׉?4ׁB!בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://yWFa0QwFZiUKJwbDhLwehlzlEQQKzpWznecswyblGHo`׉ 7cassandra://vZ5FGwCmciEQA6I9pSw_8xdOnOZkQna6I54aK0HQEZU͉`s׉ 7cassandra://wAZRol-YSFA3KHjMfVNwh9HU8qyxzG3a9e_e5dBhqOs)`׉ 7cassandra://lIkK6K9R7JWPBkbhA1FM-0Qz-V0jtf47vOO6By0gbbIP͠]c\>8K(Qט(u׈frJנc\?8K(T̅ 9ׁHhttps://montananewspapers.orgׁ ׁ Ј׈Ec\>8K(B׉E DECEMBER 2022 Ghost Towns and History of Montana Newsletter From the Choteau Acantha, Dec. 25, 1924 Granite Walking Tour Granite has been known as the "Silver Queen," "Silver Queen of the West," "City Without Nights," and "City in the Sky." Whatever it is called, it is still a town that attracts visitors from all over the world and is a very special place for all the people living in Philipsburg. As an aside to the history of Granite, Philipsburg was named for Philip Deidesheimer, the first superintendent of the St. Louis Montana Gold and Silver Mining Company, later known as the Philipsburg Mining Company. The settlement was first called Camp Creek, for the stream that meandered through town and furnished water for residents. Philipsburg was not incorporated until 1890, but in 1887 it had a population of 1,500 and was the trade center for 8,000 people. The oldest school building still in use in the state is the imposing brick edifice constructed in 1895 to serve grades one through twelve. At Granite, you are 8,000 feet above sea level ‐ Philipsburg is 5,280 feet. Granite is perched on a mountain where only 3,000 people lived in 1890. Another 2,000 people probably lived in the area nearby. In 1878 a claim was located on GranPhoto by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Accessed via: https://montananewspapers.org ite Mountain and in 1881 tunneling was begun into the mountain itself. Granite Mountain became the greatest silver bonanza in the world at that time. Two mines, the Bi‐Metallic ‐ you can see the hoist on your right ‐ and ׉ 7cassandra://wAZRol-YSFA3KHjMfVNwh9HU8qyxzG3a9e_e5dBhqOs)`c\>8K(Cc\>8K(B(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://dhh-dcNb-H-_CQWikJyfjcLwLg3f2wWHGx9zZoZX1xQ`׉ 7cassandra://wjaF34A1il6sm-WSzMdImJJm1buQYoN4DbLic-nz0HQ͔ `s׉ 7cassandra://9I_bO9_KJ4TF-PxNKRdJoJfw7_lQcx3zT-Dl6qSJ6OY*`׉ 7cassandra://FVsgtArKmFr0mc0trCbnsY2pt8kR8FPlUwDvea6v2RI:\͠]c\?8K(Uט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://uVT9OD1ZrL0Wpsp4UHPYGcVxNwJ3i8ffulylDfWnNkMi`׉ 7cassandra://Z5EVHW4Q5CZaD_trhAjkCbk-CQiVKbw9dE6hVu9CkEk͔y`s׉ 7cassandra://LrFh6RJ9CFNigeeXZ83mjW4M6cwvvUbCVWBAwZYEKn4(_`׉ 7cassandra://KErO-d-OXnOkKPCnrrQiBOIpwmwKPzP-kn4u0Yx5ojku@͠]c\@8K(V׉EP a g e 2 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r the Granite Mountain ‐ looking west ‐ provided the ore. Mills were built in Granite and nearby Hasmark and Rumsey where other discoveries were made. The name "Granite" accurately describes both the mountain and the town clinging to its peak. With very few level spots, many houses were built against the hill on one side and elevated stilts on the other side. They were usually small, built of boards, covered with tar paper and clapboard. The "topsoil" consisted mostly of decomposed granite and was so thin that it was impossible to dig a grave on the mountain; bodies were transported down to the valley floor in Philipsburg for burial. Wells could not be dug either. Each household was given four 5‐gallon cans of water per day and an extra gallon on wash day. On the right is the cabin where the stockholders were obligated to meet at least once a year. It was the caretaker's cabin during the rest of the year. