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Broadwater, Montana

MINES & MINING CAMPS of Broadwater County

Information by Bonnie Palmer

To add to the county site email county Coordinator: Christina Palmer

 

Mines in & Around Broadwater played an important part in the settlement of the area. The following are some histories of some of the mines & areas, combined with a list of all the known mines in the county. There are 2 major types of mines in this area. Placer mines are mines that are close to the surface & lodes are mines which you have to use some type of equipment to get to & actually "mine" it.

Gulches where many of these mines are found go northward from Confederate Gulch which runs from the north side of Diamond City, through said ghost town & SW down to the Missouri River. After Confederate, going north up the Missouri River, you'd come to White, then Hellgate. Some of the gulches coming off the Confederate Gulch north of Diamond City were: Montana Gulch, Greenhorn Gulch, Gold Hill & Diamond Bar.

If you can add anything to these pages, please e-mail me!

Also, see links at the bottom of the page for other Montana Mine & Ghost Town links

AJAX MINE, Hassel area

Often believed in the past to be an extension of the Diamond Hill lead mine because of the striking similarities between the two ores found in both places.
ADA MINE, Giant Hill area

ANTELOPE CREEK MINE, Casey Peek area

ARGO MINE, Hellgate Gulch area

Operated before 1918 & produced about 3 million pounds of copper worth about a half a million dollars in this lode mine.
BC No. 2 MINE, Giant Hill area

BADGER GULCH MINE, Giant Hill area

BAKER MINE, Diamond City area

BEAUTY MINE, Radersburg area

BIG CHIEF MINE, Winston area

BIG HILL MINE, Hassel area

One of the Park Mines
BLACK FRIDAY MINE, Radersburg area
One of the mines that kept producing later than most. In 1910 it was still producing.
BLACK HAWK MINE, Radersburg SW area

BLACKSMITH MINE, Giant Hill area

BLUEBIRD MINE, Radersburg & Giant Hill areas

BONANZA MINE, Radersburg & Crow Creek Falls areas

BONANZA CHIEF MINE, Radersburg area

One of the late mines in the Radersburg area. Discovered by Boyd & Rader after most of the other mines in the area had played out.
BOOM MINE, Diamond City area

BOULDER BAR (an area where gold was discovered)

Approximately 2 million dollars worth of gold was found here. It was discovered in 1865 & was at the junction of Montana Gulch & Confederate Gulch.
BUCKEYE MINE, Giant Hill area

BULLION KING MINE, Giant Hill area

BUNKER HILL MINE, Hassel area

One of the Park Mines.
CENTRAL MINE, Giant Hill area

CONFEDERATE GULCH (area with mines in it)

The rich gold deposits of this area were supposedly discovered by some prisoners of Sterling Price's Confederate troops after being given the choice by their Union captors of surrendering & going home or being released in Montana Territory. The ones who chose Montana were released in the territory close to the headwaters of the Missouri River. The released prisoners left Fort Benton on foot & headed off for the Last Chance area where they had heard gold was being found in large amounts. Three of the men reached the mouth of the gulch in 1864. These were Pomp Dennis, Jack Thompson & Washington Baker. They found a small amount of gold in the sand, but it was further up that they really struck pay-dirt. Needless to say, this discovery brought a lot of others to the area. This led to the mining camp called Diamond City, with hundreds of miners there within a couple of weeks of the initial discovery. The name, Confederate Gulch, either came from these Confederate soldiers who discovered it or from Jack Thompson (one of them) who believed that the Confederacy would win & hence named it such. Throughout 1865, many other discoveries were made along this area: Boulder bar, Gold Hill, Diamond Bar, Greenhorn Gulch, Montana Bar, at the foot of Gold Hill, were all upstream from Diamond City. Montana & Cement Gulch's gold was orignially found by a group of Germans which caused a rush into those areas. A few of the many miners in these areas were Thomas M. Brown, Worcester Fox & 4 Germans: John Shonneman, Alex Campbell, Charles Fredericks & Judson.
CONGRESS MINE, Radersburg area
Opened by James A. Keating & his partners, Blacker & Oldham, after their success with the original Keating mine.
COPPER CITY I MINE, Butte South area

