctor Ryburn was one of the last doctors in Bannack.  He practiced here from 1897 to 1915.  He began traveling by horse and buggy and ended up traveling by auto.  Since his patients didn’t always have money, he accepted payment in kind, taking chickens, vegetables, and other items his patients had to trade with.

John Carhart owned this house when he mined around Bannack for about 30 years.  It was built in the 1860s  The fake brick siding was popular in the 1920s and 1930s.

Augustus Graeter and his wife, Emily Drury, were married in Nebraska in 1860 and moved to Bannack in 1862.  In partnership with A.J. Smith, Graeter built the Smith - Graeter Ditch in 1863 to provide water for mining.  He worked on other things as well and was one of the founders of the State Bank and Trust in Dillon.

No, this small cottage is NOT Montana’s First Governor’s mansion.  However, it’s on the site of the mansion.  The mansion is long gone, but when it existed, it was home to the Governor, Sidney Edgerton, his wife, Mary, and their four children.  They moved from Ohio and remained for a while, but Mrs. Edgerton never really forgot their home in Ohio.

We’ve now completed the tour of Bannack.  It’s a remarkable ghost town, and I’m glad we got to see it.  Hope you enjoyed seeing the buildings and getting a taste of the history of this town!

Enjoy!