׉?4ׁB!בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://N_X5V0WQMCdqiBVevS66eQCwmgPPoO1vhehxju1eB8I`׉ 7cassandra://kOScejIacAg0NxBtgjJuYimRPGSNPAGx8uj-x8C7NQg͆N`s׉ 7cassandra://ybYPJGpZKhWkgPsX_-zlk7lXRpQqkti29wiOP11hF18)a`׉ 7cassandra://wthD93PaJoMcZjhkpwI4jZ77YFTwJbS3XdtfDxXutUY ͠]a2O#pט(u׈frJנa2O#ṕ̋ 9ׁH"https://chroniclingamerica.loc.govׁ ׁ Ј׈Ea2O#pձ׉EFEBRUARY 2022 Ghost Towns and History of Montana Newsletter From the Anaconda Standard Feb. 6, 1899 E A R L Y D A Y S A T “ B A N N I K ” A Reminiscence of Olden Times in This Once Famous Camp. The following little incident is one that Mr. James Harby, commonly known as “Old Jim,” who was one of the staunch old pioneers of Bannack during its lively days, used to relate, and shows how business in those days was accomplished. It was during the earlier days of Montana when gold stampeders were flowing into the new Bannack mines and adjacent region. Provisions were costly Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz as necessaries and luxuries were unknown. Flour sold at $100 per sack, “nigger heel” chewing-tobacco at $7 per pound in dust. “Pilgrims” were arriving daily at the new Eldorado, lank of stomach and lean of purse. The mails came regularly to the camp, each letter with Uncle Sam’s levy of green stamps properly affixed, yet the P.M. with a commendable enterprise assessed a further tax of $1.50 upon each letter received. It was a paying office. We give the following experience of a friend at that time in his own language. “I arrived late in the evening with a dyspeptic looking mule train, a lank and hungry pilgrim with $1.35 cents in my pocket which was not enough to buy a square meal, although I did not know it. I had written home before leaving Alder Gulch to have them forward me a remittance to Bannack.” Accessed via: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov ׉ 7cassandra://ybYPJGpZKhWkgPsX_-zlk7lXRpQqkti29wiOP11hF18)a`a2O#pղa2O#pձ(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://0FOvIZZWAlYpEaumrh-dxvk3W3F1A3B_i3DbkMHtThw\`׉ 7cassandra://2U0sv_-3Ix2Iu3-B5LEUQu_gdFDaBaQPaFMjtyXSMHA͊c`s׉ 7cassandra://kWNrOqTpiG9EV9f35YyExsMDJ4C1LYIay1VjlVRQOZ0(Y`׉ 7cassandra://7LdhrtVh_yVNhc7g9Qs2NSr8dhtWPeIjJOAoNZCz8PU!͠]a2O#pט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://MwSfMXPFltAJirumkDH-DkAlhIqT8qkieR6j7GCqX3s; `׉ 7cassandra://4OkNy92w11zndGhy223_LmEG4hm706PlN9670AaOBosͅ`s׉ 7cassandra://wae69e3wTtFwSdvqng1CddtDWDOYP946L81p8mWp51E&`׉ 7cassandra://Pl_2yTybc5nMWtY0js6kgW07aUqcrP0Zw5TGcC6zOSQط͠]a2O#pΕנa2O#pɁZ9׉Hfhttp://www.montananewspapers.org/?fbclid=IwAR2BfJPTVZpg7cQ1aLE5CZCN3cQmm64e5sukx1VwZ746lKKiUK66dmlr-BEGׁ ׁ rנa2O#pʁ>}9׉Hfhttp://www.montananewspapers.org/?fbclid=IwAR2S1Ql-nXwjn6WZKwrZ_m3M8u2MFv0uWyKk_hFvxNSZnxOHIHBGOMZtDzgGׁ ׁ rנa2O#pˁ9׉H6https://ghost-towns-and-history-of-montana.castos.com/Gׁ ׁ rנa2O#pف9ׁH6https://ghost-towns-and-history-of-montana.castos.com/ׁ ׁ Јנa2O#p؁>9ׁH http://www.montananewspapers.orgׁ ׁ Ј׉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 “My first act upon entering camp, therefore, was to hasten to the log hut that served as a post office. Yes, there was a letter for me, also a pair of gold scales handy. Upon receipt of “twelve bits” in coin or dust I could have the missive. He would not even allow me to see the superscription. It was only by long and earnest entreaty that he consented to give it to me in return for my little all. He did so finally, however, I tore the envelope open and read as follows:” Deer Frend Jim:—I heer from yure foaks that you have went to Bannik. Deer Jim, I have a faver to ask. Will you staik me out a good clame there for me? I will cum out in the spring, if you can sell my clame for a gode pile, do it and send me the munny. Yure trooly. Jake Henderson “You can imagine my disgust at learning the