Bannack was the First Territorial Capital of Montana. It is situated on a very rich gold strike on Grasshopper Creek in the southwestern corner of the state, and is our best preserved Ghost. Much of the town has been restored and it's history is very well documented.
Though the town has been restored to a large degree, much of it is just being preserved in its natural state. The sage has gotten a foothold again over much of the townsite, and the textures and colors are really incredible. Bannack definitely screams "Old West"!
When you get out of your car in the parking lot, this building is the first one you see. The green lawn is a dead giveaway that this town isn't simply mouldering!
I visited Bannack with my parents in the early nineties and the above truck was parked on the main street. I took a picture of it and when I went back to my ship I actually drew it in colored pencil. I think my mother has it stashed away somewhere! Its great to see that the old girl is still running and still serving her community! This one, on the other hand is definitely at rest!
The cabins the miners lived in climb up the sides of the hill primarily on the north side of the creek...the same side of the creek most of the town itself was built on.
This is the Masonic Temple/School. The school is on the ground floor and the Temple is above. At the time we were there the Temple was not open, but I'm hoping that on our next trip we'll be able to see more!
The kids loved trying out everything. Jackson had yet to go to kindergarten but was in preschool at the time, and Moira wasn't even two, but they both fell right into 'playing school' as though it were old hat!
As fun as it was inside the school, the still functional playground was even better according to the boys! Yes, that merry-go-round is original!
The Hotel Meade is beautifully preserved, just enough for the visitor to get an idea of how it must have looked in its heyday without taking away from the historic ambiance its preserved state of decay gives it.
The details around the front door of the hotel hint at the kind of workmanship that was available, even on the frontier. The people who settled in this new territory were proud of their town's status, and as the gold came out of the creek and the surrounding hillsides, some of it was spent making Bannack look the part of the Territorial Capital.
Moira sitting on the front stoop of the Hotel Meade.
And looking over the porch railing.
The Hotel has a really wonderful staircase in the foyer, and its in excellent condition. Again, the workmanship is really amazing!
The boys looking out the window in the stairwell. It makes one wonder whether the deep well held a plant, or a manequin, or nothing at all!
All three kids on the stairs.
Our Moira looked particularly lovely on those stairs!
This is the upstairs hallway at the Meade.
I was struck by the light in this corner of the dining room in the Meade. The sharp contrasts and the colors of the wall and trim were very interesting. This was in early spring, so it was a harsh light.
Detail of the railing on the stairway.
The view down the stairs...complete with Liam!
This is the view from the Grasshopper Creek side of town. You can see where the restoration of the Masonic Temple/Schoolhouse took place along the eastern side of the building. The sage grows very high here!
One of the cabins along the draw north toward the gallows. The gallows you see at the site today aren't the famous gallows that saw the end of Henry Plumber and members of his gang, but his grave is said to be nearby!
The kids did really well hiking around despite their ages. When we arrived in Bannack we had a baby stroller for Moira...it had been used for both of the boys before her and it just wasn't able to take the rough terrain! Before we'd gone half the length of Bannack's main street the part that held the stroller in its open position snapped and it became useless. Moira toured the rest of Bannack, and Yellowstone Park over the next four days, on her own two feet. We got a lot of compliments on her stamina and good nature! Here Jackson takes a little rest against one of the doors on Bannack's main street.
This will always be one of my favorite pictures of Jackson. He was looking at a spider on its web in the window in front of him. The staircase he's on is narrow, but whoever built the house made it a centerpiece with a delightful curve in it and that fabulous window to let in the early spring light.
Here the boys are leaning against another store front doorway.
The Roe-Graves House was undergoing restoration when we were there so we didn't get a look inside, but I remember going in when my parents and I visited in the early 90s. It'll be interesting to see what's been done when we get back down to see it again.
Once you get to this point the buildings are in much better shape and are used for administration/maintenance. It still has a great ghost town ambiance, though!
This stove is in one of the upstairs rooms of the Hotel Meade. It probably warmed many a hand, backside, and pot of coffee in its day!
We would love to get back to Bannack this year, but we're not sure that'll happen due to other commitments. Unlike some of the other ghosts I've seen over the last few years here in Montana, Bannack will be there the next time we do go. And next time I'll know better how to photographically document it and the blog entry will be a lot more informative! However, there are a couple of very helpful websites you can go to if you're interested in a more comprehensive history of the area.
This is the State Park Website:
and this is a very good website put together by Legends of America:
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