Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District

              NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
(January 2006)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
REGISTRATION FORM
1. Name of Property
historic name: Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District
other name/site number: Elkhorn Mine, Boston & Montana Mill, and [town of] Coolidge; 24BE997
2. Location
street & number: Forest Service Road #2465, approximately four miles southeast of its not for publication: n/a
intersection with Montana State Highway 43
city/town: Wise River vicinity: X
state: Montana code: MT county: Beaverhead code: 001 zip code: 59762
3. State/Federal Agency Certification
As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1986, as amended, I hereby certify that this X nomination request for
determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the
procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property X meets does not meet the National Register
Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant nationally statewide X locally.
Signature of certifying official/Title Date
Montana State Historic Preservation Office
State or Federal agency or bureau ( See continuation sheet for additional comments.)
In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria.
Signature of commenting or other official Date
State or Federal agency and bureau
4. National Park Service Certification
I, hereby certify that this property is: Signature of the Keeper Date of Action
entered in the National Register
see continuation sheet
determined eligible for the National Register
see continuation sheet
determined not eligible for the National Register
see continuation sheet
removed from the National Register
see continuation sheet
other (explain):
Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Beaverhead County, Montana
Name of Property County and State
5. Classification
Ownership of Property: Public/Federal
Category of Property: District
Number of contributing resources previously
listed in the National Register: na
Name of related multiple property listing: na
Number of Resources within Property
Contributing Noncontributing
22 4 building(s)
101 1 sites
15 4 structures
0 1 objects
138 10 TOTAL
6. Function or Use
Historic Functions:
DOMESTIC/single dwelling
DOMESTIC/secondary structure
DOMESTIC/camp (mining camp)
INDUSTRY/PROCESSING/EXTRACTION/extractive facility (silver mine)
INDUSTRY/PROCESSING/EXTRACTION/processing site (mill)
TRANSPORTATION/railroad
Current Functions:
VACANT/NOT IN USE
7. Description
Architectural Classification:
OTHER: Rustic
Materials:
foundation: STONE; WOOD/log; WOOD/plank;
CONCRETE
walls: WOOD/log; WOOD/plank
roof: WOOD/shingle; WOOD/shake; ASPHALT;
METAL
other: WOOD; METAL
Narrative Description
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Elkhorn/Coolidge historic district is located about fifty miles southwest of Butte, Montana, on the west side of the East
Pioneer Mountain Range in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. The site is situated in a north/south trending valley
which forms part of the upper drainage for the Wise River. Elkhorn Creek flows through the site to the north into the Wise
River which, in turn, flows northward into the Big Hole River. The terrain is mountainous and heavily forested with
Tweedy and Barb Mountains (11,154 feet and 10,497 feet, respectively) located four to five miles to the east and Comet
and Saddleback Mountains (10,212 feet and 10,118 feet, respectively) two miles to the south of Coolidge.
The site area consists of a historic district comprising the remains of the Elkhorn mine and mill and the townsite of the
Coolidge mining camp. The mine, mill and townsite resulted from one of the area's largest mining development during the
1910s and 1920s. Although the first mine was located at the site in 1873 and produced small amounts of profitable silver
ore until the early 1890s, it was during the period from the 1910s through the 1920s that large-scale development of the
mining property was promoted by former Lieutenant Governor William R. Allen. A road and narrow-gauge railroad were
constructed to the mine, connecting it to the towns of Wise River and Divide on the Big Hole River. Telephone and power
lines were run from Divide to the mine and town site. A large ore processing mill, lumber mills, tramways and other mine
structures, as well as the town of Coolidge, were constructed on the site.
The mine and mill complex is located on the bench area west of Elkhorn Creek while, on the opposite side of the creek, the
town of Coolidge lies in a narrow strip of flat ground between the stream and the steeply rising hillside immediately to the
east. The terrain surrounding the site has a healthy stand of lodgepole pine regeneration growing in the area that had been
logged in association with the construction and operation of the mine, mill, railroad, and townsite.
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 1
Beaverhead County, MT
RESOURCES WITHIN THE DISTRICT: [see site map]
Number 1: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -partially collapsed ruins of a one-story rectangular shaped dugout. The dugout
is twelve logs high and measures 12 feet x 17 feet 2 inches long. Log slabs are underneath rough cut lumber on the gable
roof which has four purlins. The front entrance faces southeast and is 3 feet 6 inches high by 2 feet 6 inches wide and is
board framed. The dugout rests on a foundation of 2 x 8 inch boards. There is no remaining chinking or daubing. A metal
pipe is among the debris at the top of the collapsing roof. The logs average seven inches in diameter and are saddle-notched
with sawed ends.
