Most of Coolidge’s buildings are tumbling, by Kathy Alexander, July 2008.
Empty of people today and with most of its buildings tumbling to the ground, Coolidge, Montana, was once a beehive of activity.
Mining began in what became known as the Elkhorn Mining District when a man named Preston Sheldon discovered rich veins of silver high in the Pioneer Mountains in 1872. The claim was called the “Old Elkhorn” because prospectors found a pair of elk horns near the discovery site.
Two years later, Mike T. Steele found another major vein, called the Storm Claim. As more prospectors flooded the area, dozens of claims and mines began operations; however, work was severely restricted because of the lack of economical transportation.
In the early days, prospectors had to haul the ore by wagon to Corinne, Utah, before sending it by railroad to San Francisco. Despite the transportation problems, many mines were profitable and became even more so after the completion of the Utah and Northern Railroad to Silver Bow, Montana, in December 1881.
Though numerous mines were operating in the area, including the Critic, Fraction, Navajo, Good Enough, Park, Red Sky, Hamburg, Washington, Guy, Last Chance, Cleopatra, Mascot, and Cleveland, it would still be decades before the town of Coolidge got its start. In 1893, when silver prices crashed, all of the area’s mines were closed for the next ten years. Only small prospectors working on their claims remained.
However, by 1903, silver prices had recovered enough to restart some of the Elkhorn operations, and new finds stimulated interest in reopening the Elkhorn Mine. But financing was an issue for several years, and the mine continued to sit silent. Finally, in 1906, a man named Frank Felt began buying up several district claims. He, along with M. L. McDonald and Donald B. Gillies, started a tunnel on the Idanha vein and eventually made it the major producing mine in the Elkhorn District.
In 1911, a Montana politician named William R. Allen also began buying claims and, in 1913, formed the Boston Montana Mining Company. After investigating the claims, the company began efforts to reopen the Elkhorn Mine, and the following year the town of Coolidge was born, named after William Allen’s friend, Calvin Coolidge. With numerous miners and their families in the area, the settlement quickly thrived with modern amenities, including telephone services and electricity.
In 1917, construction began on the last narrow-gauge railroad in the U.S., from the Elkhorn Mine to Divide, Montana, at about $1.5 million. A school district was organized in October 1918, and the Montana Southern Railway was completed the following year.
Several men and their families moved into Coolidge when work started on a new mill in 1919. Many of them initially lived in tents, later replaced by more substantial log buildings. The town also had a boarding house, restaurant, and company store that provided all manner of food and supplies to residents. Amazingly, the mining camp never had a saloon, but alcohol was said to be available from a local outside the camp. It also never built a church.
A post office was established in Coolidge in January 1922, and that same year, the new mill, covering nearly two acres, was completed at about $900,000. A 65,000-volt power line was run to the mill at an additional $150,000.
The largest mill in Montana could process 750 tons of ore per day with a recovery rate of 90-93%. Most of the ore the mill processed came from the Idanha tunnel at the upper camp, which also had a sawmill, three bunkhouses, a boarding house, a blacksmith shop, a carpenter shop, and several cabins.
Map of the lower camp, courtesy of U.S. Forest Service.
However, by the time the mining operations were fully developed, they were already struggling as silver prices plummeted and the national economy took a downturn.
The mill could never work at full capacity, as the ore veins were not developed enough to supply sufficient ore to keep it running. The operations began to mine lower-grade ore and high-grade silver, but even this failed to produce enough ore for the mill.
By 1923, the mining operation was placed into receivership, and William Allen lost his fortune and control of the property. Though the mine continued to operate, and some 24,000 feet of underground tunnels were developed by 1925, it was not enough to make the operation profitable.
To make matters worse, the Wise River Dam failed in 1927, washing out 12 miles of railroad and several bridges and suspending ore shipments.
Soon, the school district closed as many miners and their families began to move away.
Coolidge’s old school now sits in Elkhorn Creek, Kathy Alexander.
By the time the railroad was repaired in 1930, metal prices had fallen so much that the mine was no longer profitable. By 1932, most of the townspeople were gone, and the post office was discontinued. At its peak, Coolidge boasted a population of about 350 people.
Despite the mine and mill’s limited development, they had processed some 50,000 tons of ore, including gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc, by 1927. Over the next several years, the mine changed hands numerous times, and operations continued intermittently but were never very successful. Like other mining investors, William Allen, who had lost his fortune in the Elkhorn Mine, continued to believe in the mine’s potential and sought investors until 1953.
In 1981, Timberline Minerals, Inc., bought the Elkhorn mines and again completed some exploratory prospecting, but it lasted only a couple of years.
Today, the site lies within the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, and though dozens of buildings still stand, Mother Nature is quickly reclaiming them. The lower mill was torn down years ago, and according to a Legends’ reader, the upper mill was burned down several years ago. The reader also notes that on their last visit, asbestos insulation was coming out of several cabins (updated 2016).
Coolidge is located South of Butte, Montana. From I-15, travel West on SR-43, South onto NF-73 (Wise River Polaris Road), then East down a dirt road. It then requires about a ½ mile hike to the old townsite.
Contact Information:
Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest
Wise River Ranger District
PO Box 100
Wise River, Montana 59762
406-832-3178
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated October 2026.
A tumbledown building stands near Elkhorn Creek in Coolidge, Kathy Alexander.
This is the most intact building in Coolidge, and apparently, the Forest Service has made some small strides in preserving it. Kathy Alexander.
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Montana Ghost Town Photo Gallery
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