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Elliston

Elliston
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Elliston is near the Continental Divide twenty-five miles from Helena, on the other side of McDonald Pass from the capital city. It began as a trade town in a gold, quartz, and placer mining district. Later a lime quarry and a mill supported the economy of the town. (from Cheney’s Names on the Face of Montana, Mountain Press Publishing Company)

Greenhorn Gulch Ghost Town is 13 miles northeast of Elliston off of Highway 12. The placer camp is gone except for the tiny railroad flag station at Austin. Placers were worked for a distance of twelve miles and drained by the Seven-Mile Creek. The total placer production was estimated at $1,200,000. Surrounding Austin were lode mines. These mines were worked between 1880 and 1935 and yielded $300,000 in silver, copper, lead, and gold. The value of the ores would fluctuate because the ore contained iron.

Located just 20 miles west of Helena, the McDonald Pass area offers camping, cross-country skiing, and hiking along the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. Elliston is near the Little Blackfoot River and is in the heart of fishing and hunting country. It is also on the Rimini-Elliston-Basin Snowmobile Loop. The trailhead begins at Moose Creek on the Rimini Road, with groomed route on forest roads, mostly timbered, with some ridgetop vistas. There are 161 miles of marked, ungroomed and groomed trails on the loop. Some of Rimini’s original, gold-rush era buildings are still standing today, and the vestiges of Porphyry Dike Mine may also be found in Rimini.

Located In:
  Gold West Country

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