Number 2: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -log cabin with a collapsed roof. The building is nine logs high, measuring 20
feet 3 inches x 16 feet 6 inches. The logs are saddle-notched with sawed ends, and have an average diameter of eight
inches. A grass and mortar daubing with pole chinking is used between the logs. The approximate thirty-degree gable roof
has collapsed but was constructed with rough cut lumber, covered with rolled asphalt. The top loft has screened windows at
the gable ends. The front door faces southwest with one window opening. An entrance is on the northeast side and another
window is on the northwest end. The building sits on a stone foundation.
Number 3: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed remains of possibly two wood frame structures with board siding.
The remains cover an area of approximately 25 feet by 45 feet with a three foot gap in the middle. A floor of 1 x 8 inch
boards rest on a log foundation. Tin debris and a stovepipe are among the ruins. (counted as one site since it is uncertain if
this is the remains of one or two buildings.)
Number 4: Structure (contributing) 1914-1925 -a chicken coop measuring 8 feet 4 inches wide and 10 feet 2 inches long
constructed of rough-cut boards. The entrance is at the southwest side and has the remains of a wood stairway. A small
window is on the northeast side.
Number 5: Building (contributing) 1914-1922 -a small wood frame cabin with board siding, measuring 10 feet 4 inches
wide and 12 feet 4 inches long which rests on a log foundation. The outer walls were once covered with tar paper while the
gable roof was covered with rolled asphalt. The entrance faces northwest and there are windows on the front, rear and
southeast sides. Electric insulators are attached to the front gable end.
Number 6: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -remains of a privy.
Number 7: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed remains of a wood frame building with board siding, measuring
approximately 12 x 15 feet.
Number 8: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -13 x 15 foot log structure. The roof has collapsed and the walls have partially
collapsed. The roof appears to have been a gable type. Seven logs with pole chinking and dirt daubing still stand. The logs
have sawed ends and are saddle-notched and average eight inches in diameter. The entrance is on the east side and
windows were on the east and south sides. The structure rests on a board foundation.
Number 9: Building (contributing) 1919-1922 -12 feet 4 inches x 20 feet 8 inches frame structure with shiplap board
siding and a shed roof. The entrance is on the east side with window openings on the east, south and north sides. Windows
appear to have been screened. Corrugated metal roofing once covered the roof over rough-cut lumber. The building sits on
railroad ties.
Number 10: Structure (contributing) 1914-1922 -small spring house. The 3 foot 1 inch x 5 foot 4 inch frame structure
has a gable roof and board siding. Diamond-pattern mesh screen is over the windows and the entrance faces west. The
structure sits over a small spring which filled an interior wooden tank where food items were probably kept in the summer
to keep them cool.
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 2
Beaverhead County, MT
Number 11: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed frame building with shiplap siding. The rear wall is partially
standing. The building apparently once had a second wall one foot from the inside wall. A section of this outer wall can be
seen at the rear. The entrance faced southwest. The approximate size of the building was 14 feet x 16 feet.
Number 12: Building (contributing) 1914-1922 -two-hole privy. The frame building is 8 feet 2 inches wide and 5 feet 3
inches long. It is constructed of rough cut lumber with a shed roof.
Numbers 13a and 13b: Buildings (2) (contributing) 1914-1922 -stable. The stable consists of two attached buildings.
The northern section (13a) is a one-story, gable-roofed (with an approximate 45-degree pitch), wood frame building with
no foundation. The roof is covered with sawed boards and the siding is log slabs. Board and batten siding is at the north
gable end. A square, wooden vent is located centrally. The purlins are log. Another board roof was laid over the original
roof covering with the first made of log slabs and small poles supported by log purlins with log supports. Two doors are
located on the west side. Part of the north side is log which is V-notched. Cement and sand were used as daubing and small
poles were used for chinking. On the east side the siding is seven logs (log slabs) high. The floor is sawed boards and the
interior has been divided into four sections using logs, poles and boards.
The south section of the structure (13b) also has a gable roof with an approximate 45-degree pitch. The roof was
constructed of small poles supported by log purlins. Another roof of sawed boards was built over the original sometime
later. Most of the siding is gone, leaving the section open. The floor is made of small poles laid next to each other and there
is no visible foundation. The dimensions of the buildings are: 17 feet 4 inches x 38 feet for the north section, and 17 feet 2
inches x 30 feet 7 inches for the southern section.
