Peaks and Plains Trip, Road trip

A Real Ghost Town

12 Comments

Friday, Sep 8 2023

Road video and map

My trip truly began today with a pleasant drive between Missoula and Helena, MT but the highlight for me was visiting a true ghost town.

Most ghost towns that are open to the public in the U.S. seem to be mainly reconstructions or living history areas but today I visited Garnet, MT which consists of original buildings preserved as they were left with minimal structural support where needed and a self-guided walking tour.

Garnet came into existence in the 1860s when gold was found in the quartz of nearby mountains. Originally, gold was only panned until the railway came to the area, bringing the opportunity for machines to be used to dig true mines. This resulted in steady growth and Garnet was not like earlier gold rush towns, consisting almost entirely of single men and prostitutes, but developed slowly over 30 years with many families and children in the population of about 1,000 by 1900. The town went through several booms and busts as valuable seams of gold-bearing quartz were found and the price of gold varied but much of the town burned to the ground in a 1912 fire. The population declined slowly and the town was finally abandoned by the last resident in 1947.

The surrounding area remained populated with other mining activities and this discouraged the usual looting and vandalism that typically occurs with abandoned buildings so the remaining structures were in relatively good condition when the U.S. Bureau of Land Management bought the site in the 1970s. Since then they have worked with a non-profit group to preserve and protect both the structures and artifacts left behind using minimal interventions to maintain safety. I apologize for the excessive number of photos but found the place fascinating as I imagined the stories that must have unfolded in these buildings.

This is the densest collection of buildings remaining in Garnet.
Less significant buildings are still collapsing despite help from supporting beams – such as here where the roof has fallen in.
The interiors of many buildings still have furniture and artifacts left there by the owners. This was Kelly’s saloon which was an illegal speakeasy during prohibition and served its last drink in 1925. The building had slipped off the rocks supporting it and was only saved by lifting the entire structure and lowering it onto a newly built foundation in 1992.
Three views of Davey’s General Store. The building was built before 1898 and the store was the last business to close when, in 1947, its owner passed and most of the contents were auctioned off to pay his debts.
The Wells hotel, dating from 1897, was the best built structure in town and considered luxurious in its day. The horizontal pole sticking out of the right side at the second floor level was part of a winch system used to get guests’ heavy trunks upstairs.
A view of one of those second floor hotel rooms.
The single classroom schoolhouse was a rarity in mining towns but was an important part of the social fabric of Garnet. This building dates from 1938 when it replaced the 1897 original.
The interior is largely intact, including class photos and a roll of all the teachers,

Garnet was my only tourist stop of the day but, as can be seen in the video, much of the ride to Helena was scenic but not spectacular.

12 thoughts on “A Real Ghost Town”

  1. These preservation projects of the bureau are really worthwhile. Reading your post reminded me of one of my grandparents home. There is a “guard and his family” in the decrepit building. Most of the rooms padlocked, last time I was there was in the early 80s. How things change! A vibrant extended family home now abandoned.

    1. That’s exactly what happened at Garnet. The last resident was living in a few rooms at the hotel while the rest of the rooms and other buildings were locked up and decaying. For the most part the U.S. government does a good job preserving its history considering the huge areas they have to protect. Thanks for following along.

    1. I have looked for a good ghost town for several years on my trips and not found one up until now. Hope you are doing well.

  3. What an interesting trip you’ve laid out! Your ghost town looks like the set from Little House on the Prairie, except I can imagine the ghosts that inhabit the buildings in your photos. The saloon was still serving a hundred years ago, a mere blink in history. I can imagine how the local descendants of such places are suspicious of “Rich Men North of Richmond.”

    Keep it up, Steve!

    1. I’m hopeful the trip will be interesting as I have visited many of the most popular destinations and look for smaller “hidden gems”. I think Montanans are used to the Federal Government in their lives as about 30% of Montana is federally owned. I’ve not come across any complainers yet but I expect I will.

      Thanks for reading.

  4. I can only imagine what these places looked like when in working order! They have done a good job preserving everything.
    What a wonderful way of getting to know America.

    1. Preservation is often hit or miss and there were quite a few fortunate circumstances that lead to Garnet being preserved and documented. The visitor center was in another saloon which they have restored to its original condition but I was interested in what happens when nature takes over. Nature cares little for what happened in the past.

  5. Thank you for taking us to parts of the US that we might not visit. I am so happy that we did a car trip from Bethesda to San Francisco when we moved to CA. We came the northern route but next time should do the southern route as well.

    1. Road trips are fun and there’s just so much to explore in the U.S. Glad you enjoy me having fun 🙂

  6. 12th August 2014 Missoula – Butte. 13th August 2014 Butte – Helena. I obviously hadn’t heard of Garnet.

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