Bannack, Montana was a gold mining town founded when gold was discovered in 1862. The mining was primarily placer mining, including dredges. Like many frontier towns, Bannack had its share of characters. One of the most notorious was Henry Plummer, the sheriff. He was accused of being the ringleader of a band of outlaws (whose password was “I am innocent”) and hung on the town gallows by a group of vigilantes.
Many of the buildings are open to explore. When we were in the saloon we were regaled by an (amateur?) historian recounting a gunfight over cheating in a card game. The story goes that one night a miner accused a professional gambler of cheating. Both jumped up, and dodging around emptied their Navy revolvers at each other. Neither were struck but a bystander was mortally wounded. Two other men, sleeping in bunks attached to the back wall of the saloon, woke up to find their friend wounded and seeing the two original assailants beating a hasty retreat, opened fire. The professional gambler was hit, staggered outside, and disappeared in the darkness. In the morning he was discovered dead on the side of the saloon.
Old wagon in Bannack, MT
I love ghost towns… Thanks for the stories and some great photos of this one!