True West

The next day, we saddled up the F-250 and headed east for Nevada City, Montana, and neighboring Virginia City. The air was hazy with forest fire smoke, but we could see we were still in prime fishing country, if the small businesses serving the fishing crowd were any indication. Nearing our first destination, we came upon this historical marker:

Robber's Roost, according to lore, was where Sheriff's Plummer's gang, the Innocents, watched traffic between the mining towns Bannack and Virginia City, picking out likely targets for holdups. The actual building at the site is a stage stop built slightly after the hangings.

Nevada City, Montana

One of several towns that sprang up during the Alder Gulch gold rush, Nevada City and its neighbor, Virginia City, were main trade centers serving the thousands that flooded into the surrounding hillsides. The town is a museum, and there is a small gauge railroad connecting it to Virginia City. Many of the buildings here were relocated from nearby Montana locations, to be preserved for the enjoyment of all. Visitors can stay in one of 18 cabins, all built prior to 1900, that have been fitted for use as motel units.

Several of the buildings have been featured in film. The Cheap Cash Store (1867/Radersburg) was featured in the 1885 History of Montana. Viewers of 2002's PBS series “Frontier House” will enjoy seeing cabins used for training of the Brooks, Clune, and Glenn families in preparation for their homestead experiences.

Criterion Hall has appeared in many movies, including “Missouri Breaks,” “Thousand Pieces of Gold,” and “Return to Lonesome Dove.”

As we strolled around Nevada City and peeked into windows, I could easily imagine any number of scenarios. I was an extra in a western movie. No, I actually was there, in Gold Rush days.

Here's the store where I will buy some warm gloves for winter.

I'm a teacher at the one-room school, living in the little teacherage on the backside of the building.

I imagined a couple other little vignettes, too, but would be a little embarrased relate them. Did I mention that I have an active imagination?

Speaking of which, I get dibs on the top floor of this 2-story outhouse!

One end of the town is devoted to “China Town,” representing the often forgotten Chinese presence in old West Montana territory. In 1870, 10% of the territorial population was Chinese.

Before leaving, we spent a few minutes enjoying the player pianos and other mechanical instruments on display. We invested ten cents in hearing this automatic harp.

Virginia City, Montana

Just a couple miles down the road, we came to Virginia City. It was lunch time, and I had planned one of our rare splurges, lunch at a restaurant. We sat at a small table on the front porch and had delicious hamburgers with all the trimmings. There was a light breeze, and the temperature was just perfect. We felt like regular tourists. (Does that mean we're usually “irregular”?) This old car really was parked right there. I waited until a more modern vehicle next to it was gone before taking this picture.

Virginia City is actually the county seat, so while it's very touristy, it's also a real town, with people's real lives playing out. Sometimes, when visiting these incredibly picturesque little towns, it's easy to forget that. We parked near the courthouse—perhaps somebody was enduring a nasty court hearing there that very minute. I hoped not.

We strolled down one side of the street and up the other. Rank's Mercantile (est. 1864) was my favorite store. Here's where to go to get the latest Old West fashions. My, if this place didn't fire up my imagination. I have read about people who only dress in historical costume—wouldn't that be fun? How funny that I say that, as I normally make great efforts to NOT attract attention. Still, here I was actually thinking about it, as I have before (yes, really). No matter how ordinary someone may look, you never really know quite what goes on inside their head, do you?

Further down the street were a couple shops that were museums, where I found this. Even my imagination can't quite picture my figure merging with this corset.

I managed not to buy anything at this candy shop, either.

On our way up the other side of the street, this stagecoach passed by. Touristy, but fun!

On our way to Virginia City from Nevada City, Jan had seen this sign

and he was looking forward to stopping at the River of Gold on our way back. He had a great time and, as gold panning is a hobby of his, he ended up helping other visitors learn panning techniques (which earned him some extra dirt to take with him for later panning). He found several garnets and a little color (what prospectors say if they find flecks of gold). One of the others found a garnet with gold on it.

We headed back to our Dillon base of operations, tired but happy.

Dillon, Montana, and Surrounding Environs

After attending Sunday services at the chapel (actually a full-fledged little church) on the grounds of the Garrison RV park that had been our home base for the last couple days, we headed south to Dillon, Montana. Dillon is a small town surrounded by prime farming and ranching, anchored by the University of Montana Western. It's also in the heart of some prime fishing country, as town's several fly shops testify. The surrounding towns are also dotted with fly shops, outfitter/guides, and small scale fishing rod and fly manufacturers. We strolled around the old part of Dillon and noticed a much higher than average number of old homes with turrets. We could just picture it: “Darling, Violet has a turret, and I simply must have an even taller one.” “My dear, you shall have two!” It's really quite picturesque, and I had little images in my mind of perhaps coming to rest here when our wanderings were over. Alas; a brief glance at online area real estate listings confirmed that small-town western charm doesn't come cheaply. Nevertheless, the Dillon area is rich in western history and well worth a visit.

 

Our new base of operations, the Southside RV Park, was shady, well-maintained, with excellent Wi-Fi, and had a little creek running right through the middle of it. And, it has its own little museum, a labor of love maintained by a member of the owners' family. You can read about Gore's Military Museum here.

Bannack, Our First Ghost Town  

 

 

We could hardly have had a better introduction to ghost towns than Bannack. The town, now a Montana state park, is “preserved,” which means measures have been taken to arrest further decay as much as possible, but not “restored.” Although there are a couple buildings that have furnishings in place to better help visitors visualize the Bannack of days gone by, for the most part the rooms are empty, creaks and squeaks mingling with echoes of a colorful past, and most of the buildings are open for the curious to explore.

Bannack sprang up in 1862, after the discovery of gold along Grasshopper Creek (named for the heavy grasshopper population and previously named “Willard's Creek” by Lewis and Clark). Word of the gold spread quickly, and the mining camp almost immediately became the town of Bannack, a rough mining town gradually tempered by the introduction of school, church, and other social niceties. Like the oil boom towns in today's North Dakota, wages were high, but so were prices. The merchants and businessmen who also flocked to Bannack often prospered more than the gold prospectors, and other industries evolved with the mining industry. 

Bannack is home to one of the more colorful episodes of western history, that of Sheriff Plummer and his gang of criminals known as the “Innocents.” Their reign of terror was brought to an end by the Vigilantes. Bannack was also the first capital of Montana Territory.

As the “easy” gold played out, the population began to dwindle. New mining technology allowed several small booms, but the World War II prohibitions on nonessential mining were a death knell for Bannack. Mining never did make a comeback after the war, and population dwindled more, until the town was nearly empty. With the help of a court intervention, much of the town was purchased at auction. Subsequently much of it was sold to the Beaverhead County Museum Association, which, in 1954, donated it to the State of Montana. The last residents moved out as the state acquired the remaining private property in the townsite.

 Margaret Is Injured 

 

That afternoon, we continued to our next destination, Big Hole National Battlefield. We stopped for lunch at a scenic historic overlook, and when we returned to the truck we were dismayed to find that while barking at some fellow sightseers, one of our dogs had cracked the screen of our trusty GPS, which we affectionately call “Margaret.” We must remember to put the bark collars on the dogs in these situations! And I am determined to rig some sort of restraint so the dogs aren't trampling everything in the front seat every time we leave them unattended. The GPS is still fully functional, EXCEPT the area under the portion of the touchscreen that is cracked won't respond. Unfortunately, that is where “GO” is located, when we want Margaret to give us directions to an address. I have since learned that touchscreen replacement is possible, and will attempt to find out where I can have this done. However, at the time, I was so upset about the (apparent) loss of not only Margaret but the lifetime map updates that we had purchased for her that it was all I could think of. Due to my distress, I left the camera in the truck at the Big Hole Battlefield so have nothing to show you except this picture of teepee poles against the sky, which I actually took at Grant-Kohrs Ranch but which is offered here to represent the teepee poles that stand at the Big Hole site as a silent testimony to the 1877 attack. 