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz As you walk up the road, try to imagine the Granite Mountain Mining Company's General Office, the Granite Mountain Mining Mill and the Ruby Shaft Hoist up the mountain to the right. This is the same area where the main foot race was a man killing dash up the steep, rocky face of Granite Mountain to the top and back, a distance of about a mile and a half each way. The prizes were $50, $25, and $15 for the first three places. This was held on Miner's Union Day ‐ June 13th. Looking to the right, there is a pile of weathered boards. That is what remains of the Hospital building. It was a two‐story building where five doctors practiced in Granite. In 1884, when black diphtheria struck hard, at least 35 children and a large but unknown number of adults died. Moving up the hill and to your right and on the corner is where the Catholic Church stood. Behind that church was the Methodist. The Episcopal Church was up the hill from the Methodist and the Presbyterian Church was up from Magnolia Lane on the corner. The pews from the Episcopal church in Granite are still being used in the Episcopal church in Philipsburg. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz ׉ 7cassandra://9I_bO9_KJ4TF-PxNKRdJoJfw7_lQcx3zT-Dl6qSJ6OY*`c\>8K(D׉E P a g e 3 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r Across the street from the Catholic Church and on the corner was the Metropolitan Hotel. At the top of the road where it evens out was the Ruby Hotel. As you get to the top of the road and where the Ruby Hotel stood, try to imagine a jewelry store, a general store, the Cleary Hotel, Moore House, saloons, lodging houses, gambling and lunch rooms, stores for fruits and cigars and the vault of the Hyde Freychlag Bank. On the right are buildings that had to be built on posts. These buildings were built by several Chinese businessmen and some of the buildings were the "red light district" places. Moving toward the Miners' Union Hall, the Moore Hotel stood. It was the first three‐storied structure built on the mountain, and quickly developed into one of the Territory's finest hotels. Townspeople and travelers alike marveled at the first two floors furnished with hand‐carved black walnut with tables covered in Tennessee marble. The Miners' Union Hall was dedicated on a New Year's Eve in 1890 ‐ a building of three stories and native stone structure ‐ at a cost of $22,000. The façade was simple, but elegant with generously proportioned windows dominated the side facing the street. In the space above the first floor doors and main windows, transoms glistened with multicolored glass panes, and the morning light filtered through creating pastel checkerboards on the tops of the three emerald pool tables with their net pockets. A metal plate on the threshold of the main entrance read "Butte Iron Works." Each section of the first floor's main windows that Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz faced the sidewalk were separated by an elegant cast iron pilaster from Butte. On each support's face, a classical‐style lute was displayed in embossed relief. The rectangular windows on the second floor combined with the third floor's arched windows to create a scalloped design of glass across the upper half of the structure. The entire facade was capped off with a cast iron cornice, which rose to a small peak in the center of the building, creating a base for a towering flagpole, from which an American flag billowed in the mountain air. The heart of the Union Hall was on the second floor. An office and small library sat on the front portion of the building, but the more important part of the upstairs lay beyond a ticket booth that stood on the landing. The combination dance floor and auditorium space was the real draw. A specially laid maple floor, with the qualities of a spring board, stretched nearly the entire length of the structure, benches lined the walls. The orange flow from oil‐fueled chandeliers illuminated waltzing couples, who cast their soft shadows on the Northwest's finest dance floor. The company began leasing buildings lots for $2.50 and log cabins, frame houses, and business buildings soon spilled down both sides of the ridge. The first business house constructed was the Moore House. ׉ 