Elkhorn Montana

Hello All

Here is another interesting ghost town in Montana.

Dating from the second wave of Montana's gold and silver rushes, Elkhorn has survived as one of the better ghost towns in the west. Its principal mine, the Elkhorn, was discovered around 1872 by Peter Wys, a native of Switzerland, and has changed hands repeatedly. Booming in the 1880's and '90's before tapering off in this century, the Elkhorn reputedly produced some $14 million in silver during its long life.

Many of Elkhorn's cabins have been reoccupied. The Fraternity Hall with its castellated cornices and its unique second-story outcropping and the Gilliam Hall next door are the only original buildings of interest.

Inside Fraternity Hall. Many groups celebrated here, sometime even staging prizefights in the spacious interior. Once, during a dance, two men got into a fight over what kind of music the band should play. The squaredancer shot the waltzer dead - and was later hanged for it.

Elkhorn has been designated one of the most important historical sites in the West and renovation has been undertaken by the Western Montana Ghost Town Preservation Society. Elkhorn flourished in the 1880's and 90's, when millions of dollars worth of gold and silver were mined. Reportedly the town had 2,500 residents, with 500 woodcutters, mostly of French and Norwegian descent, were employed to supply wood for the town and the mill.

Hardluck 

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http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,12659.msg79941.html#msg79941

Those are some classics! Nice! 

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http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,12659.msg80406.html#msg80406

Hello

BA I too appreciate the time that has gone into restoring those old buildings. They are the castles and historic places of your pioneering past.

upsmanpa its my pleasure is seeing you and others discovering your countries amazing pioneering heritage.

Hardluck 

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http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,12659.msg81275.html#msg81275

Hello Allen50

Hopefully it will be left as it is to "Rust in peace"

Hardluck 

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http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,12659.msg125724.html#msg125724

   After WWII my grandfather was turned out of a house they were renting in Wallace Idaho, where he worked in a silver mine, when it was sold to a returning veteran. He ended up moving his family to Elkhorn where they lived and worked for a few years. My mother has told us many stories of living in this ghost town. The name ghost town fits this place as there are many times when music and laughter can be heard coming from the fraternity hall.
   The mail man used to come once a week in the summer, and whenever he could make it in the winter. He would also buy groceries in town and deliver them to my Grandmother as a favor. Lets see a mail delivery person do that today!

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