South Pass City in 1870
Source: Wikipedia

There are many towns throughout the American west which serve as excellent examples of what a mining "boom town" was like. South Pass City, Wyoming is one such town. It is a relatively rare example, however, in that it has survived practically unchanged into the present and as such can better relate its story to us now.

The story of the town is like so many others of its ilk. In the summer of 1867, gold was found in an area along Willow Creek in the southeastern Wind River Mountains by Mormon prospectors. When the precious ore was found, this part was primarily occupied by Arapaho, Sioux and Cheyenne tribes who fiercely defended their homelands and successfully kept the majority of Anglo-Americans from coming settling there. The whole situation changed though when in 1866, US troops arrived to defend those brave (or stupid) enough to settle the region despite the risks.

People began to flow into the area under the protection of the US troops with the hope of striking it rich. In the same year, a major gold vein was found which would eventually become the Carissa Mine. By 1868, the town proper of South Pass City had been founded and contained 250 buildings and a population of over 1000 people. As with all mining "boom towns", its decline came as quickly as its "boom". By 1869, the population had already begun to decrease and by 1872, only a few hundred people remained.

Esther Hobart Morris

South Pass City continued to be occupied for several more decades by a group loyal to the town, however. The Carissa Mine continued to function on and off until it finally closed down for good in 1949. The last residents left the town shortly thereafter, leaving South Pass City as a ghost town.

Despite being such a small town, South Pass City boasted several people who made Wyoming history. Two such examples are William H. Bright and Esther Hobart Morris. Bright was a saloon and mine owner in the town who served in Wyoming's First Territorial Legislature. There, he introduced the first women's suffrage bill. Once passed, Esther Hobart Morris then became the very first women in the United States to hold public office. She made history when she became Justice of the Peace on February 14, 1870.

The state of Wyoming purchased the town in 1966 as a historic site and has since continued to support its upkeep as a tourist attraction. Many of the original buildings with full original furniture are still standing today and can be visited. The official website for the historic site can be found here.

This post is part of a multi-part series about mining towns in the Rocky Mountains. See the rest of the series either on the Rocky Mountain Mining Town project page or in the category of the same name.

Bannack, MT in the late 1800s.
Source: Legends of America

The first part of the new series about mining towns in the Rocky Mountains will begin with Bannack, Montana. Nothing, but a ghost town now, Bannack was the site of a major gold discovery in 1862. The town was founded the same year as a result of the discovery and is named after the local Bannock Indians. The town officially received its name with the establishment of the post office on November 21, 1863, however, when the name was submitted to Washington DC, the final 'o' was mistaken for an 'a' and therefore it is Bannack instead of Bannock.

Gold was first discovered on July 28, 1862 by John White and other members of the "Pikes Peakers" from Colorado in the creek where the town currently stands. What followed was one of the largest gold mining rushes to happen in the west since the California gold rush of 1848. By October of the same year, over 400 miners populated the new mining camp that was to become Bannack.

Henry Plummer - Sheriff of Bannack from May 24, 1863 until January 10, 1864.
Source: Wikipedia

Many people came to Bannack with gold fever, but most did not strike it rich in mining. In fact, many people who came to Bannack, like many other mining towns, ended up profiting from other sources and other miners. One such example was a physician by the name of Dr. Erasmus Darwin Leavitt. Among one of the town's founders, he gave up his medical practice in New Hampshire in 1862 to prospect for gold in Bannack. He quickly found it was more profitable to give up his mining dreams and practice his trade in Bannack taking care of the residents there. His story is typical of many who came west looking for fortune.

The town was not without its drama. The sheriff, Henry Plummer, was accused by some of leading a gang which were responsible for over a hundred murders and robberies around the west. The town was divided as to whether or not Plummer was guilty. Despite this, he was hung by a group of vigilantes from the very gallows which he himself had built on January 10, 1864.

At its peak, there were about three thousand residents who lived in Bannack, although sources vary as to the exact number. The town mostly comprised wooden buildings built out of logs, however, many of them, as is typical of many nineteenth century western towns, had false fronts. In the town, there were three hotels, three bakeries, three blacksmith shops, two stables, two meat markets, a grocery store, a restaurant, a brewery, a billiard hall, and four saloons.

By May, 1864, the town had grown large enough to become capital of Montana Territory. It lost its title as capital, however, only two years later in 1866 to Virginia City.

The ghost town of Bannack, Montana.
Source: Wikipedia

The early twentieth century saw the end of the once bustling mining town. Most people had abandoned Bannack by the 1930s and, by the 1940s, the town had essentially become a ghost town. The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks saved the town, however, by turning it into a state park on August 15, 1954.

The last residents finally left the town as late as 1970. All that remains now is a wooden shell of its former glory. The town has been made into a state park and is visitable as a tourist attraction today. Take a look at Bannack's website for more details on visiting.

To see some modern photos of Bannack, MT, please visit GhostTownGallery.com.

This post is part of a multi-part series about mining towns in the Rocky Mountains. See the rest of the series either on the Rocky Mountain Mining Town project page or in the category of the same name.

Sources

Bannack State Park - FAQ's, http://www.bannack.org/faq's.htm (accessed March 4, 2010).

Legends of America, "Bannack -- Gold to Ghosts," http://www.legendsofamerica.com/MT-Bannack.html (accessed March 4, 2010).

Wikipedia, "Bannack, Montana," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bannack,_Montana (accessed March 4, 2010).

Bannack: First Capital of Montana.
Source: Distinctly Montana

One of my biggest fascinations with the Old West is with what life in a Rocky Mountain mining town in nineteenth century would have been like. It would have been a life full of filth, rough characters and hard work combined with drinking, fighting and gambling as pastimes. Of course these are stereotypes of any old Wild West town, but were they really true? What was it that these brave, tough and rough souls did when they weren't working in the mines?

These and other questions will be answered in a new series I am beginning here at History Rhymes. I will be exploring several different mining towns throughout the Rocky Mountains in the coming weeks. Some are still active towns, but many are nothing but ghost towns now. I will explore how people lived, what life was generally like in the towns and I will also give a brief history of how each town came to be and, in the case of some of them, came to pass.

This will be a multi-part series. You will be able to see all of the entries in this series in the Rocky Mountain Mining Towns category which can also be found in the sidebar or by visiting the Rocky Mountain Mining Towns project page.