Gold was discovered on Grasshopper Creek in 1862 and the town of Bannack would quickly sprout up nearby, eventually growing to a population of over 10,000 people. Named after the local Bannock Indians, Bannack would serve as Montana’s territorial capital for 2 years before Virginia City took over the role. During its heyday, Bannack boasted three hotels, three bakeries, three blacksmith shops, two stables, two meat markets, a grocery store, a restaurant, a brewery, a billiard hall, and four saloons. In 1864, Bannack elected Henry Plummer as their sheriff. Plummer was the leader of a gang of outlaws known, ironically, as The Innocents, which prayed on supply wagons making their way between Bannack and Virginia and Nevada Cities. Eventually, a posse was raised in Virginia City known as the Vigilance Committee of Alder Gulch or, more simply, The Montana Vigilantes. They tracked down Plummer and his gang and lynched him in the middle of Bannack without a trial in 1864. Bannack’s population would fluctuate over the next hundred years with the price of gold, but the last resident left town in the 1970s. Thankfully a group of local residents stepped in to preserve Bannack and today it is a Montana State Park. I also thought it was cool that the Masonic Temple is still in regular use. I really enjoyed my time wandering the streets of town and I hope you enjoy these photos from beautiful Bannack, a classic Montana ghost town.
Hello Everyone,
I’ve got good news and bad news to start off this week. The bad news is that Shadow Catcher is still in the shop in Missoula, waiting on parts. My new axle housing has made its way all the way from Florida to Indiana where it is currently being rebuilt. They should be putting it on the road to Montana by Friday with it arriving early next week. Once it’s here, it should only take a day or so to get it on and to put everything back together again. I will likely be writing this post from Missoula again next week, making it three weeks since we pulled into town, but I will hopefully be on my way soon thereafter. The good news is that the shop has loaned me a truck in the interim, so I have packed up my camping gear and hit the road in it. I’m very grateful to them for the loaner as it has allowed me to get out and do some exploring this week. It’s not the easiest way to travel, but it sure beats sitting around on my hands in Missoula. I think if I had three weeks to sit there and stew, it would be hard to bounce back from. This week has taken me south through the Bitterroot Valley, across the Big Hole and the Bozeman Trail and is winding up here in Butte, where I am writing to you from today. The weather has been great and I’ve definitely been enjoying myself despite the difficulties of being out here without my van and the stresses involved with that.
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After finishing up this post last week, I went out and enjoyed a wonderful night of music with a songwriters’ round at the Zootown Arts Community Center there in Missoula. This event brought together four unique songwriters from around Montana who took turns sharing their songs and the stories behind them. It was the first event of the newly formed Montana Songwriters Collective and it was really enjoyable. After the show, I went down and had a burger at the Missoula Club and then headed back across the river for the night.
