Towns

DRUMMOND	Drummond is on the Clark Fork River and is about 50 miles southeast of Missoula. Drummond was named for a trapper who made his camp near where the railroad station is now. However, the first camp at this site was established in 1871 and was known as Edwardsville for a local rancher, John Edwards. It was renamed Drummond Camp for Hugh Drummond in 1883 and was later shortened to Drummond when the post office was established in 1884. Back
GARNET Ghost Town	Garnet is near Drummond and was named for the garnet rock that was found there. Gold was also discovered in Garnet and placer mining was begun in the 1860s. By the 1880s there was about 4000 men mining in Garnet, but by 1916 it was practically deserted. Sue Woods was the postmaster when the post office opened in 1896. It closed in 1928. It reopened in 1935 but then closed again in 1942. The Bureau of Land Management undertook a restoration project to restore Garnet because it is representative of early Montana mining towns and because many buildings were left standing. Vandals had taken many things which would have made the restored ghost town more authentic. Back
GRANITE *Ghost Town*	Carlton Hand was the postmaster when the post office opened in 1886. It was closed in 1897-98, then opened again until 1908. When Charles D. McClure, who had been the foreman of the Hope Mine in Philipsburg, prospected Granite Mountain and found a large deposit of silver ore, the mine became one of the richest of its kind and the little town of Granite became a booming mining camp. The Census of 1890 listed the population as 1,310, making Granite the eleventh in size in the state. When silver declined, the mine closed and people moved on. Today it is a ghost town. Back
HALL	Hall was named for Henry Hall, from whom the Northern Pacific Railroad secured the right-of-way. The railroad station became a livestock shipping point. Hall's post office was established in 1896 with Ella Engle a postmaster. Hall is located in Granite County about 6 miles west-southwest of Drummond on the Anaconda-Pintler Scenic Highway. The scenic highway goes from Drummond to Anaconda, passing through Georgetown Lake and Philipsburg, two of Montana's most historic towns. The road travels through both conifer-clad mountains and sage-covered hills following Flint Creek. Back
MAXVILLE	Maxville is south of Drummond on Flint Creek and the Northern Pacific spur that went to Philipsburg. As of July 1, 2021 Maxville had a population of 126. The primary coordinate point for Maxville is located at a latitude 46.4646 and longitude-113.2342 in Granite County. It was originally called Flint. The name was changed to honor the postmaster/storekeeper, R. R. MacLeod. However an error was made in the spelling during the recording on national postal records. It was supposed to be Macville but became Maxville due to the error. The post office was opened by that name in 1912 and Henry Bauer was appointed postmaster. Back
NEW CHICAGO	New Chicago, formerly called Coberly, was named by William Dingwall, an old-timer who hoped the town would someday be like Chicago, Illinois. The post office was opened in 1872. John Featherman was the first postmaster. Lucy Coberly came from Illinois and built a freighters' station on the Mullan Trail. (Kate Dingwall, her granddaughter, recalled that when Lucy had to go for supplies she would leave food at the station and small scales on the table so customers could weigh the proper amount of gold dust to be left in payment - from The Montana Standard - July 5, 1976). New Chicago is now a ghost town, located about 3 miles south of Drummond on a gravel trail off the Pintler Veterans' Memorial Scenic Highway. It once had two hotels, two stores, a flour mill, a telegraph station, a Wells Fargo office as well as the Post Office. The area now is mostly ranch land. Back
PHILIPSBURG County Seat	Philipsburg was named for Philip Deidesheimer, the first superintendent of the St. Louis Montana Gold and Silver Mining Company, later known as the Philipsburg Mining Company. The settlement was first known as Camp Creek for the stream that ran through town and furnished water for residents. The post office opened in 1868; Hugh Bell served as postmaster. Philipsburg wasn't incorporated until 1890, but by 1887 it had a population of a about 1,500 and was the trade center for nearly 8000 people. Today Philipsburg is on the historic register and has become a popular tourist attraction. Back