Number 14: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed building which may have been a carpenter's shop. Part of a gable
end of the roof indicated a board and batten siding was used. It appears that the building was of wood frame construction
with a board floor and no foundation. The approximate dimensions are 25 x 35 feet.
Number 15: Building (contributing) 1914-1922 -rectangular, gable-roofed, wood frame, two room cabin with no
foundation. The approximate 50-degree pitched roof is made of sawed boards covered with rolled asphalt. The chimney
hole is on the north slope of the roof. Siding is board and batten. Two window openings and a door opening with a small
wood stoop are on the west side. On the south side, the building is held off the ground by vertical square posts. Three
window openings are on the south side along with sawed board skirting. A door opening is on the east and two window
openings are on the north. Skirting on the north is tar paper held in place with boards. Electric insulators are on the front
(west) gable. A small board-lined subsurface feature is adjacent to the north side of the house and may be the remains of a
root cellar. The house measures 16 feet x 27 feet 9 inches.
Number 16: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed wood frame building. No foundation is evident and it appears that
vertical board siding was used. The approximate size of the building was 12 x 25 feet.
Number 17: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -9 foot x 14 foot rectangular, one-story, wood frame building with a gable
roof and no foundation. Most the roof boards are missing but the chimney opening can be seen on the south slope of the
roof. The siding is board and batten and there is a wood floor. A door is located at the west end and a window opening is
on the east. The cabin is divided into two sections.
Number 18: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed, wood frame cabin. The cabin had no foundation. It appears to
have had a gable roof, and a chimney hole can be seen in the collapsed roof. The siding was board and batten. The
approximate dimensions were 9 x 12 feet.
Number 19: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -one-story, wood frame cabin with a gable roof. There is no foundation. The
roof boards are covered with tar paper and the siding is horizontal planks. The west end of the building is raised off the
ground and supported by square posts. On the north side, there is part of the board and batten siding with tar paper
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 3
Beaverhead County, MT
underneath. A wood floor is visible even though the roof has partly collapsed. A door opening and two window openings
are on the east. Two more window openings are on the north and one is on the west side. Two door openings are on the
south. The chimney hole is on the south slope of the roof. The cabin measures 16 feet x 24 feet 3 inches.
Number 20: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -pump house. The frame building has shifted off its foundation and is partially
in Elkhorn Creek. It measures approximately 12 x 12 feet, and has a gable roof. A square, gable-roofed cupola is on the
center roof crest and was probably used to ventilate the building. Siding is board and batten and a row of insulators is
located on the north side. The door is on the east side.
Number 21: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed frame building with only part of the floor remaining. The
foundation was square beams. The approximate size of the building was 22 x 22 feet.
Number 22: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed, wood frame building. There is no foundation but the board floor
remains. A partial wall on the east side has board and batten siding. The building measured approximately 25 x 25 feet.
Number 23: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed, wood frame building with only the floor remaining intact. The
building rests on wood beams and measured approximately 25 x 30 feet.
Number 24: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed wood frame privy with vertical board siding. The privy measures 3
x 3 feet.
Number 25: Structure (noncontributing) c.1950s -wood frame pump house with a shed roof, located adjacent to Elkhorn
Creek. The 7 foot 8 inch x 10 foot structure has horizontal plank siding and no foundation. A door opening is on the
southeast side and a window opening is on the southwest side. The small structure appears to be of fairly recent
construction and was probably used during post-World War II mining operations.
Number 26: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -three-sectioned structure, part log and part wood frame construction. The
southeast section has mostly collapsed but part of the vertical log wall at the south end still remains. The roof has collapsed
but appears to have been a gable type and was made with boards. Part of a stove pipe is lying near the east end in the
rubble. No foundation is visible. An entry way is still standing on the south side. This section was approximately 35 x 35
feet and was connected on the west side to a log structure adjacent to the road. The logs are square-notched, sawed on the
ends, are not peeled and average 7 inches in diameter. Small poles were used for chinking. The board roof is supported by
log purlins and covered by thick sod. A board fence was built around the south and west sides about one foot from the log
wall. This space was then filled with soil to provide additional insulation. One window opening is on the south and two are
on the west side and another opening is on the east side. The floor is made of sawed boards and no foundation was visible.
The log section measures 25 x 40 feet.
The door on the north side of the log section connects to another section, which consists of a partially-collapsed wood
frame addition.