COPPER CITY II MINE, Three Forks area

COPPER QUEEN MINE, Radersburg area

COPPER QUEEN MINE, Hellgate Gulch area

CRASS MINE, Giant Hill area

CROW CREEK PIT MINE, Giant Hill area

CUSTER / HYANATHA MINE, Winston area

DANDY MINE, Radersburg area

DEVIL'S BOTTOM MINE, Toston area

DEER LODE MINE, Radersburg area

One of the late mines in the Radersburg area. Discovered by Boyd & Rader after most of the other mines in the area had played out.
DIAMOND BAR (an area where gold was found)
A part of Confederate Gulch, directly above & north of Diamond City. Boulder Ditch Co. built a long ditch to supply this area with water to work the claims.
DIAMOND HILL MINE, Giant Hill area
About 1/2 mile above Hassel, was considered the "Mother Lode" because of the enormous amount of ore found there.
DIAMOND CITY (a mining camp in Confederate Gulch)
Diamond City today is a ghost town, but it has an interesting past. It was originally the county seat of Meagher Co. The town was considered a "boom-town" from 1865-68 while the large amounts of gold were being pulled out of the ground. It was named Diamond City because the layout of the first 4 counties formed a diamond. It was originally built in the bed of Confederate Gulch, but because of the mining & constant diversions of water & piling up of gravel & mud from mining, the buildings had to be raised on stilts, many several times. The buildings were finally moved to higher ground. The town had one long street & there was a daily coach service running from Last Chance to Diamond City when the weather wasn't too bad. At one point the city was reported to have 10,000 people in it. They had a masonic lodge where the members were also members of the Vigilantes. The Good Templars Lodge in 1870 showed a membership of 70 people. The Rocky Mountain Husbandman Newspaper was in business here in 1875. Then the gold started running out. By 1880, the population had dropped to 60 & by 1883 there were only 4 families left.Some of the known people in the area during the boom-time were Jack Howard (hung by the Vigilantes for robbing in 1865), Mulk, Dick Richardson (from the Recorder), R.N.Sutherlin (of the Rocky Mountain Husbandman newspaper), Thomas H. Brown, T. Collins, Charley Smith, W.C.Landers (Collins, Smith & Landers fell down a 20' shaft in 1869 but all survived), Mr. Kelley (a school teacher) & Hanson H. Barnes, who came around the Horn (later postmaster in White Sulphur Springs). Frank Grouard also passed through here at one point, although he was less than impressed with the area & ran the pony express route from here to Fort Hall. The Germans were prominent in the population here & hence caused many to think this area was more industrious than most. The Chinese came in after the rush was over & reworked the tailings.
DOLCOATH MINE, Giant Hill area

DOOLITTLE GULCH MINE, Helgate Gulch area

EAST PACIFIC MINE, Winston area

This mine was approximately 6 miles SW from Winston & was owned by Robert A. Bell in the 1890s. It produced some great veins of lead & silver, along with a small amount of gold. The mine lasted 12 years & made Mr. Bell a very wealthy man, although he lost it all in Texas gambling on oil wells.
ELDORADO MINE, Radersburg area

GOLD BRICK MINE, Radersburg area

GOLD BUG MINE, Giant Hill area

GOLD DUST MINE, Radersburg area

GOLD HILL, Confederate Gulch area

At the foot of this hill was Montana Bar which contained 2 acres of a fabulous gold vein. Worchester Fox worked here for 35 years. Even when most of the bar was gone, men were still getting thousand dollar pans. The strike only lasted a few months in 1866, but over 1 million dollars was pulled out of it in that time. 4 Germans: John Shonneman, Alex Campbell, Charles Fredericks & Judson pulled between 900,000 - a million dollars worth out of here in one season which at that time amounted to 2 1/2 tons of gold.
GOLDEN AGE MINE, Winston area

