There are so many abandoned places in Montana! This is a list of the top three abandoned places in Montana. Browse through all abandoned places in Montana
Nevada City is a ghost town in Montana that was a gold mining town in the heydays. The town which had a short life-span of less than was deserted by its residents and is now a historic museum and a tourist attraction site year after it was deserted.
Nevada City came into popularity in 1863 when ores of gold were discovered in the Alder Gulch region. Interested parties soon flocked the region, mining camps and buildings sprang around the Gulch almost immediately. The town was home to 2000 residents by 1865 with most of them being miners. The city was known for its quick action on outlaws who were hanged by vigilantes when found guilty. In 1863, Nevada City saw a rise in vigilantes when George Ives murdered Nicholas Tibalt (a Dutch). The city’s main street served as a miner's court where suspects would either be sentenced to death by hanging or set free. The rise in vigilante crime reduced crime in the city making it one of the most peaceful towns in the region.
Once the gold ores were exhausted, most miners fled the town the same way they came and by 1869 the population declined from 2000 to 100 people. Most miners in the town closed before 1869 but those that continued past 1869 never lasted as the town had no labor to work the mines. By 1876, Nevada City was completely deserted and was declared a ghost town. Before the incorporation of Nevada City, all the mines in the town were under Idaho territory.
It is believed that the town produced 35 to 40 million US dollars’ worth of gold in its operational days. The mines that contributed much of the town’s success were all closed except for those owned by the Conrey Placer mining company. Conrey Placer mining company introduced dredges that they used to mine the remaining few gold ores after the town was deserted. The company made a profit of 10 million US dollars in its 2 decades of operations and officially shut down in 1924.
In 1923, when Conrey Placer mining company shut down its operations, the town had been deserted 20 years before and most of its buildings were destroyed. There are still parts of the dredges that the company could not disassemble. They still lie intact from the day they were left to decay. Later in the 1900s, Nevada City saw more damage to its structures when a highway was built through the town. The town was turned into an outdoor historical museum and is under the management of the Montana heritage commission. A few of the buildings are still preserved and others are replaced by replicas. Remains of the heavy dredge parts all over the townsite. Watch out for the remains as they may result in injuries.
Located at Grasshopper Creek in Beaverhead County, Montana is an abandoned old mining town of Bannack. Bannack, which is currently a state park, was established in the 1860s and abandoned a century later. Like other old abandoned mining towns, some structures in the ghost town are currently preserved to prevent further decay.
The town of Bannack which was formerly known as Bannock was established in 1862 when gold was discovered in the region. Like other mining towns, the mining boom attracted mining companies together with miners to the region. Five years into its existence, restaurants, banks, and post offices decorated the town, growing the population to a rocking 10,000 people.
The town of Bannack would have been the most peaceful mining town in the heydays since it had a low number of outlaws but this is not the case. The Sheriff at the time by the name Henry Plummer was known to be a shrewd lawman and a gang leader. He had a group of gangs that robbed, murdered, and terrorized people in the town as well as the neighboring communities. It is estimated that the gang killed at least 50 people in and outside the town during their reigning days. In 1864, Henry and his two deputies were hanged by vigilantes both from his town and the neighbors. Most of his minions were lynched as some were forgiven and banned out of the town with stun warning of death if they ever go back in the town. Despite the shrewd lawman Henry and his gang, the town of Bannack was a peaceful town with loving and caring people compared to other mining towns of those days.
Wise man once said come easy, easy go and they were right. Bannack come to realize this the hard way when its death came as rapid as its establishment 10 decades prior. The rich gold mines that attracted the outrageous number of miners and service providers in the region showed no hope anymore. Majority of them had been exhausted by the mid of 1900s. Rendered jobless with families to fend for, miners from the town relocated to new flourished towns to look for jobs. When the railroad station and the post office were officially closed, the population which was already low dwindled even further. The town was declared a ghost town by the 1970s to date.
Bannack town was declared a historic landmark in early 1961 and is now a state park. Surprisingly, most of the structures in the town still stand even though they were made of logs. Former residents of the town organized an annual celebration “Bannack Days” which is held in the town to celebrate the once vibrant town. Some sectors of the park were turned into a wildlife reserve with live animals. Bannack town and its environs are currently a state park in Montana and one can visit anytime. Small breeds of wild animals were introduced in the wildlife section of the park. Bannack state park receives over 16,000 tourists a year. Watch out for the mines are not that secure site to visit especially for kids.
Fort Assiniboine which is currently a historic district under the name Fort Assiniboine historic site is a former US army installation built in the 1970s. Fort Assiniboine is located in central Montana, USA. The fort engaged in several battles with the Indians before it was permanently closed and deserted in 1911. The fort is known to host one of the most fierce regiments in the US army ''the Buffalo soldiers.''
The fort was built out of desperation in 1976 by the US army after they were defeated in a fierce battle with the hostile Indians (Sioux). In an effort to protect the citizens from more attacks and oppression from the Sioux, Fort Assiniboine was established. The buildings which made up the fort were done so fast that the local illiterate Indians thought they magically came up from the ground. Fort Assiniboine had a capacity of 700 plus soldiers with several of its architectures being known to be one of its kinds in the whole region. Though the fort was never at full capacity, it is recorded in history for having hosted ‘’the buffalo soldiers.’’ The soldiers were the most revered army regiment that was made up of all black soldiers.
Fort Assiniboine was officially abandoned and deserted in1911 after the US department of defense declared the region safe. Some of the acres of the property became the rocky boy's Indian Reservation section. The extensive piece of land was distributed among different non-profitable organizations and institutions in the state. As some areas provided a home to refugees, other sections of the fort were demolished. The remains of the demolished structures were used by the locals for construction. A major chunk of the concrete remains from the demolition were used by the state to build the Perching Hall at Northern Montana College.
Currently, Fort Assiniboine is a historic district with a museum and a park. Beaver Park, which is the largest state park, is located within Fort Assiniboine's historic district. Some areas of the property were allocated to the Montana state agriculture college which still uses the place for practical experiments. The fort still stands with most of the old structures renovated for public use. People can visit the fort and Beaver Park anytime. Guided tours are only offered during the summer by the managing body. Apart from remnants of explosives and gunpowder in the fort, there are no other life-threatening issues in the historic site. You can take a day off your busy schedule to go and visit the famous Fort Assiniboine Historic Site to enjoy the rich history of the state of Montana.