The north gable end wall of the addition is still standing, although the roof has collapsed. The gable end wall has board and
batten siding. Most of the vertical board siding in this section is gone. A large stovepipe is located at the north end of this
section and a crumbling brick wall, probably a cooking area, is in the middle of the frame addition. A window opening is
on the north and a door opening is on the east. The floor is constructed of sawed boards. No foundation is visible. A small
section of a stone retaining wall is on the east side. This frame section measures approximately 25 x 35 feet. Large piles of
debris are at the north and east sides of the frame addition and may have been additional structural elements. This may have
been the cookhouse.
Number 27: Building (contributing) 1914-1922 -square, gable-roofed cabin of wood frame construction. The roof is
covered with boards with a chimney hole located on the north slope. The cabin was sided with boards and batten; much of
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 4
Beaverhead County, MT
the siding has been removed from the north side. A window opening is on the south and a door opening is on the west.
There is no foundation under the 15 x 15 foot cabin.
Number 28: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -toppled, two-hole, wood frame privy. The roof and sides are board and
batten. The privy measures 3 feet 6 inches x 3 feet 6 inches.
Number 29: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -partially collapsed pole and board structure which appears to have been a pig
pen. A fenced area on the west is made of both poles and boards. An opening is located at the north and south ends with a
log fence separating the two areas. The fences have partly collapsed. The shed roof was supported by log purlins. The 14 x
16 foot shed has no foundation.
Number 30: Building (contributing) 1914-1922 -wood frame privy with a shed roof, one-half pole siding and one- half
board and batten siding.
Number 31: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -remnants of a wood frame building which measured approximately 12 x 15
feet. Stove parts and wood debris are scattered over the area.
Number 32: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed wood frame building. The floor is intact and measures 15 x 30 feet.
Part of the board and batten north wall remains standing. The roof appears to have been a gable-type. There was no
foundation.
Number 33: Site (contributing) c.1922 -collapsed, wood-frame building which may have been a company office and the
town post office. The building was approximately 8 feet 6 inches x 12 feet and had no foundation. The gable roof was
covered with tar paper.
Number 34: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -partially collapsed, two-story, wood frame building, approximately 35 x 40
feet with a 10 x 15 foot addition at the rear. The roof is a gable-type and the siding is board and batten. There is a raised
board porch on the front. The front door and two window openings are on the west side while an additional door is on the
south side. A door at the rear (east side) opens into a partially collapsed shed roof addition which is also frame construction
with horizontal board siding. No foundation was seen for the building. The building may have been a bunkhouse or
boardinghouse.
Number 35: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -toppled, two-seat privy with tar paper covered board gable roof. Siding is
vertical boards. A wooden, square vent pipe is located at the back and diamond shaped windows are located at each gable
end. The privy measures 5 x 6 feet.
Number 36: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -partially collapsed, wood frame building located at the rear of Site #34. A
partial stone foundation was under the west wall. The building measures approximately 15 x 25 feet. Siding on the building
was board and batten. A collapsed shed- roof addition was on the south side.
Number 37: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed, wood-frame building with only a board floor remaining. The floor
on the west side is above ground level and is supported by vertical posts. Siding on a collapsed wall is corrugated tin
sheeting. The building measured approximately 20 x 30 feet. Stone retaining walls approximately thirty and forty feet long
on the north side of the structure appear to have formed a driveway.
Number 38: Building (contributing) c.1922 -the home of Frank Tyro who served as Coolidge's postmaster for the ten
years the post office was in operation (1922-1932). The 1 1/2-story, wood frame structure was sided with board and batten.
The gable roof was covered with tar paper and tin sheeting on the north side and corrugated tin on the south side. A hipped
roof is at the rear. The foundation is of stone and the house measures 24 feet 5 inches x 26 feet 5 inches. A shed-roofed,
open porch is located at the front (west side) of the building. The porch roof is supported by four posts and a railing
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 5
Beaverhead County, MT
encircles the raised stoop. Another open porch with a shed roof and a board stoop is on the south side. Doors are at the west
and south sides while windows were on all sides, including a diamond-shaped window opening on the front gable.
Number 39: Site (contributing) c.1922 -collapsed, wood frame building at the rear of the Tyro home. The board floor
remains and half pole siding can be seen on the eastern collapsed wall. The building rested on a stone foundation.
Number 40: Building (contributing) c.1922 -gable-roofed, wood frame sauna with board and batten siding and roofing.