GOPHER MINE, Radersburg area

GREENHORN MINE, Radersburg area

HARD CASH MINE, Radersburg area

HARDMORE MINE, Crow Creek Falls area

HASSEL (area with mines in it)

Originally called St. Louis, Hassel sits on upper Indian Creek. Gold was first discovered here in 1866 & in 1875 35-40 men worked there. The mines continued to produce for about 20 years & over the years over 5 million dollars worth of ore was found here. A man called John Murray had a boarding house in Cheatem, 2 miles above the town, at one time which fed more than half the camp. In 1875 the St. Louis Lodge # 49 IOGT was chartered & had 18 members originally & there were anywhere from 100-300 people throughout the area. Others who mined this area were: Joseph "Joe" Hassel (who the town was named for), William Rick, Charlie Moffit, George Weston & Frank Lewery. The mines around this area were revived as quartz mines in the late 1890s.
HELLGATE CANYON (an area that contained several mines)
Some placer gold was found early on at the head of this canyon. In 1874, pay gravel was being worked by 2 companies here.
HOG HOLLOW MINE, Crow Creek Falls area

HUMMINGBIRD MINE, Whites City area

IRON CROSS / R & S IRON MINE, Radersburg area

IRON MASK MINE, Giant Hill area

JANUARY MINE, Winston area

JAWBONE MINE, Hassel area

Near the Hassel mine, on Indian Creek, this was a quartz mine, owned by Tom Reece in 1870. He also had a gold mine here which he bought a stamp mill for (from a freighter, Henry Sieben). Gold from this mill netted him $50,000 in gold. Reece became very wealthy from this mine & supposedly loaned F. Augustus Heinze 1 million dollars.
JO DANDY MINE, Radersburg area

JOHN L. MINE, Giant Hill area

JOHNNY GULCH MINE, Radersburg area

JUNIPER MINE, Radersburg area

KAHOKA MINE, Radersburg area

KEATING MINE, Radersburg area

A quartz mine was opened here in 1866 by James A. Keating & his partners, Blacker & Oldham, & continued very successfully until 1877. Later, George G. Griswold of Butte reopened the mine & continued to run it with newer technology.
KEATING TAILINGS, Radersburg area

KEATINGSVILLE (a mining camp)

A small short-lived camp that was set up approximately 1/2 mile from the original Keating mine to supply shelter & food for the miners there.
KELLY GULCH MINE, Winston area

KEYSTONE MINE, Radersburg area

KIMBER GULCH MINE, Winston area

KLEINSCHMIDT MINE, Winston area

LEVIATHAN MINE, Radersburg area

Opened by James A. Keating & his partners, Blacker & Oldham, after their success with the original Keating mine.
LITTLE ANNIE MINE, Giant Hill area

LITTLE BONANZA MINE, Winston area

LITTLE GIANT MINE, Giant Hill area

Owned & operated by William Roberts. He worked it alone & in 6 months had made $2500 in that short amount of time.
LITTLE HOGBACK MINE, Townsend area

