Alder Gulch

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Alder Gulch
Placer mining in Alder Gulch, 1872
Placer mining in Alder Gulch, 1872
County and state location
Alder Gulch (Montana)
Alder Gulch
Alder Gulch
Basic data
Foundation : May 26, 1863
State : United States
State : Montana
County : Madison County, Montana
Coordinates : 45 ° 20 ′  N , 112 ° 5 ′  W Coordinates: 45 ° 20 ′  N , 112 ° 5 ′  W
Time zone : Mountain ( UTC − 7 / −6 )
Height : 1580 m
Postal code : 59749

Alder Gulch (also Alder Creek called) is a place in the valley of Ruby River in Madison County (Montana) in the US state of Montana , where in 1863 gold was discovered on May 26, from William Fairweather and a group of men, including Barney Hughes, Thomas Cover, Henry Rodgers, Henry Edgar, and Bill Sweeney, who returned to the Grasshopper Creek Goldfields, Bannack, Montana . They were en route from Bannack to Yellowstone Country (now Yellowstone County ), but were ambushed by a group of Crow Indians . After being driven from the Crow's hunting grounds, they crossed the East Slope of the Tobacco Root Mountains in the northern Rocky Mountains between the Jefferson River and the Madison River and made their night camp in Elk Park, where William Bill Fairweather and Henry Edgar Gold discovered while the rest of the group was hunting for meat. The group of miners agreed to keep the new find a secret and returned to the town of Bannack for care. However, the new gold discovery became known and the miners followed the Fairweather group out of town. The group made a stop at the Point of Rocks, halfway between Bannack and Alder Gulch, and founded the Fairweather Mining District at a gathering of miners. It was agreed that the discoverers would be entitled to two first-choice claims.

The first mass onslaught of miners reached Alder Gulch on June 6, 1863, and the population swelled to over 10,000 in less than 3 months. The Fourteen Mile City stretched the entire length of the gorge and included the towns of Junction City, Adobe Town, Nevada City, Central City, Virginia City , Bear Town, Highland, Pine Grove French Town, Hungry Hollow, and Summit. After their arrival, the miners lived in wickiups , shelters and under overhanging rocks until huts could be built. The first building erected in Virginia City was the Mecanical Bakery (German: Mechanical Bakery ). Virginia City and Nevada City were the centers of trade during the height of the Alder Gulch gold rush. In the first year, over 10,000 people lived in the area. The Montana Territory was established on May 28, 1864 and the first territorial capital was Bannack. The capital then moved to Virginia City in 1865, where it remained until 1875 when Helena became the new capital. The Alder Gulch dig was the most abundant gold soap ever discovered, and within three years $ 30,000,000 gold was mined, of which $ 10,000,000 in gold fell in the first year.

Nowadays, except in summer, the streets of Virginia City are usually quiet and relatively few visitors find their way to the 16-ton granite monument that marks the location of this incredible May 26, 1863 discovery.

Alder Gulch is named after the alder bushes that grew along the stream.

literature

  • James Truslow Adams; R. V. Coleman: Dictionary of American History . Ed .: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940. 1940, OCLC 1019589 (English).
  • Dictionary of American History 11 by James Truslow Adams , New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940 (English)
  • Ernest Haycox: Gold Rush in Montana (Alder Gulch, German) novel . 1957, OCLC 164696395 (English).
  • Ernest Haycox: Gold Rush in Montana Novel . 1964, OCLC 73438664 (English).

Web links

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alder Gulch Mining District (Virginia City Mining District; Fairweather Mining District), Madison Co., Montana, USA, In: mindat.org (English)
  2. ↑ Aarstad, Rich, Ellie Arguimbau, Ellen Baumler, Charlene Porsild, and Brian Shovers: Montana Place Names from Alzada to Zortman . Ed .: Montana Historical Society Press. 2009, p. 380 (English, mt.gov [accessed July 8, 2020]).