The structure has a double wall with a one-foot space between them which was filled with sawdust for insulation. The door
is on the north. There are no windows and no foundation. There is a square, wood board vent pipe on the east roof slope
and a metal stove pipe on the west roof slope. A stove is inside with heating rocks on top of it. The sauna measures 12 feet,
3 inches x 14 feet, 3 inches. This building is located southeast of the Tyro house (Building #38).
Number 41: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -may have been the Ripley home. The frame building has partially collapsed
with only sections of the stud walls and the east wall still standing. The roof has collapsed onto the board floor. Vertical
board skirting is on the north side of the raised floor while horizontal skirting is on the west side. There does not appear to
be a foundation. Tar paper was used on the other walls. A shed-roof addition at the rear is intact and has rolled asphalt
roofing. Door openings are on the south and west sides. Windows were fixed light paneless and 2- fixed light paneless with
screens. The house measured 25 x 30 feet.
Number 42: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -toppled, gable-roofed, wood frame privy with board and batten siding which
measured 4 x 4 feet.
Number 43: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -toppled, gable-roofed, wood frame privy with vertical board siding
measuring 4 x 4 feet.
Number 44: Building (contributing) 1914-1922 -1 1/2-story, gable-roofed log building, set on a stone foundation. The
board roof is covered with rolled asphalt roofing. Logs are sawed at the ends and tapered. There is no notching and the
comers are hidden by vertical boards which form the comers. The unpeeled lodgepole pine logs average eight inches in
diameter. Cement and sand daubing and sawed small board chinking were used. Horizontal boards cover the west gable
end. A sliding sash window is on the west side and a window opening is in the west gable. A shed-roof, frame addition
with board and batten siding is at the rear of the house. The addition has a large window opening facing east with a door at
the south. A small collapsed porch was located at the front door which was at the southeast comer. The house measures 16
feet 4 inches x 30 feet. A sixty foot-long stone wall east of the house runs between it and Site Number 47.
Number 45: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -partially collapsed, wood frame structure with no foundation. It once had a
gable roof and a door opening on the south side. Both the floor and the siding consist of boards. The 12 x 17 foot building
was probably a small shop or tool shed.
Number 46: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -wood frame, two-seat privy. Vertical boards were used. The roof is missing.
Number 47: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed, wood frame building with a gable roof. Board and batten siding
can be seen at the gable ends and the raised board floor is still in place. The chimney was centrally placed on the crest of
the roof. A shed-roof addition on the east has also collapsed. It was of wood frame with vertical board siding. A small bin is
located on the south side of the addition with an opening into the shed. The house once measured approximately 18 x 30
feet.
Number 48: Building (contributing) 1914-1922 -6 x 6 foot, wood-frame shed with a gable roof, located behind Site #47.
Number 49: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed, wood-frame privy with a board roof.
Number 50: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed wood-frame building which was approximately 30 x 45 feet.
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 6
Beaverhead County, MT
Number 51: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed wood-frame building which measured approximately 15 x 20 feet.
Number 52: Building (contributing) 1914-1922 -gable-roofed log house measuring 16 feet 6 inches x 23 feet. There is no
foundation and the board roof has partially collapsed. Small pole chinking with cement and sand daubing was used
between the logs. The logs which average seven inches in diameter are sawed on the end and are not notched. The comers
of the building have been boxed in with sawed boards. Two window openings are on the east, one is on the west and one is
on the north side. The door was on the south side. The north gable end has board and batten siding. A low wood board
fence is located on the north side about three feet from the log wall. A small wood frame shed addition is attached to the
rear of the cabin.
Number 53: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -wood frame building adjacent to Building #52. There is no foundation. The
door and window openings are on the east. The roof has collapsed but the board floor remains. The 12 x 15 foot building
appears to have been a small shop or tool shed.
Number 54: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed, wood frame building. There is no foundation but parts of the
board floor remain and a section of stairs can be found in the rubble. The building was probably a residence and was
approximately 25 x 35 feet.
Number 55: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed, wood frame building. Only the board floor remains intact. The
approximately 25 x 30 foot building was most likely a residence.
Number 56: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed, wood-frame privy.
Number 57: Building (contributing) 1914-1922 -wood-frame shed with a partial stone foundation on the south side. The
siding is vertical board and the floor is boards. Two doors and a window opening are on the south side. Dimensions: 6 feet
x 9 feet.
Number 58: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed gable-roof, wood-frame building. The approximately 15 x 25 foot
building was probably a residence. The north wall is still standing and shows that the building had a gable roof. Board and
batten siding was used and the raised wood floor rests on a stone foundation. r
Number 59: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed, wood-frame privy.
