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W. E. WILSON
By George D. Mueller
Dec 1, 1964
William E. Wilson, known in later life as "Limestone" or "Limerock", was born November
5, 1860 at Berrian Springs, Michigan. When eight years old he removed with his parents
to Holt County, Missouri, and while living there and at Oregon, in the same county, he
received a common school education.
Imbued with romantic notions from reading frontier stories, when quite young Mr.
Wilson yearned to go west, slaughter a few tribes of Indians and discover a gold mine.
When the Black Hills excitement broke out his parents moved to Deadwood in 1878
where his father established a lucrative business as a gardener selling fresh vegetables
to the miners and their families. The next spring (1879) Wilson went prospecting in the
Black Hills.
In the spring of 1881, being only 20 years old, and not having much use for his father
who had married five times, set out on foot for Montana Territory with a companion
(George Neligh). Being unfamiliar with conditions and deceived by false reports, they
nearly starved to death on the way. Hostile Sioux also had something to do with this.
They finally reached the mouth of O'Fallon Creek near present Fallon, Montana where
they overtook some buffalo hunters loaded with meat for the Northern Pacific railroad
camps. This led to Wilson going to work for Brown and Dewey on the Northern Pacific
grade near Cabin Creek, about 35 miles above Glendive.
Soon tiring of his railroad job, Wilson wanted to go to mining and headed down the
Yellowstone and Missouri rivers in a stolen boat for Kansas City and New Mexico. He
wrecked the boat on ice in the river at or near Bismarck.
Nearly broke and out of a job he headed back for Montana in the winter of 1881-82.
After bumming around all Winter, Wilson landed in Maiden on April 15, 1882 without a
dollar in his pocket. He made a grubstake working at placer mining and then started out
prospecting. In the fall of 1883 he found an ore lead in limestone around the edge of a
ridge and named it the Gilt Edge. Further work disclosed a good-sized ore body. People
would not believe there was anything there, and Wilson was unable to raise money to
develop it. Then began a period of ten years' hard work for Wilson on that and other
properties he had discovered, whenever he had any money to work with. He had
partners at different times. Several of these skipped the country and left Wilson with
debts to settle. Once he was snowed in the Judith's, for 2 months, and had nothing but
Object Description
| Rating | |
| Title | W.E. Wilson |
| Description | Historian George D. Mueller describes the life of W. E. "Limerock" Wilson who mined for gold in the Judith Mountains of Montana. |
| Creator | George D. Mueller |
| Genre | books |
| Type | Text |
| Language | eng |
| Date Original | 1964-12-01 |
| Subject (keyword) | Judith Mountains, Montana; W. E. Limerock Wilson; |
| Subject (AAT) | Gold Mines; |
| Rights Management | No copyright restrictions |
| Contributing Institution | Lewistown Public Library, Lewistown, Montana |
| Publisher (Original) | Lewistown Public Library, Lewistown, Montana |
| Geographic Coverage | Gold Mines. Judith Mountains. Geology. |
| Digital collection | Central Montana Historical Documents |
| Digital Format | application/pdf |
| Physical format | Typed manuscript |
| Digitization Specifications | Canon MX310 300dpi |
| Full text of this item | W. E. WILSON By George D. Mueller Dec 1, 1964 William E. Wilson, known in later life as “Limestone” or “Limerock”, was born November 5, 1860 at Berrian Springs, Michigan. When eight years old he removed with his parents to Holt County, Missouri, and while living there and at Oregon, in the same county, he received a common school education. Imbued with romantic notions from reading frontier stories, when quite young Mr. Wilson yearned to go west, slaughter a few tribes of Indians and discover a gold mine. When the Black Hills excitement broke out his parents moved to Deadwood in 1878 where his father established a lucrative business as a gardener selling fresh vegetables to the miners and their families. The next spring (1879) Wilson went prospecting in the Black Hills. In the spring of 1881, being only 20 years old, and not having much use for his father who had married five times, set out on foot for Montana Territory