LONE STAR MINE, Hassel area

One of the Park Mines.
LOOKOUT MINE, Giant Hill area

LOOMIS MINE, Crow Creek Falls area

LUCKY FRIDAY MINE, Radersburg area

MABEL MINE, Radersburg area

MAINE MINE, Winston area

MAMOUTH MINE, Giant Hill area

MARION MINE, Winston area

MILLER MINE, Diamond City area

MONARCH MINE, Radersburg area

MONTANA BAR, Gold Hill area

see Gold Hill
MONTANA REGENT MINE, Diamond City area

MONTANA SILVER STAR MINE, Radersburg SW area

MONTE CRISTO MINE, Winston area

MOUNTAIN VIEW MINE, Winston area

MUD SPRING GULCH MINE, Three Forks area

NE NE SECT. 14 MINE, Giant Hill area

NE NE SECT. 17 MINE, Radersburg SW area

NE NE SECT. 21 MINE, Radersburg area

NE NE SECT. 35 MINE, Giant Hill area

NE NW SECT. 25 MINE, Diamond City area

NE NW SECT. 3 MINE, Wnston area

NE NW SECT. 33 MINE, Radersburg area

NE NW SECT 5 MINE, Gurnett Creek West area

NE NW SECT. 6 MINE, Giant Hill area

NE SE SECT. 17 MINE, Radersburg area

NE SE SECT. 8 MINE, Radersburg SW area

NE SW SECT. 26 MINE, Diamond City area

NE SW SECT. 4 MINE, Radersburg area

NW NW SECT. 14 MINE, Radersburg area

NW NW SECT. 26 MINE, Winston area

NW SE SECT. 28 MINE, Winston area

NW SE SECT. 5 MINE, Gurnett Creek area

NW SE SECT. 6 MINE, Gurnett Creek West area

NW SW SECT. 4 MINE, Radersburg area

NW SW SECT. 6 MINE, Giant Hill area

NEW ERA MINE, Hassel area

Was sold to F. Longmaid of Marysville for $25,000. It was a quartz mine in the Park Mining District.

One of what's commonly called the Park Mines.

OHIO MINES, Radersburg area

OHIO / KEATING MINE, Radersburg area

Opened by James A. Keating & his partners, Blacker & Oldham, after their success with the original Keating mine.
ORPHAN BOY MINE, Winston area

PARK MINE, Giant Hill area

PARK MINES (area with several mines)

Located 6 miles to the northwest of Hassel. Included the mines: New Era, Lone Star, Bunker Hill & Big Hill.
PARKER MINE, Giant Hill area

PARKER (a mining camp by Toston)

This area is 8 miles west of Toston on Johnny Creek. It was named for John Parker who operated 8 mines and a mill here.
PHOENIX MINE, Giant Hill area

POE LEAD MINE, Radersburg area

POWERLINE MINE, Radersburg area

QUARTZITE MINE, Radersburg area

QUEEN BEE MINE, Giant Hill area

RADERSBURG (an area that had several mines)

Radersburg was named for Ruben Rader who donated the land for the town. At one time Radersburg was the county seat for Jefferson Co. (the courthouse was moved to Boulder in 1883). It boasts of being the home of Myrna Loy, although that was her stage name. She was originally Myrna Williams. James Waters made the first gold discovery in this area in the early 1860s. A quartz mine was opened here in 1866 by James A. Keating & continued very successfully until 1877. In 1868 the population was approximately 600 & had 2 1st class hotels, the Tremont House & the Planters House, along with the Quartz Hotel. Quartz mining began in 1870 here. William Quinn came through this area & dug ditches to divert water through the various mines surrounding this area. Payton & Co. dug ditches in other areas around the Crow Creek mines in the Faith, Hope & Charity Gulches which provided for the various bars in the area including Rabbit, Badger, Greyhound & Bay Horse. The Charity & Hope Gulches were the best paying in the district in 1868. Bay Horse & other bars were also turning out ore in this year. Joe Poe was a water hauler in the camp during the winter. Thomas R. Moore who lived there as a small child said there were more women there than in most other camps. T.F.Bramhall, D.R.W. for the IOGT organized a lodge there which in 1868 had 36 charter members. It was reorganized in 1869 with 12 members, H.C.Powell as lodge deputy. Most of the mines had shut down by 1878 & the town reported a total population of 69 this year (down from 250 the year before). About $6,130,000 was pulled from the Radersburg mines through 1928. For a short time in 1933 there was a revival of the mines in the area due to high metal prices. Miss Mary Gilman was the first school teacher in the area & when the new school building was built in 1872, there were 62 children enrolled. Charity Jane Dillon ran an inn outside of town at Crow Creek Crossing & was found dead under mysterious causes in her bed. She's buried there.
RALLS MINES, Radersburg area