7cassandra://LrFh6RJ9CFNigeeXZ83mjW4M6cwvvUbCVWBAwZYEKn4(_`c\>8K(Ec\>8K(D(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://3Fyde3_F_sGRf46e3Ehlp4Ym3EWBpBnXqwOxIjsYqF4`׉ 7cassandra://vhDUO1JHewCt0d8jGvVuE-RytnDBm_bXpdldYMd5nPQn9`s׉ 7cassandra://U23dewIkt312o6RXp3YwYnuX999_1IgnYWGHSdDom3o"`׉ 7cassandra://AXDVXvex53A-ZmT321p3rUpi_lFFDnaQQBQQghdZe-A\͠]c\@8K(Yט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://fhOAGCmya5pUpWPzbR4Yy_muJ1Q1vTvWmUS2F43EWMY*`׉ 7cassandra://3IJlQBsRy7-_iIAL1updcAbPkATmRG9EDgZ3dgnjMRQͣ/`s׉ 7cassandra://YRFqDYCSID8oK4c5UJcdCe3bbhrmdPk7Ao2VgOWsV28-`׉ 7cassandra://S-WI0QX_X5ncB0SWvUFl4FEqnFwesY19PxJHGr-t10g޼͠]c\@8K(Z׉EMP a g e 4 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r In 1892, Granite had no fewer than 17 saloons, numerous restaurants, a weekly newspaper (The Granite Mountain Star), a brewery and soda pop bottling facility, several hotels, a post office, two skating rinks (ice and roller), four churches, a Knights of Labor Hall, a Masonic Lodge, and an Odd Fellows Lodge as well as others. The Granite Mountain Company had three mills, two in Granite and one in Rumsey, located three miles to the south and supplied by ore carried on an 8,750 foot gravity feed Bleichart Aerial Tramway that generated 14 horsepower with a vertical drop of 1,297 feet. The Bi‐Met Company had one mill located at Clark (also known as Bi‐Metallic), near Philipsburg, supplied by a 9,750 foot Bleichart Tramway, also generating 14 horsepower with a 1,225 foot vertical drop. The Bi‐Metallic Mine, which you passed when you first entered Granite, is drained by an 8.850 foot tunnel intersecting the Bi‐Met at the 1,000 level and the Granite Mountain Mine at the 1,450 foot level. The two mines produced upwards of $45,000,000 worth of silver and gold with no less than $15,000,000 in dividends paid to the stockholders of the two companies between 1882 and 1903. They always said, "Nothing ever closed, nothing ever stopped in Granite, Montana!" ׉ 7cassandra://U23dewIkt312o6RXp3YwYnuX999_1IgnYWGHSdDom3o"`c\>8K(F׉E ]P a g e 5 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r 2 0 1 1 MON T ANA COWB O Y HA L L O F F AME I N DU C T E E 1860 – 1 9 6 0 L E GA C Y AWA R D D I S T R I C T 1 2 The Brander Sisters - Violet (1904-1981) & Margaret (1905-1996) “Life wasn't easy” best describes two of the hardiest pioneer cowgirls in the State of Montana. Violet Elizabeth and Margaret Ruth Brander were born at Avon, Montana. They became known as the famous “Brander Sisters” throughout western rodeo circuits because of their daring rides on bucking horses and Brahma steers and bulls. Violet also did Roman riding races. “Let ‘er Buck” was associated with the sisters, though they were also contestants in bulldogging, calf roping, relay races, wild cow milking, wild horse racing, and horse racing. The girls’ exhibition rides on Brahmas had Margaret atop the animal’s neck backwards while Violet faced Margaret. Violet, or “Vi” as she was known, was a slender 5’11” blue-eyed woman with reddish-blond hair born on January 24, 1904. Margaret, nicknamed “Marg”, was a shapely 5’10” blue-eyed woman with dark brown hair born April 28, 1905. The girls were the fourth and fifth children of George and Fannie Brander who had fifteen children. During the early years, the family suffered extreme privation and at times, hunger. Vi and Marg had vivid memories of living off the land by eating wild service berries, wheat gleaned after neighbors harvest, and small potatoes left after potato pickers had sacked those worth sacking from nearby fields. Their father was a wood sawyer who didn't get paid often, as far as they knew and once left his family in the wilderness near Gold Creek to fend for themselves while he looked for more profitable work. In 1912, their mother through an agreement with their mother’s uncle, moved the family to Bradley, Montana. Fannie, a farmer at heart managed to put together a herd of dairy cattle, chickens, turkeys, and sheep. Her and