with a companion (George Neligh). Being unfamiliar with conditions and deceived by false reports, they nearly starved to death on the way. Hostile Sioux also had something to do with this. They finally reached the mouth of O’Fallon Creek near present Fallon, Montana where they overtook some buffalo hunters loaded with meat for the Northern Pacific railroad camps. This led to Wilson going to work for Brown and Dewey on the Northern Pacific grade near Cabin Creek, about 35 miles above Glendive. Soon tiring of his railroad job, Wilson wanted to go to mining and headed down the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers in a stolen boat for Kansas City and New Mexico. He wrecked the boat on ice in the river at or near Bismarck. Nearly broke and out of a job he headed back for Montana in the winter of 1881-82. After bumming around all winter, Wilson landed in Maiden on April 15, 1882 without a dollar in his pocket. He made a grubstake working at placer mining and then started out prospecting. In the fall of 1883 he found an ore lead in limestone around the edge of a ridge and named it the Gilt Edge. Further work disclosed a good-sized ore body. People would not believe there was anything there, and Wilson was unable to raise money to develop it. Then began a period of ten years’ hard work for Wilson on that and other properties he had discovered, whenever he had any money to work with. He had partners at different times. Several of these skipped the country and left Wilson with debts to settle. Once he was snowed in the Judith’s, for 2 months, and had nothing but his dog and guitar for company. The work Wilson was doing was ridiculed. Some people even went so far as call him crazy, but during those ten discouraging but hopeful years, he laid the foundation for the profitable mining development of Fergus County. He had no use for the common theory that there was no use looking for gold in the limestone. From this he received his name “Limestone” or “Limerock” Wilson and he was proud of this title and in his conversations called himself “Limestone Bill”. He at length succeeded in interesting Helena parties in the Gilt Edge mine and finally sold it to the Great Northern Mining and Development Co. for $32,000. A mill was built in 1893 and the town of gilt Edge was named for the mine. The mill was the 2nd in the U.S. to use cyanide process on a commercial scale. About $1,250,000 in gold ore was processed at this mill. “Limestone” continued to prospect all over the Judith Mountains., looking for ore bodies in the limestone. He strongly believed the great mines of the U. S. would use the cyanide process and that those ores would be found in the limestone. He often stated that ore was where you find it and not where it is supposed to be. In 1900 Wilson married Margaret E. Wampler of Chicago and settled in a handsomely furnished home in Maiden. “Limestone” continued to self-educate himself and acquired an extensive library. He could quote many of the classics word-for-word. Wilson was tall and slender in build – about 6’4” and had a beautiful bass voice. The Wilson home in Maiden later burned with the loss of all his possessions which included a valuable library and many pictures of early mines and miners. In 1912 Wilson’s wife died and was buried in the Lewistown City Cemetery. Sometime after his wife’s death, “Limestone” moved to a cabin near the mouth of Maiden Canyon and not far from Gilt Edge. From there he continued to prospect and develop his claims. He developed quit a reputation as a gardener which he doubt developed from his father. His potatoes were known all over, and at one time, he sold them to the Northern Pacific for use on their liners. However, he wanted to be known as a prospector and not a gardener. One distinguishing feature of “limestone” was his being very particular in everything he did. The tunnels in his mine were a work of art and looked as though they had been laid out with a transit. He insisted that all loose debris be cleaned out at the end of every shift. He must have been quite hard to work for. In his nearly 56 years of prospecting, Wilson is known to have driven over 2,000 feet of tunnel with his own hands. His last work of any consequence was done in Alpine Gulch in the Judith Mountains., in 1927. The tunnel he drove can still be plainly seen. In intermittently ailing health for some