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The Roe/Graves House is in very good condition
for its age, July, 2008, Kathy Weiser.
The Roe/Graves House interior, July, 2008,
Kathy Weiser.
Located just west of the Methodist Church,
this site was initially the location of Hank Crawford's Meat Market, one
of the first busineses in
Bannack.
However, after Crawford beat
Henry
Plummer in the city's first sheriff's election,
Plummer
threatened him and Crawford, fearing for his life, turned in his badge and left
Bannack,
never to return. Around 1866, William Roe, who had made his fortune in
Bannack, not
in the gold fields, but, rather, in freighting, merchandising, and
banking, built the first frame house in the city. Later, when the
Montana Vigilantes were formed to rid the area of the rampant crime,
he was involved and was one of the men that apprehended Sheriff
Henry
Plummer and his two deputies, who were hanged on January 10, 1864.
Later, as
Bannack
began to decline, Roe moved to Dillon where he partnered in incorporating
the State Bank in 1899.
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Henry Plummer -
Sheriff Meets a Noose
Montana Ghost
Towns
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Later, the home became home to Fielding L.
Graves, who implemented the first successful gold dredging operation in
the United States in 1895. The electric dredge successfully operated along
Grasshopper Creek until 1902. The house was owned and occupied by the
Graves family up until it was acquired by the State Park.
© Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, updated September, 2008
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