MONTANA LEGENDS

More Ghost Towns & Mining Camps

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Gold Coin Mill at Cable, Montana, courtesy garydj, Panoramio.com

Cable - Situated off the Pintler Scenic Route, is the old mining camp of Cable and the Gold Coin Mill. The settlement began when three prospectors made camp here in 1867. When the miners awoke the next morning their horses were gone and as they searched for them, they found a large quartz pillar loaded with gold. The mine was named the Atlantic Cable Lode as a tribute to the laying of the Trans-Atlantic cable, and the camp that grew up around it simply took on the name, Cable. With the help of Helena financers, the mine was developed but after numerous disagreements between the three miners, operations were ceased a decade later and the property sold.

New owners began operations again in 1883, but the mine closed again in 1891. In 1898, the Gold Coin Lode was discovered, which would produce some $200,000 in gold over the net decade.

Castle Town - Also known as Castle City, or just referred to simply as "Castle," this old mining camp, located just south of White Sulphur Springs, was once bustling with some 2,000 residents including the infamous Old West character of Calamity Jane. The camp got its start around 1882 when a prospector named Hanson Barnes found silver in the area. The first mine built was the North Carolina Mine in 1884, though almost 1000 claims were filed and the area was dotted with small operations. Its richest producer was the Cumberland Mine, which began mining for lead in 1884. Before long, the company was employing numerous miners and the town boomed. The camp soon boasted some 2,000 residents, a fine school, numerous merchants, several fraternal organizations, a jail, 7 brothels, and as many as 14 saloons.

Castle Town, Montana, courtesy Travel Webshots

Into this atmosphere came Martha Jane Cannary, better known as Calamity Jane. After having lived a "wild life" in the boomtown of Deadwood, South Dakota for several years, she tried for a short time to live an "honest" life running a restaurant in Castle City. But, this venture would prove to be short-lived and she soon returned to Deadwood.  

Castle's major problem; however, was a lack of transportation, which required that all ore and supplies be hauled in and out by the wagon load. The rich ore was first hauled to the Yellowstone Mine's Smelter, more than 100 miles to the south. The smelting problem was solved when the Cumberland Mine built its own smelter in 1891 and the operation quickly became the largest lead producer in the state. The smelter solved part of the problem, but the processed ore still had be hauled out by the wagon load and mine owners were working desperately to get a spur to the town from the Montana Railroad. However, the Silver Panic of 1893 delayed the railroad and many miners began to leave. When the price of lead also dropped, the mine closed and the camp became a ghost town. Though there were short revivals in working the tailings and some of the underground shafts over the next several decades, none of the efforts was ever enough to revive the town. The last permanent residents left in the late 1930s, leaving the buildings to Mother Nature.

Today, the old mining camp is a classic ghost town with several buildings still standing including cabins, a couple of businesses, the school, and stone foundations. The camp is located on private land, and close inspection of the property requires permission. However, a public road runs near the town which provides a number of nice views. The old camp is located off of Highway 294 between White Sulphur Springs and Martinsdale, Montana.

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Take nothing but photos - leave nothing  but footprints - break nothing but silence - kill nothing but time.

--Explorer's Code

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