Granite, Montana

Granite Ghost Town State Park
Montana State Park
The city of Granite, taken in about 1895.
Country	United States
State	Montana
County	Granite
Elevation	7,001 ft (2,134 m) [1]
Founded	unspecified
Management	Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Granite is a ghost town in Granite County, Montana, United States, east of the town of Philipsburg. Granite thrived as a silver mining town in the 1890s, but is now completely deserted.^[2] The state of Montana maintains the mine superintendent's house and the ruins of the union hall as Granite Ghost Town State Park.

History

In 1872, Eli Holland found a small quantity of high quality ruby silver in the area. A shallow shaft was dug, but later abandoned until 1877, when Charles McLure discovered some silver ore in the shaft. He later traveled to St. Louis to obtain the capital necessary to begin development of the mine.^[3]

Granite eventually grew to a town with more than 3,000 inhabitants. For the time period, there were many modern amenities, such as the large Miners Union Hall, a library, 18 saloons, brothels, a hospital and school as well as churches.

Remnant of Miners Union Hall, Granite, Montana

The Sherman Silver Purchase Act was repealed in 1893, drastically lowering the price of silver, and many residents left Granite, leaving only 140 residents a year later. Granite is currently entirely uninhabited.

References

1. "Granite State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 9 February 1998. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
2. "Granite Ghost Town State Park". Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
3. "Granite County Ghost Towns". Philipsburg Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 20 October 2012.

Coordinates: 46°18′58″N 113°14′38″W / 46.316°N 113.244°W