If you want to add a stop at a real Montana gold mining town during your next Montana vacation, Virginia City Montana is a must stop. The town is a perfect rendition of what Virginia city was like during the 1860's gold mining boom. A walking tour of this old frontier mining town is a great Montana side trip for the entire family.
Montana mining was legendary and it brought permanent change to the territory.
The 1863 Gold Discovery
Gold was discovered in 1863 at Alder Gulch by six prospectors. Word obviously spread like wildfire. This meant a huge influx of people hoping to strike it rich. It was like the next California 49s gold strike. Shortly thereafter the town was plotted and the name chosen was Virginia City. Actually there was quite a bit of contention over the name because at this period, during the civil war, there were prospectors with allegiances to both sides. Some wanted to name the town after the wife of Jefferson Davis and others from the Union side certainly objected. Davis' wife was named Varina, so the name Virginia could be considered some sort of compromise. The town was shortly designated as the Territorial capital in as much as this was where most people were due to the Montana gold strike.
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| Bozeman Trail route along yellow line |
Anytime you have a sudden discovery of gold you have an influx of many people. Montana mining was no exception.
The discovery at Alder Gulch was all that it took to start the stampede. Some new arrivals were prospectors, some were shopkeepers to supply the miners and some of course were outlaws wanting to take advantage of the situation. At one point it became so bad that miners were killed when they attempted to leave the area with their take of gold. In fact it came to epidemic proportions. Where's there a lot of gold and a lot of strangers, danger usually lurks nearby.
From Gold Miners to Cattle Ranchers
When the Montana gold eventually dried up, which gold usually does at some point, the area became better known for cattle ranching. Montana had an abundance of first class grazing land and this attracted the cattlemen. It attracted cattlemen and cowboys all the way from Texas.
Many additional stories came from the cattle era. Many range disputes all around the west were between cattlemen and sheep men regarding the use of grazing land. Montana was no exception. You also had the ever present cattle rustler and horse thief. One particular event was "The Horse Thief War". Horses could be stolen and transported easily to either the Dakota's or Canada. The situation got so bad that the cattlemen (many of their particular names were kept in secret) formed a committee and went after the horse thieves. The cattlemen knew pretty much who to suspect and when they were captured it was hanging on the spot with very little ceremony.The Horse Thief War was a product of the cattlemen's associations.
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| Thomas Francis Meagher House |
The photo at right is the Thomas Francis Meagher house. The photo is from the Historic American Buildings Survey. After the Civil War, Meagher served as the first governor of the Montana Territory.
The Montana mining boom during the 1860's was also the main reason for Red Cloud's War. The Lakota Sioux were attacking travelers all over the Bozeman Trail and many of these people were heading to the Montana gold fields.
One of the largest battles about this time was the Fetterman Massacre in 1868 just outside of Fort Phil Kearny north of Laramie Wyoming. The military eventually closed the Bozeman route and although trouble in the area really continued into the 1870's Sioux Wars. The photo below left is a present day Bozeman Route marker in Montana
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| Courtesy Phil Konstantin |
The area is located about 100 miles northwest of Yellowstone Park almost halfway between the park and Butte, MT. Best traveling access is off either I-15 or I-90.
There is much more to tell about this area and I would recommend these websites for further exploration and for help in planning your trip.
(Article copyright Western Trips. Photos and images in the public domain)
www.virginiacitymt.com
www.googlemaps.com