the children put in an acre of garden and a potato patch. Apples and cherries from the orchard were canned. With a large root cellar for storage and hard work, there were no longer days of acute hunger. Vi and Marg worked hard caring for the garden, plowing and seeding field crops, caring for stock and their younger siblings. When they were 17 and 18, following a spat with their father, Vi and Marg decided to leave home and make it on their own. They rode bareback about 70 miles as the crow flies to the ranch for Bill and Fannie Steele who lived at Montana City. They had previously met Fannie Steele, the then World Champion Woman Saddle Bronc Rider. The couple taught the young sisters how to ride broncs. That summer the sisters also worked the Steele's fields, mowing, raking and stacking hay. They later returned home and ran a cross-cut saw to fell big trees, then limbed and skidded ׉ 7cassandra://YRFqDYCSID8oK4c5UJcdCe3bbhrmdPk7Ao2VgOWsV28-`c\>8K(Gc\>8K(F(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://D88MZh5Mie72s9oGKL24JOz8kKYL1XgwYlVvrdUvAL4`׉ 7cassandra://ExH8zDbHxrmq1ODq3LzTkn8mZ4w5IePy4xJmUaQfPSEͱ`s׉ 7cassandra://1C2UfgymQ8wT58gLfmCQs-nCLiKDy3CceTzLOdShGE8-`׉ 7cassandra://bPZ9PpqLd95bi62tD8_CnhiOFir3tntSX6MLpkAo1YcA ͠]c\A8K(^ט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://WmHp10RgK9AcN1u1T7pQUmnz6Kdj56tOXB4su4D6xZs`׉ 7cassandra://qDhX8vy_Vtrx3zDfHpsB_Q5amEXdvH64bgxntqtlC_Q͓`s׉ 7cassandra://1vxcJD5Zwr8O73-_2BqQWZ9jdpQ9jRtA6UH8NdLn-gU(?`׉ 7cassandra://XXDPq_V4yhP9Xr0GDBHJ0DuMPvpIlZS2PVdFs34RGpwn<͠]c\A8K(_נc\@8K(][̳9׉Hhttp://montanacowboyfame.org/Gׁ ׁ rנc\B8K(g\9ׁHhttps://www.fs.usda.gov/ׁ ׁ Јנc\B8K(f]̯9ׁHhttp://montanacowboyfame.orgׁ ׁ Ј׉EUP a g e 6 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r them to the freight cars. They picked apples in Washington and cooked for ranches. Work was available and work they did. Shortly after their high school graduations, the Brander Sisters were bit by the “rodeo bug” when performing bronc rides at the Deer Lodge Rodeo. At a rodeo in Polson they met Paddy Ryan who asked Vi to ride double on a steer with him. Vi agreed and reported, “It was easy!” Afterward, the girls began riding Brahmas double. Their motto was “Anything a cowboy can do we can do better.” Vi began roping and trick roping; Marg began bulldogging. They won the Wild Cow Milking over a field of male entries. The Brander sisters competed in rodeos all over Montana as well as Lethbridge and Yorktown, Canada; at Fruita and Grand Junction, Colorado; Price, Utah and finally at the Second Annual World’s Rodeo in Chicago. While pursuing their colorful careers, Vi wrote several articles for Western magazines. Her stories described the reality of rodeo as one of the most dangerous, nerve wracking games there is, though those bit by the “rodeo bug” wouldn’t trade a second of their arena life for anything. During the Depression, Vi and Marg began plans for their dream ranch by leasing 640 acres four miles east of Avon. They called their spread the Circle Star, the same name as their registered brand. In 1931, they hosted their first Circle Star rodeo. An article in the Silver State Post, in Deer Lodge, published in 1935 stated, “Attendance at the Brander Girls' Annual Circle Star Ranch Rodeo on July 4 was greater than anticipated.” During the era of the Circle Star Rodeos, the younger Brander sisters Alice, Kay, June, and Florence were an active part of the ranch. In 1933, Vi married cowboy Oscar “Pal” Beebe, and in September 1937, she gave birth to Marlin Dale. Her second son, Leland Wayne, was born in November 1938. When the lease expired in 1938, the Brander Sisters were outbid for renewal of the lease. They lost everything they had put into the buildings and arena. Bitter and discouraged over the loss of the ranch, the Brander Sisters went their separate ways. Marg went to work at the General Store in Avon, keeping records. In 1940, Vi and Pal divorced. For a time, Vi and