Montana is called the Last Best Place for a reason. Our state is one of the last frontiers for exploration and adventure, and although we've come across many prehistoric finds and ruins from the past, it's clear we still have much to discover. Our ghost towns in particular still hold some of the keys to our history, especially Glendale.
Glendale is a ghost town located in Beaverhead County, but in the late 1800s, it was a thriving mining town.
The kilns are about 20 feet tall, which surprises a lot of people when they see them.
The Hecla Consolidated Mining Company ran the operation, and the charcoal from the kilns was used to fuel the furnaces at the mining company's silver smelter
It's fascinating to see this perfectly preserved piece of history.
Montana's fascinating mining history is evident in our ghost towns and abandoned villages. Check out Garnet Ghost Town the next time you're in the area.
Can you believe nearly a century has passed since the 1930s? Like the rest of the country, Montana was feeling the effects of the Great Depression during that decade. But the residents of the Last Best Place have always been resilient, and there were a few things you could find in practically every town. Let's take a look at life in the 1930s in Montana.
Unfortunately, many Montanans lost their land (and farms) during the Great Depression. That being said, plenty persevered, and you'd find farm land all over the Treasure State in the 1930s.
Almost every town's Main Street had a barber shop, and they were as charming as you can imagine. This barber shop was located in Billings in the late 1930s.
We kind of wish these beauties were still on the road regularly. Can you imagine what it was like in the 1930s in Montana when these were fresh off of the assembly line?
Montanans have been celebrating holidays for well over a century. This is a photo from Billings' Go Western Parade in 1939, perhaps one of the oldest photos in Montana depicting a small town festival.
Some of our Main Streets look pretty similar to the way they did back then. This is Hamilton in 1939.
Life in the 1930s in Montana may have been rough, but at least we have a photographic record to remind us that we are resilient. If you agree it is fun to look at photos of Montana's past, here are a few historic photos of Montana taken during World War II.
Yellowstone National Park was founded in 1872 as the first Federally protected park in the US. This beautiful natural wonder looked much the same in 1872 as it did in the 1930s and as it does today. Spend a day learning about the park and enjoying its stunning views with a small group tour.
Since 1889, when Montana became a state, there have been plenty of weird things that happened in Montana. Spend more than five minutes in Montana and you'll promptly realize one thing: We love our freedom here. So imagine how unbelievable it is that our state once passed a law that severely restricted our freedom of speech. It's true, and unfortunately, many Montanans suffered because of it.
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Around the time of World War I, tensions were a little high in Montana which led to one of the weirdest things to happen in Montana.
A high number of Montanans were against America entering the war -- and, in fact, Jeanette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress, voted against it. But once the U.S. did enter the war, many pro-war Montanans felt that any criticism of it (or the president) was treasonous.
The Montana Sedition Law was passed in 1918, making it illegal to speak out against our involvement in World War I.
This meant that you could be sitting at your local watering hole with your friends, and if the conversation turned to war, you could be arrested and sent to jail for what you said.
The law was strictly enforced. 76 men and three women were convicted of sedition in Montana in 1918 and 1919.
40 men and one woman were locked up in the state penitentiary in Deer Lodge, sentenced to up to 20 years.... simply for stating their opinions. One man was sentenced to 7- 20 years for saying the wartime food regulations were a joke.
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Perhaps the saddest story is that of Herman Bausch, a young man who immigrated from Germany at the age of 16 and wanted to live the American dream. He promptly became an American citizen and taught himself perfect English.
Bausch worked hard and had a small farm in what is now Billings, a wife, and an infant son when he refused to buy Liberty Bonds and allegedly said the U.S. never should have entered the war. Bausch ended up spending 28 months in prison... and his infant son died of the flu during that time. Once he was released he tried to go on with his life, but his now 85-year-old daughter Fritzi says he was never the same. He was always depressed and broken -- all because he exercised his First Amendment rights.
Janet Smith was the only woman to serve time at Deer Lodge. She and her husband ran the post office at Sayle (south of Miles City) and had a ranch in the Powder River country. She was arrested for saying that if the people revolted, she'd get a gun and lead the way, and she also spoke out against the Red Cross. Her husband was also convicted.
Although many of these people spoke without thinking (typically with the help of alcohol), they posed no real threat to the government. Yet they served a collective 65 years in prison.
On May 3, 2006, Governor Brian Schweitzer signed a Proclamation of Pardon for 78 people convicted of sedition (one man was pardoned in 1921).
Do you know about any weird things that happened in Montana? Share your fun facts about Montana history in the comments. Then, show off your Montana state pride with some gear from Wear Your Roots.
