MONTANA GHOST TOWNS/SITES: THEN AND NOW

The Montana Ghost Towns/Sites package features a transparent overlay printed from a modern Montana road system and placed over the four sections of the 1900 map of Montana.  The purpose is to show the changes in the state over a period of approximately 100 years.  Place names may appear on the historical maps but may be absent on the current map. The reader should note that some of the early locations were moved from time to time while others changed their names or simply failed.  The reader should be reminded that some of the early place names might have been a post office operated in a ranch house or an early stage station as well as town sites.  Some locations were moved from time to time while others changed their names or simply failed.

Accompanying text with anecdotal stories from the history of each of the four sections of the state appears on the reverse sides of maps #3-6.   For example, the town site of Ekalaka, located on the 1900 SE section map, was named for the niece of Sitting Bull (ljkalaka).  It was also dubbed as Pup Town for the many prairie dogs in the area.  Gold Creek was located at the junction of Gold Creek and the Clark Fork River east of Missoula (located on the SW section of the 1900 map) and is believed to be the place of the first gold discovery in Montana.

While perusing and studying the maps in this collection, readers should be reminded of the limitations of early surveyors who most likely used primitive equipment and limited cartographic knowledge.  All maps in the Ghost Town series are reproduced from authentic documents on file from various archival collections such as the National Archives, Library of Congress and state libraries.