Garnet Ghost Town

We are fortunate that our bed and breakfast in Missoula MT is close to Garnet, which is considered to be one of the best-preserved Montana ghost towns. It is somewhat of a unique place, with a very different history than frontier gold-mining towns such as Virginia City and Bannack (both of which were lawless, somewhat dangerous places in their heyday). Garnet was settled at the end of the 19th century and had a population of 1,000 hard-working men, women and children in 1898. Folks came to Garnet for gold, but found that it took a certain industrious spirit to access that gold. The hard-rock mines required equipment, and in order to have equipment, the men who mined the gold needed to make a serious investment. They intended to stay, and they built a town to house their wives and children. At its peak, the school in Garnet taught more than fifty children.
Today, Garnet is a peaceful place. Families departed when the mineral deposits became too scarce to support them, but they left behind a main street filled with shops, their school, and many homes. To walk among these is to walk in the footsteps of the men and women who settled the west. Garnet Ghost Town is a tribute to this important part of American history – something we feel strongly about, which is why we support the Garnet Ghost Town Preservation Society. We hope you will find time to visit Garnet while you are staying at our Missoula bed and breakfast; it makes a lovely day trip in the fall, when foliage is colorful and the air is crisp and clean.