Garnet, Montana
Mining in Montana boomed in the late nineteenth century, and Garnet was no exception. By 1898 the town had over 1,000 residents. It offered four general stores, four hotels, a union hall, a schoolhouse, and a doctor’s office. There were also thirteen saloons dispensing liquid refreshment to the miners and other residents. More than twenty mines were in operation in and around Garnet. But as time went on the initial boom slowed and then reversed as the removal of the gold became more difficult. By 1905 only a few mines were in operation and the population had shrunk to about 150 people.
By the 1930s Garnet was largely abandoned, the buildings empty and furnished as they were when the miners left them. One store remained open and one hotel remained, but few residents called Garnet home. President Roosevelt raised the price of gold in 1934 as one of his efforts to battle the Great Depression, doubling it to $32 per ounce. Suddenly the effort and expense of extracting the gold from the mines was worth it again. Miners new to Garnet found abandoned cabins waiting for them.
Once again it didn’t last, as the Second World War placed heavy demands on manpower through the draft. Restrictions on the availability of dynamite caused by the war removed one of the methods of extracting the gold safely and efficiently. Garnet was soon a ghost town for the second time. After the war the remaining store closed, selling its stock at auction and soon scavengers and vandals were stripping the town of many items, including exterior doors, windows, and other materials, such as hardware.
More than thirty of the historic buildings which made up the town remain standing today, and they are visited by more than 16,000 annually. The site is supported by volunteers and contributions from visitors as well as from funds from the State of Montana raised from the sale of specially marked license plates. The method of having built what remains of Garnet places special demands on their preservation, and like several of Montana’s ghost towns some of the buildings are in danger of being lost.
Most of the buildings erected for the purpose of housing miners were built quickly, without a foundation. The miners were more interested in obtaining a quick strike of easy to extract gold than they were in staying in one place for an extended period of time. There was always the possibility of a big strike occurring elsewhere, and the miners were ready to leave for better chances. Thus the cabins which made up most of the town were never intended to last very long. That so many remain in Garnet in the 21st century would no doubt surprise the men who built them.