Big Hole National Battlefield

Actually, the Big Hole Battle, a turning point in the Nez Perce War, is related to the area gold strikes, as well as the expansion of cattle ranching and the railroad—manifest destiny, if you will. The US Government had signed a treaty with the Nez Perce that set aside a reservation consisting of much of their ancestral land. But, as settlers and miners wanted more and more of the Nez Perce land, a new treaty took away 90% of the reservation. Reluctantly, Chief Joseph was leading his people to obey the government ultimatum when one thing led to another, and the Battle of Big Hole was a terrifying siege of the Nez Perce when they stopped at Big Hole Valley during their flight to Canada. While the Nez Perce technically “won” the battle, it resulted in the deaths of many women, children, and old people. The morale of the Nez Perce was seriously injured, and less than two months later, the Nez Perce surrendered just 40 miles south of the Canadian border. It was on this occasion that Chief Joseph reportedly uttered the famous words: “My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.”

We continued “home” to Dillon in a big loop that took us along the Big Hole River, a highly scenic byway punctuated by a number of fishing access points and attractive riverside campsites. Next time we come to Montana, maybe Jan will bring his fly rod.

The Museums of Deer Lodge, Montana

Deer Lodge offers "more museums and historical collections than any other town in the Northwest." My last post told you a little about the historic Grant-Kohrs Ranch Ranch, on the outskirts of Deer Lodge. That alone would keep a museum go-er happy for a long time--but wait, there's more! Much more. This town has something to capture almost anyone's imagination, and it's easy to get to, just off I-90 between Missoula and Butte. Be sure to allow lots of time, because there is much to see.

A high, convict-built stone wall, guarded by turreted stone towers, surrounds  Old Montana Prison . The prison was home to convicted felons for over 100 years, until operations were relocated to a nearby location in the late 70s. 

Accommodations were rudimentary and privacy almost nil. Showers were taken at assigned times in a large shower room edged by open stalls, with a guard controlling the water.

 If a prisoner behaved well, he might be allowed to enjoy a television show in the t.v. room. The program choice was up to the guard, and in the barred cubbyhole to the right of the television was an armed guard to make sure order was maintained. The chair was for Turkey Pete , a legendary prisoner whose grasp on reality became tenuous as he imagined himself a grand entrepreneur during his life sentence for murder.

This chapel/classroom was monitored by guards who prowled the adjacent underground passage. The passage also provided views of the television room and dining hall.

Upstairs in the 1912 cell house is the Law Enforcement Museum.

A single admission fee includes admission not only to the Old Prison, but to the adjacent car museum and a row of museums across the street.

The Montana Auto Museum has over 150 vehicles, including cars from the famous Towe collection. Edward Towe owned the world's largest Ford collection. At one point the collection had been transported to California to be housed there, but as a result of a lengthy tax dispute with the IRS, the collection was broken up, sold at auction to satisfy the IRS lien. Towe's advice: "Don't fight the IRS; you can't win."

 America's love affair with cars, along with the birth of the National Park system, led to vastly increased opportunities for people to enjoy camping...

which naturally led to RVs.

Across the street, the Frontier Museum has displays of cowboy, gambling, wild west, and native American memorabilia. There is yet more western memorabilia in Desert John's Museum . Wait--we're not done yet. 

The Powell County Museum houses a very nice historical collection, an absolutely enormous salt and pepper shaker collection, and an amazing collection of woodcarvings, all from the knife of one man. The Twenty Mule Team is especially impressive.  All from a sheepherder who began whittling in his early forties! Cottonwood City is an open air display of historic Montana buildings. Currently the interiors of 2 are open to the public. Visit Montana's foremost doll and toy museum at Yesterday's Playthings . Besides hundreds of dolls, there are trains and toy trucks, as well as a clown collection.

Did we visit enough museums today?