Dillon, Montana

Our stop in Dillon was brief, selected only as a place-to-be over a weekend, but it turned out to be one of the more interesting places to spend three days, even with the lousy weather conspiring to keep us confined to the coach.  Our campground had all the comforts of home up to and including all the peace and quiet a body could handle.  But we were eager to get out and explore the area.

Saturday promised to be nice enough in Dillon but nasty-looking clouds (the sort that produce snow) were lurking about in the general direction we wanted to explore, south and west to visit Bannack State Park.  But by late morning the skies had cleared and we hit the road.  We didn’t encounter any snow, even at Badger Pass which tops out about 6200 feet.  The terrain is mostly rolling hills with long views to distant mountain ranges.  Very pretty.

As a state park, Bannack is most unusual.  It essentially comprises what used to be the entire gold-mining community of Bannack.  But unlike so many other ghost towns, this one has not been commercialized.  As a matter of fact, even the visitors’ center is closed during the “winter months”.  The streets were empty of all but a few hardy folks wandering about, poking into those buildings which were not padlocked.  It’s all on the honor system; visitors are expected to place park fees in a lock-box, borrow a brochure (or leave $2 if you want to keep it) and wander through the town at will.

One soon becomes aware of an enormous lack of noise, only the wind whistling and whispering (and sometimes yelling), the slight creaking of the boardwalk as you pace along the street, laughter coming from unseen children.   Even those who don’t believe in ghosts would find this place haunted.

Gold was discovered along Grasshopper Creek in 1862 and within a year the town was established and in time reached a population of 3000 people, some good, some very bad.  The Methodist Church was the only structure specifically built for worship but I’m sure more than one miner left his gold in the collection plate of the Skinner Saloon.

The name Bannack came about thanks to an error on the part of the Federal Government.  The town fathers had intended to name the town after the Bannock Indians but thanks to a typo in Washington, D.C., the town went down in history as Bannack and became the first territorial capitol of Montana. 

Here’s a picture of what remains of the original  Governor’s Mansion which burnt down in the early 1900’s.  Logs salvaged from the mansion were used to build this cabin.  Please note the sod roof.  The jail is no more imposing than the mansion.  It hardly looks capable of confining any but the meekest souls and Bannack was not known for its meekness.  It was headquarters for Henry Plummer and his gang – he was the chief law enforcement officer and the chief bad guy as well. 

The Bannack Cemetery is atop a hill north of town.  If anything, it is even more quiet than the town.  A few of the graves were sporting bright plastic flowers, a jarring contrast to the muted colors of the sagebrush and native grasses. 

 

We zoomed back to Dillon in hopes of touring the local historical society museum but it was closed for the weekend.  Instead we strolled around downtown, stopping at the library for their used book sale.  What a handsome building!  It’s made from local limestone with a quartet of gargoyles for garnish.

This devilish fellow struck our fancy.  The librarian told us that the stonecutter hired for the library project died before it was completed and that his wife finished the job.  It’s these intriguing little factoids that keep us poking around wherever we are.