Gold was first discovered in 1852 in gravels along Gold Creek in Powell County. However, it was not until the 1862 discovery of gold at Grasshopper Creek (Bannack) that the first gold rush occurred in Montana Territory.
As prospectors entered the territory by the thousands starting in 1862, new placer and lode discoveries were made with increasing frequency. In May of 1863, the rich deposits along Alder Gulch near Virginia City were discovered, which soon proved to be the most extensive and productive placers in Montana.
During the summer of 1864, important placer gold discoveries were made at Last Chance Gulch (Helena) and in the Butte district. Placer mining flourished in the territory well into the 1870s as numerous new discoveries were made.
I just found a gold prospectors group for TN!
ReplyDeleteWe once took a chunk of a week and explored Montana ghost towns, all of them mining related. Bannock, a state park. is nicely preserved and not too far from I-15. Virginia City, technically not a ghost town, is the one for tourists. Others, a mostly piles of sticks. Montana winters can be cruel to abandoned towns. My wife has a particular affinity for them since her family was here in 1863 and (she hopes) were part of the Virginia City Vigilance Committee.
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