Marg reunited and lived in two old railroad section houses. Marg drove school bus and Vi worked at various jobs until she packed her belongings and took her boys to Hanford, Washington, where she ran a riding academy. When the academy folded, she returned to Montana and worked at any odd job available, as Marg continued to do as well. They cooked at mines, in cafés, and worked on ranches. In 1946, Vi married Vernon “Red” Gilman, a miner at Garrison, who adopted her two sons and became the father they had never known. Vi brought to the marriage a small herd of cattle and horses and the couple soon went to work on a ranch at Georgetown Lake. In that same year, Marg met and married Steve Dorn. For a short time, they lived at the mine where he worked, then always restless and both lovers of travel, the Dorn’s moved from place to place enjoying a variety of jobs and life with each other. Marg retired in 1968 and Steve died in 1969. Marg continued to travel for the remainder of her life. Vi and Red bought two ranches near Garrison and settled down to raising horses, cattle and their sons. In 1973 they retired from ranching. Vi was crippled by arthritis and underwent surgery for a disintegrated disk, possibly the result of her rodeo days. Her active life became a small circle including her sons, now six grandchildren, ׉ 7cassandra://1C2UfgymQ8wT58gLfmCQs-nCLiKDy3CceTzLOdShGE8-`c\>8K(I׉E P a g e 7 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r and her always devoted Marg. The Brander sisters were featured in an Otho Hartley photo exhibition. Hartley’s photos taken in the 1930s of rodeo contestants was entitled, “This contest is for real hands: An old-time Montana Rodeo.” A special sub-grouping featured the Brander sisters riding bucking horses and bucking steers. The exhibit traveled two years, 2002-03, with stops in Montana, Wyoming, and Texas, as well as the USA National Tour. It was selected as one of ten featured exhibits at the Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games in 2002. Vi passed away in 1981 and Marg in 1996. The Brander sisters are buried at the Hillcrest Cemetery between Butte and Anaconda. –Courtesy of the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame, montanacowboyfame.org King’s Hill Guard Station This site was first developed in about 1910. Ranger Walter Donaldson from Four Mile noted that there was a lookout cabin, horse corral and small barn at King’s Hill where four ranger districts joined corners. These were likely the Belt Creek, Sheep Creek, Tenderfoot, and Judith Districts. Facilities records found at the National Archives indicate that the early cabin was a 1-story log structure built in 1913. The cabin presently on site is a modified C-4 design built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937 and 1938 along with the log garage. A porch has been added onto the back of the cabin along with an outhouse and a woodshed of modern construction. The first King’s Hill Guard Station, May, 1916 In recent years, recreation and historic preservation have become important aspects of the agency’s mission. The cabin is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and is maintained and managed for its historic and recreational value. It has been placed on the Forest Service cabin rental program for your enjoyment. -Courtesy of https://www.fs.usda.gov/ Please help us maintain the past for the future. If you would like more information, please contact the White Sulphur Springs Ranger Station at 406-547-3361. Historical information excerpted from Home on the Range, Montana’s Eastside Ranger Stations, author Vicky MacLean Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Hathaway, Montana was a station stop on the Northern Pacific Railroad and named for Major Hathaway, a U.S. army officer. The town would grow up around the depot which served as the center for social life in the surrounding community. The post office opened in the early 1880s under the name of Putnam but that was changed to Hathaway in 1887. The post office closed in the 1995. Hathaway is located at Exit 117 on Interstate 94, roughly 20 miles west-southwest of Miles City. ׉ 7cassandra://1vxcJD5Zwr8O73-_2BqQWZ9jdpQ9jRtA6UH8NdLn-gU(?