Ghost Towns and Mining Districts of Montana
by Terry Halden, Old Butte Publishing, Butte, Mont., 2007, $24.95.
A native Montanan with a smile as large as the Big Sky once took me into the hills of Granite County to show me the goldmining ghost town of Garnet. On a windowsill of one of the empty wood houses was a flowerpot with fresh yellow flowers in it. I said I didn’t know ghosts kept flowers. She patiently explained that Garnet’s old buildings had been “stabilized” by the Bureau of Land Management and that the town had a year-round warden. And now I learn from Terry Halden’s wonderful 252- page book that Garnet has two cabins for rent on a weekly basis during the winter.
Garnet is one of more than 300 Montana ghost towns that Halden has grouped into their historic mining districts (179 of them). Maps, interesting text and easy-to-read “Fast Facts” provide great details.
Originally published in the June 2008 issue of Wild West. To subscribe, click here.