RENA MINE, Radersburg area

RIBEDEAU MINE, Giant Hill area

RUBY MINE, Radersburg area

S & S MINE, Giant Hill area

SE NE SECT. 18 MINE, Devils Face area

SE NE SECT. 31 MINE, Devils Face area

SE SE SECT. 26 MINE, Whites City area

SE SE SECT. 31 MINE, Devils Face area

SE SE SECT. 7 MINE, Giant Hill area

SE SW SECT. 33 MINE, Radersburg area

SW NE SECT. 16 MINE, Winston area

SW NE SECT. 27 MINE, Giant Hill area

SW NW SECT. 13 MINE, Giant Hill area

SW NW SECT. 3 MINE, Winston area

SW SE SECT. 21 MINE, Radersburg area

SW SE SECT. 9 MINE, Radersburg area

SW SW SECT. 27 MINE, Winston area

SAINT LOUIS (the area where several mines were located)

This area was renamed Hassel - see info under that listing.
SAINT LOUIS MINE, Giant Hill area

SAN ANITA MINE, Radersburg area

SCHABERT MINE, Whites City area

SHAFT NEAR LOMBARD MINE, Lombard area

SHEP MINE, Giant Hill area

SHINNEMAN MINE, Montana & Cement gulch area

Employed nearly 100 men as shovelers. Thomas Brown was one of the employees. The mine owners would set the gold every Sunday for the workers to see. $25-50,000 worth of gold was recovered. This mine was operating in 1866.
SILVER SNOWFLAKE MINE, Diamond City area

SILVER STAR MINE, Radersburg SW area

SILVER WAVE MINE, Giant Hill area

A quartz mine that was located in the Park Mining District which was sold to an Omaha company.
SMALL ADIT MINE, Lombard area

SPRING HILL MINE, Giant Hill area

STAUBACH TRAIL MINE, Winston area

STRAY HORSE MINE, Winston area

Billy Slater, Dave & Charlie Cona worked this mine in 1896 & eventually sold it for over $70,000, after working it for several years. Dave Cona moved to Boulder Valley & started raising stock, whereas Charlie Cona kept prospecting.
SUMMITT / LODE STAR MINE, Radersburg area

SUNRISE MINE, Radersburg area

THOMPSON CREEK MINE, Radersburg area

TIDAL WAVE MINE, Radersburg area

TOSTON (an area around where mines were)

Had a blast furnace back in the boom days that was used to treat the ores from Radersburg. It's now a small agricultural town.
TOSTON MINE, Toston area

TOWNSEND (area with several mines in it)

The present county seat of Broadwater Co.
UPPER NO. 2 GULCH MINE, Diamond City area

VERMONT MARBLE QUARRY, Radersburg area

VOSBURG MINE, Winston area

VULTURE MINE, Giant Hill area

W. A. CLARK MINE, Giant Hill area

WHITE'S GULCH (an area where mines were found)

White's Gulch is between Hellgate Canyon & Confederate Gulch. It was discovered by a Mr. White who it was named for on May 2, 1865. The streambed of this gulch was once one of the best placer fields in Montana which continued to produce results for about 20 years after its discovery. A store in the area was owned by S.E.Stager. Capt. Stafford built a wagon road in 1873 for the 6 families & other miners in the area. In 1878 there were only 30 voters here & by 1882 that number was down to 19.
WHITEHEAD RANCH MINE, Winston area

WILD TURKEY MINE, Townsend area

WINSTON (area with several mines in it)

Named for P.B.Winston Brothers, RR contractors & owners of the East Pacific Mine. Most of the mines for this area were in the mountains, 6-8 miles to the west. There was once a newspaper here, The Prospector. Some of the miners from this area are: Billy Slater, Dave & Charlie Cona (Strayhorse mine in 1896), Robert A. Bell (1890s). Winston is now a ranching area. Most of the mines here were not discovered until the 1890s & the total amount pulled out of this area amounted to about 3 million dollars worth.

Montana Bureau of Mines
 
Mining History & Ghost Towns (all over US)

Ghost Towns - Montana (a few links here)

 

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Last Updated: 23 February 2012

County Coordinator:
Christina Palmer

Copyright © 2012 - Christina Palmer-The MTGenWeb Project - All Rights Reserved

State Coordinator:
Shirley Cullum