`c\>8K(Jc\>8K(I(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://CnlfyH1CRnGOJgDCgQ5nxTH6TYuN32sEidUv6VtopTsw`׉ 7cassandra://JzZk_kM6mTHDF78grvQ6jChhoJ2qNFvx3VPkzI7n8Tw͑`s׉ 7cassandra://m_1dJUJok3jEzE68pjajhrpslaNgdIEiK7eFTOu8-sA&`׉ 7cassandra://f3SmerwuiIyTBe4qzvMOdPtzFcqbJB5ychVH1a1ZRv889͠]c\B8K(hנc\A8K(b̹9׉HJhttp://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Helena-Montanas-Ghosts-America/dp/1609499344Gׁ ׁ rנc\A8K(cS9׉HJhttp://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Helena-Montanas-Ghosts-America/dp/1609499344Gׁ ׁ rנc\A8K(dd?9׉H0http://ellenbaumler.blogspot.com/p/my-books.htmlGׁ ׁ rנc\A8K(e.̧9׉Hhttp://mhs.mt.gov/Gׁ ׁ rנc\B8K(jd: 9ׁH%http://ellenbaumler.blogspot.com/p/myׁ ׁ Ј׉E P a g e 8 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r A CHRISTMAS GHOST There is a beautiful house on Helena’s lower West Side that has been home to a number of tenants in the past twenty-five years. Some of those who have been associated with the house report odd experiences that I have detailed in Haunted Helena: Montana’s Queen City Ghosts. For the Scott family, the house was a magical place that holds special memories of family and one unique Christmas dinner. The house was built in 1877, and its longtime owner was Christmas Gift Evans, whose pioneer hardware firm of Sanford and Evans was a well-known, reputable Helena business. Chris Evans was born in Deerfield, New York, on Christmas Day in 1840. His parents felt so blessed at his birth that they named him Christmas Gift. The Christmas Gift Evans House, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is a rare example of the French Second Empire style. Its Mansard roof has elegant wrought iron cresting and inside, the handsome dark woodwork evokes another time. Original built-in furniture includes a dining room breakfront with exquisite beveled glass. The house has seen its share of tragedy including the death of Evans. Suffering from circulatory problems in 1915, Evans died in the house after the surgical amputation of his leg. Christmas Gift Evans, born on Christmas Day, 1840, still likes to celebrate his birthday. Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives Garth Scott was a single parent with two children when the family moved into the house in 2004. During the year they lived there, the Scotts thoroughly enjoyed the historic home and created some wonderful family memories. But it was Christmas that year that was especially memorable. Garth’s mother cooked a huge family dinner for some thirty family members who gathered around the dining room table. They took many photographs to capture Christmas memories. An extra guest appears in many of the photos, reflected in the beveled glass of the breakfront. The image of a man with a distinctive goatee does not match any of the guests seated at the table. The family later discovered a portrait of Evans in a drawer of the breakfront. The identity of the image is certain. Christmas Gift Evans, perhaps in celebration of his birthday, apparently shared the family’s Christmas dinner. –Ellen Baumler Ellen Baumler is an award-winning author and Montana historian. A master at linking history with modern-day supernatural events, Ellen's true stories have delighted audiences across the state. She lives in Helena in a century-old house with her husband, Mark, and its resident spirits. To view and purchase Ellen’s books, visit: http://ellenbaumler.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html ׉ 7cassandra://m_1dJUJok3jEzE68pjajhrpslaNgdIEiK7eFTOu8-sA&`c\>8K(O׈Ec\>8K(Pc\>8K(O(,&Ghost Towns & History of MT- Dec. 2022PA fun publication on the ghost towns and history of the great state of Montana! c\:frJ=