About this city
Also known as: Montana's First Territorial Capital
Bannack is an exceptionally historic, perfectly preserved ghost town located along Grasshopper Creek in Beaverhead County, southwestern Montana. Founded in 1862 following a massive, historic gold strike that triggered the state's very first major gold rush, it briefly flourished as the rowdy first capital of the Montana Territory. Today, preserved as Bannack State Park, it stands proudly as one of the most authentic, raw examples of a frontier mining boomtown in the American West. The town features over sixty surviving log and frame structures in a state of arrested decay, surrounded by stark high-desert hills deeply steeped in outlaw lore and pioneer history.
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Practical Tourism Metadata
Suggested stay: 1 day
Walk past the haunting, unpainted wooden boardwalks of Main Street to step inside the historic 1875 Beaverhead County Courthouse. Peer through the iron bars of the old log gallows and gallows. Explore the grand architectural interiors of the Masonic Lodge and historic Skinner's Saloon. Savor panning for real gold along the historic gravels during the annual Bannack Days festival.