time, he waged a losing fight against the infirmities of age and died in the Deaconess Hospital in Great Falls on July 17, 1938. He was buried beside his wife in the Lewistown City cemetery. Like so many prospectors, he died flat broke. His funeral expenses were borne by his friends. His only known relative at the time was one sister. SOURCES 1. Lewistown Democrat News (Xmas Ed.), Dec. 19, 1937 “Gold in the Judiths” by W. E. Wilson, also “A Buffalo Hunt in ‘81” by Mr. Wilson This is one of the best descriptions of Gold mining in the Judiths known, 2. Fergus County Argus – 1901 Pictorial Ed., page 9 – 10 3. “Fergus, A Miniature of the West” by C. B. Worthen 4. Lewistown Democrat News, July 18 & 19, 1938 5. A History of Montana – Burlingame & Toole Vol. II, p. 156 6. Billings Gazette – Feb. 26, Mar. 4, 11 & 18, 1956 This is a first-person account of Wilson’s trip across country to Montana with George Neligh as related to Oscar O. Mueller, a Lewistown attorney and close friend of the pioneer. It appeared in 4 installments. Some of the events related here appear to be the same as related in his manuscript “Hoboing in the 80’s” and “A Buffalo Hunt in the 80’s” but is quite different in most respects. 7. Interview with Frank B. Bryant of Lewistown, Montana Mr. Bryant is a long-time mining engineer, having received his degree from the So. Dakota School of Mines. He first met Mr. Wilson in Deadwood and they were long-time friends. 8. Great Falls Tribune – July 26, 1938 COMPILED BY: GEORGE D. MUELLER December 1, 1964 |
| Local Identifier | SC 6.12 |
Description
| Title | W.E. Wilson 1 |
| Type | Text |
| Contributing Institution | Lewistown Public Library, Lewistown, Montana |
| Digital Format | application/pdf |
| Digitization Specifications | Canon MX310 300dpi |
| Full text of this item | W. E. WILSON By George D. Mueller Dec 1, 1964 William E. Wilson, known in later life as "Limestone" or "Limerock", was born November 5, 1860 at Berrian Springs, Michigan. When eight years old he removed with his parents to Holt County, Missouri, and while living there and at Oregon, in the same county, he received a common school education. Imbued with romantic notions from reading frontier stories, when quite young Mr. Wilson yearned to go west, slaughter a few tribes of Indians and discover a gold mine. When the Black Hills excitement broke out his parents moved to Deadwood in 1878 where his father established a lucrative business as a gardener selling fresh vegetables to the miners and their families. The next spring (1879) Wilson went prospecting in the Black Hills. In the spring of 1881, being only 20 years old, and not having much use for his father who had married five times, set out on foot for Montana Territory with a companion (George Neligh). Being unfamiliar with conditions and deceived by false reports, they nearly starved to death on the way. Hostile Sioux also had something to do with this. They finally reached the mouth of O'Fallon Creek near present Fallon, Montana where they overtook some buffalo hunters loaded with meat for the Northern Pacific railroad camps. This led to Wilson going to work for Brown and Dewey on the Northern Pacific grade near Cabin Creek, about 35 miles above Glendive. Soon tiring of his railroad job, Wilson wanted to go to mining and headed down the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers in a stolen boat for Kansas City and New Mexico. He wrecked the boat on ice in the river at or near Bismarck. Nearly broke and out of a job he headed back for Montana in the winter of 1881-82. After bumming around all Winter, Wilson landed in Maiden on April 15, 1882 without a dollar in his pocket. He made a grubstake working at placer mining and then started out prospecting. In the fall of 1883 he found an ore lead in limestone around the edge of a ridge and named it the Gilt Edge. Further work disclosed a good-sized ore body. People would not believe there was anything there, and Wilson was unable to raise money to develop it. Then began a period of ten years' hard work for Wilson on that and other properties he had discovered, whenever he had any money to work with. He had partners at different times. Several of these skipped the country and left Wilson with debts to settle. Once he was snowed in the Judith's, for 2 months, and had nothing but |
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