contents of this valuable letter for which I had paid my last cent! The kindhearted postmaster, however, though he had hesitated to deliver the letter to me loaned me- a couple of ounces of dust until my money should come.” Al. W.C. – Tribune-Examiner (Dillon, MT), Aug. 13, 1976. Accessed via www.montananewspapers.org Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Nevada City, Montana- The Dr. Don L. Byam House Dr. Byam was born in 1814 and attended William and Mary College in Virginia. He lived in Ohio until 1848 before crossing the Plains to Pike's Peak and then to Bannack, Montana in 1862 and on to Nevada City in 1863. Dr. Byam was the judge at the trial of George Ives which took place in Nevada City on December 21, 1863. Though this trial took place before the Miner's Court, it led to the establishment of the Vigilantes a few days later. This house was built in 1863. The second floor was once headquarters for the Union League, an Anti-Confederate group. The Civil War was alive, even in far off Montana. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz ׉ 7cassandra://kWNrOqTpiG9EV9f35YyExsMDJ4C1LYIay1VjlVRQOZ0(Y`a2O#pն׉EyP 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 BIRCH CREEK BEGINS TO BOOM– February 15, 1905 Farlin, the Birch creek town, is at present the busiest mining camp in southern Montana. The Amalgamated Copper Company, which recently purchased the Indian Queen mine, is making extensive developments on the property and has about 40 men employed. New pumps have been installed and practically all the water is out of the mine. New machine drills have also been installed Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz and in two or three weeks the company will be mining in good shape. Eight additional men were put on Monday and four yesterday. New men will be added as fast as room can be made for them to work. By the middle of April they expect to have something over a hundred men employed in and about the mine. The extreme cold weather of the past week has stopped work on the smaller properties, but this will be resumed as soon as possible. There will be a great deal of outside mining done in that locality this summer. An excellent showing has been made on a number of these prospects. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Two new buildings are being constructed, one of which will be used for a merchandise business. There are two boarding houses, two saloons, a blacksmith shop and several other smaller establishments operating in the town at present. There are two stage lines running into the town, one between DilIon and Farlin, the other between Apex and Farlin. G. Willoughby, of Butte, has succeeded Mr. Kane as manager of the Indian Queen. Gus Heberlein, the former manager for the old company, is at present general superintendent of a mine and smelter at Turk City, Come Listen to our New Podcast! Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Washington, 90 miles out of Spokane. -The Dillon Examiner, Accessed via: www.montananewspapers.org https://ghost-towns-and-history-of-montana.castos.com/ ׉ 7cassandra://wae69e3wTtFwSdvqng1CddtDWDOYP946L81p8mWp51E&`a2O#pշa2O#pն(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://l9pT1ma4eYV1xP3ZcBoXrmBlalSGvNZSvl1OgNAMCxg1`׉ 7cassandra://CH4HhtlInBJ0WFn5QIvLdLWsv5XPeqmcl-_Ut42HM4E͛`s׉ 7cassandra://7pjHIZugl7qjxi34B4QbGujnF09BaQvoIzyGk5m_li8*`׉ 7cassandra://r5n-F5CVZSZkcNQQSIdlHHbsEBIXJX9_aZOKexO2vuUR<͠]a2O#pט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://KUTktgEO4rKy_M0zCbg3mRK4kiC5Z9Ua1E8ThXloosMz`׉ 7cassandra://caiNSAcZMXPSH8THqe3-wwyVEik6oW3_mRp1-X_kJY4͍`s׉ 7cassandra://fuNHNUXRx0G2J9PmermLuCqb5ssbf1VAnBCzFQDec2Y'7`׉ 7cassandra://xLDRtrGdaaDItkFIO5Qe3fgbuYeM9ekQvjixfFJpNTU͠]a2O#pۗנa2O#pсGlM9׉H>https://ellenbaumler.blogspot.com/2014/02/mathilda-dalton.htmlGׁ ׁ rנa2O#pҁ0?9׉H0http://ellenbaumler.blogspot.com/p/my-books.htmlGׁ ׁ rנa2O#pӁl_9׉HHhttp://www.amazon.com/Do-Cultural-History-Montana-Weddings/dp/0980129214Gׁ ׁ rנa2O#pԁa/̺9׉HHhttp://www.amazon.com/Do-Cultural-History-Montana-Weddings/dp/0980129214Gׁ ׁ rנa2O#pՁUȨ9׉Hhttp://mhs.mt.gov/Gׁ ׁ rנa2O#pցÉ9׉H=http://mhs.mt.gov/research/library/collections.asp#PhotographGׁ ׁ rנa2O#pށ0: 9ׁH%http://ellenbaumler.blogspot.com/p/myׁ ׁ Ј׉E P 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 Brother Van’s Love Story Here's a love story to tug your heartstrings. Brother Van (with hand inside his coat) officiated at many weddings around the state, including Helena newspaperman Charles Greenfield's marriage to Elizabeth Nelson in 1913, probably in her home in Vandalia, northwest of Glasgow. But Brother Van himself never married. Photo from I Do: A Cultural History of Montana Weddings by Martha Kohl. Original in Montana Historical Society photograph archives, Helena, 942 -477 Montana’s famous itinerant Methodist minister, William Wesley Van Orsdel, known to most as “Brother Van,” never married. And this is the story of why that was. As Brother Van traveled across Montana territory in the 1870s, he stopped at the sheep ranch of Richard Reynolds in the Beaverhead valley. The family invited him to stay, and there he met Reynolds’ stepdaughter, 13-year-old Jennie Johnston. She and Brother Van became fast friends. When Jennie turned 18, Brother Van was 31. Jennie’s mother wanted her to go to college, and so in September, 1879, she and brother Van postponed their plans and Jennie headed off for Northwest University in Evanston, Illinois. But Jennie became ill with tuberculosis. In the summer of 1880, she returned home to Montana. The next February, 1881, Jennie caught the measles but recovered and helped nurse other family members through what was then a very dangerous illness. But by summer, 1881, Jennie’s health began to fail and she died in October. As she lay in state in the Reynolds’ parlor, Brother Van slipped the wedding ring he would have given her onto her finger. He wore the ring she would have given him for the rest of his life. Jennie, whose mother was a Poindexter, was buried in the Poindexter family cemetery that today is in a cow pasture. Jennie’s grave was moved to Mountain View Cemetery northeast of Dillon and is marked with only a small nameplate. Brother Van lived a long, full, useful life and died in 1919. He is buried in Helena, far from his beloved Jennie. –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 "Brother Van", as the Reverend Van Orsdel was known to his many parishioners and admirers, arrived in Montana during the summer of 1872. Within a year, his circuit-riding ministry had taken him around the Montana territory and to Helena, where he spent the winter of 1873. Not soon after his first year preaching in the state, Brother Van's interest in and commitment to public service institutions, such as churches, schools, and hospitals became widely known. Between the date of his arrival in 1872 and his death in 1919, Brother Van was instrumental in establishing more than 100 churches and parsonages and several hospitals throughout Montana. Brother Van led the townsfolk of Bannack to build the Methodist Church in 1877 which took a few months and cost about $2,000. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz ׉ 7cassandra://7pjHIZugl7qjxi34B4QbGujnF09BaQvoIzyGk5m_li8*`a2O#pվ׉E 5P 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 Life on The Ranch The Orphan Girl By Phyllis Nettik, September 18, 2020 -Backstory...during the pandemic shutdown, our Pastor asked us to write devotions to send to our congregation. Thus, the Life on the Ranch series was born... Twin Bridges was home to the Montana Children’s Center. Growing up on The Ranch, it was a place I rarely visited but drove past daily. Closed in 1975, it now stands guard over thousands of memories from the children who called it home. Originally named the Montana State Orphan’s Asylum, it was established by the 1893 Legislator for orphaned and destitute children. Opening September 26, 1894, any child under the age of 12 was eligible to be placed there. If the Board of trustees deemed it suitable, children would also be sent to private homes. Children came to the Center for a variety of reasons. Some had lost one or both parents, as was the case with my Grandma Clara. Others were left because their parents could no longer care for them. The population during the great depression rose, with up to 400 children in attendance. The 26-acre facility had 26 buildings on site. An indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, both boys’ and girls’ cottages, a preschool house and a primary grade schoolhouse were just a few. The one structure that stood out was what the children called “The Castle”. It was a large Victorian Queen Anne-style building. The Children’s Center was closed by the Montana Legislature due partly because of the campaign against institutionalization and a slow decrease in children. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Photo Courtesy of Phyllis Nettik My Grandma Red, fondly given that name by her grandchildren, often recanted the story of her childhood. Her mother, Katherine, came to America from England possibly in 1890. She married Alonzo L. Monroe in 1895 when she was either 17 or 18 years old. Alonzo was 45. Together they had 8 children, evenly spaced 2 years apart: Pearl, Ruth, Lorena, Charles, Frank, Viola, Harold, and Clara. Katherine was a kind, patient, and gentle loving person. She went to church and taught Sunday School. This exceptional woman died suddenly of a heart attack on April 5, 1914. She was teaching Sunday school in the township of Little Chicago, across the Missouri River from Great Falls, Mt. As my grandma recalled, “she just slumped over and was gone.” Kate was 38. On April 9, 1914, the application was filled out to admit the 6 younger children in the State Orphan’s Home as Alonzo couldn’t care for all of them. They arrived in May. My Grandmother was 6 years old. Older sister Ruth also went to the home to be near the other children. Each of them stayed in a separate cottage. They could only see each other on Sunday afternoons. Ruth and Mae were allowed to bathe Viola and ׉ 7cassandra://fuNHNUXRx0G2J9PmermLuCqb5ssbf1VAnBCzFQDec2Y'7`a2O#pտa2O#pվ(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://cKs9SO8YiMINwxzyshzclIJHk89No43k-hBeSrpXDzMN`׉ 7cassandra://8Sg789FRzakRdWZk-Rr_SafVrDz0BGGKkbbDikU7yB8͕`s׉ 7cassandra://gybSW0VFSBN9PbLjJ7u2VveRIDpv5BFBWCPOvdjHHy4(`׉ 7cassandra://ipYilKSCsWK34BeaMQLmv559CiYr8fhaKfFHgP9AFw8h͠]a2O#pט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://zpauTW9DwMpeuxRjE0ytt1ZuhhLw5GY1L8ED-PgOpvY`׉ 7cassandra://k7vawKO4jyoEKlLrNRPk3mZ78-mthQ_j5owO1pj31LQ͙Z`s׉ 7cassandra://rR4Dxp_yOnqvkKNkoc8o7r2NfPn8bVU-NuCQPcnY3GA*`׉ 7cassandra://B0_uaKEBoh0JrOdhjp9-TvPg2nqfom3WeNR9VeczlqIk͠]a2O#p׉E P 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 Clara each Saturday evening. The following year, Alonzo again tried to keep them. Unfortunately, the youngest five were sent back in 1916. Mae and Ruth by then were married and did not go with them. Clara told of how she was disciplined because she wouldn’t make the sign of the cross during the religious education class. Her mother had told her emphatically she was not Catholic long before she arrived! Her determination to obey her mother cost her dearly. She also said she felt lucky that she didn’t die in the 1918 flu epidemic that killed many of the orphans. As the years passed, she grew to accept her station in life. Growing up, my grandma was placed in several homes. At the age of 10 she went to live with a French-Canadian family in Cascade, where she became fluent in French. She had to change her name in another because the hosting family already had a daughter named Clara. Where one was placed only to work, a somewhat sad existence took place. There were good homes too, she admitted, full of love and laughter. Ones she longed to be called “daughter” permanently. In 1920 she became nanny and housekeeper for Jim and Mary Redfield on the Redfield ranch south of Twin Bridges. Her new “family” not only provided a new life for her, but the romance and courtship of her future husband, Ralph Redfield. She married Ralph on Dec. 12, 1923, in San Jose, Calif. The story goes she lied about her age to marry him. She was 15 and he was 30! In the conversations with my beloved Grandma Red, the stories she told of her childhood were not racked with bitterness as one would expect, but rather as a fact of life. There were many articles printed about the abuse of the children who were placed there. Children who were whipped for wetting their beds and the long hours of chores before and after school. She was employed there after she was married, providing love and encouragement to the abandoned children. She often told me she wanted to adopt orphaned children to give them a stable home. Clara wanted them to belong to someone, as she wished she had growing up. After raising 7 children alongside her husband, she felt it wouldn’t be fair to add Photo Courtesy of Phyllis Nettik Photo Courtesy of Phyllis Nettik more children in the mix. My Grandmother was a survivor of a childhood no one should ever have to endure. The quote “Let your past make you better, not bitter” certainly exemplifies Clara’s lease on life. She had to make a choice. As others turned to alcohol and drugs to make vanish the painful memories of past trauma, Clara turned to her Savior and provider, Jesus Christ, introduced to her by her mother. She allowed Him to take the sorrow, the hardship and pain she was given at such a young age and trusted Him to get her through it. I am sure at times, she did ask “why me?” Jeremiah 29:11 gave her comfort: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ׉ 7cassandra://gybSW0VFSBN9PbLjJ7u2VveRIDpv5BFBWCPOvdjHHy4(`a2O#p׉E RP 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 Like my Grandma Red, we are all orphaned, separated from the Father by our sins. However, when we ask Jesus to come into our lives, accepting him through faith, our placement into the family of God is one that can never be revoked. We belong to a family of brothers and sisters in Christ. We have a heavenly Father who loves us and the Son who died for us. Clara Louise Monroe Redfield went to be with the Lord in December of 2008, just 9 days shy of her 101st birthday. At the time of her death, her legacy lived on through her 31 grandchildren, 62 great-grandchildren and 23 great-greatgrandchildren. What a tremendous hope and future God gave to one, little orphan girl! Thank you, Phyllis for sharing your story with us! John Hepburn Place- Emigrant, Montana Nestled between dramatic cliffs and the Yellowstone River, this collection of buildings catered to the tourist trade between Livingston and Yellowstone National Park. Local entrepreneur John Hepburn came to Montana in 1888 and worked for many years in America’s first national park. In 1906, he filed a homestead claim nearby and ranched until the early 1920s. Hepburn began developing this property in the mid-1930s, crafting the buildings to look like the handiwork of early pioneers. The half-log house doubled as a roadside museum and residence. Hepburn and his son, Ralph, erected a windmill and installed a generator to provide power. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Electric windmills were common in early Montana rural homesteads, but this is one of the last intact systems of its kind. Five generations of Hepburns lived at this homestead using wind-generated electricity for light bulbs and other appliances designed for twenty-four volts. John Hepburn again used the wind when he built a unique wind-powered polisher to finish geological specimens he sold to museum visitors. For over two decades, tourists and local school children regularly visited Hepburn’s museum, marveling at its eclectic collection of rare geological specimens, fossils (including a petrified turtle), Native American artifacts, historical photographs, and items that told the story of Yellowstone Park and the upper Yellowstone Valley. When Hepburn died in 1959, the museum closed and his family dispersed the collections to other area museums. Today, the John Hepburn Place offers a rare illustration of the rural use of wind power and is a unique souvenir of Montana’s early tourism industry.– Courtesy of the Montana Historical Society Photos Courtesy of Phyllis Nettik Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz ׉ 7cassandra://rR4Dxp_yOnqvkKNkoc8o7r2NfPn8bVU-NuCQPcnY3GA*`a2O#pa2O#p(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://2pX5Q50CMNxYYxahel8NpZNlREBIwqS-Umo0GnT8ow0\`׉ 7cassandra://ZoIgLMWiYIlnx8pEn5FvxbrLeb2amyw-gr96Vd0W5-A͙`s׉ 7cassandra://cTiIwj43AwuL9jWYX7E_KWuWNqus_Mc7OLQL__gQLr0+]`׉ 7cassandra://pho9-qQI-S6u2SfFyiPtnI8p3EsidSdDdRNV74Gc67M͠]a2O#pנa2O#pV\̪9׉H https://www.mgtps.org/membershipGׁ ׁ rנa2O#ṕ9׉H https://www.mgtps.org/membershipGׁ ׁ rנa2O#pҁ9ׁH https://www.mgtps.org/membershipׁ ׁ Ј׉EqP 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 Besides the many miners, three doctors arrived in German Gulch in the summer of 1865, including Dr. George Beal who became an important figure in German Gulch and Butte. A number of commercial businesses were developed in the various German Gulch camps including several grocery and general merchandise stores as well as a brewery, saloons, blacksmith shops, bakeries and several sawmills. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Wages were high in the early days of German Gulch camp. From 1865 to 1870 nearly 400 men were at work in the gulch earning an average day's wage of between $6 - $7. The camp provided an important market for the farms and ranches of the Deer Lodge valley. Become a member today and help us preserve history! VISIT: https://www.mgtps.org/membership Join me in my quest to help this much needed and appreciated organization. As a member you’ll receive our quarterly newsletter of which I have become the editor. Thank you! Founded in 1970, the Montana Ghost Town Preservation Society is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public to the benefits of preserving the historic buildings, sites, and artifacts that make up the living history of Montana. My/Donor Information: SUBSCRIBE TO THE GHOST TOWNS AND HISTORY OF MONTANA NEWSLETTER! Renewal? Y/N Send a Gift to: NAME____________________________________ NAME___________________________________ ADDRESS__________________________________ ADDRESS_________________________________ CITY______________________________________ CITY_____________________________________ STATE__________________ZIP________________STATE_________________ ZIP________________ Yearly subscriptions are $19.95 (published monthly). Please make checks payable to Ghost Towns & History of MT, LLC and send with this clipping to P.O. Box 932 Anaconda, MT 59711 ׉ 7cassandra://cTiIwj43AwuL9jWYX7E_KWuWNqus_Mc7OLQL__gQLr0+]`a2O#p׈Ea2O#pŁa2O#pā(,&Ghost Towns & History of MT- Feb. 2022iEnjoy reading stories and seeing photos about Ghost Towns and the history of the great state of Montana! a2frJº