Number 60: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -partially collapsed wood-frame building with a gable roof. The siding was
board and batten. A raised stoop and stairs to the front door is at the west side. A shed roof addition is located on the east
side. There is no foundation under the approximately 25 x 30 foot building.
Number 61: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed, wood-frame privy.
Number 62: Building (contributing) 1914-1922 -log cabin with a gable roof. There is no foundation. The roof is boards
over log purlins and the house logs are saddle-notched lodgepole pines, the diameter of which averages eight inches.
Window openings are on the east, north and west sides. The door is located on the south; the floor is of boards. The
chimney hole is on the east slope of the roof. Small pole chinking was used and daubing was made of cement and gravel.
There is a collapsed, gable-roofed, frame addition on the south side. The addition has a stone foundation. The dimensions
of the cabin are 26 feet 3 inches x 32 feet 8 inches.
Number 63: Building (contributing) 1914-1922 -partially-collapsed, wood frame residence. The house once had a gable
roof which has collapsed. Window openings are on the east and north sides, plus three windows and a door are on the west
side. Siding is board and batten. The wooden floor is raised off the ground. Dimensions: 13 x 22 feet.
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 7
Beaverhead County, MT
Number 64: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -partially-collapsed, wood frame residence with a collapsed gable roof. The
front door opening is on the east side and a side door and two window openings are on the collapsed west wall. Board and
batten siding was used; there was no foundation. Dimensions: 13 x 22 feet.
Number 65: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed, wood frame privy. '
Number 66: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed, wood frame residence with only a raised floor still intact. A frame
addition on the east side has also collapsed. A collapsed root cellar is at the rear of the house. The house once measured
approximately 20 x 25 feet.
Number 67: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -partially collapsed wood frame house. There is a raised wood board floor but
no foundation. Only the east wall and part of the north wall remain standing. Board and batten siding was used. The roof
appears to have been a gable type. The house is divided into two sections. A shed roof addition is on the east side.
Number 68: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -partially collapsed wood frame privy with a gable roof.
Number 69: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 – collapsed wood frame, two-seat privy.
Number 70: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -partially collapsed wood frame privy. The structure is divided into two
sections with two seats on each side.
Number 71: Site (contributing) c.1918 -remains of a somewhat larger frame building on a stone foundation which may
have been the Coolidge school. The south wall and part of the west wall are all that remain standing. An entry-way porch is
at the south end. Dimensions: approximately 40 x 50 feet.
Number 72: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -partially collapsed, L-shaped, wood frame residence. Most of the board and
batten siding has been removed and there is no foundation. The south wall and part of the east wall still stand. The roof was
a gable type. A collapsed addition was attached to the east side. Dimensions: approximately 25 x 30 feet.
Number 73: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -toppled wood frame privy with a gable roof.
Number 74: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -wood frame house with a stone foundation. The roof (which was probably a
gable type) has collapsed and most of the board and batten siding has been removed. Two window openings and a door are
on the west side. A wood porch is located on the east side. A door on the east side leads to a shed roof addition; a second
wood frame shed-roof addition is attached to the first addition. The interior is divided into two rooms at the south end. The
house was approximately 25 x 30 feet. A thirty foot long stone wall is at the front of the residence.
Number 75: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed wood frame building. There was no foundation; only a board floor
remains. The building was approximately 15 x 20 feet.
Number 76: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed wood-frame privy with a gable roof.
Number 77: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed wood frame residence. The board floor is raised off the ground and
no foundation was visible. Dimensions: 20 x 25 feet.
Number 78: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed wood-frame two-seat privy.
Number 79: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed wood-frame privy.
Number 80: Building (contributing) 1914-1922 -partially-collapsed log cabin. The roof has collapsed and its style is
unknown although segments of it show that rolled asphalt was used to cover it. The walls are eight logs high, made of
lodgepole pine averaging nine inches in diameter. The logs are tapered at the ends and the corners are enclosed by vertical
boards. Bark chinking is used. The door is on the north side and a window opening is on the west side. There is no
foundation. Dimensions: 16 feet 4 inches x 30 feet.
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 8
Beaverhead County, MT
Number 81: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -partially-collapsed log cabin measuring 23 feet x 32 feet 8 inches. The walls
were twelve logs high, saddle- notched and were made from lodgepole pine. Cement and sand daubing was used between
the logs which had sawed ends and an average diameter often inches. The roof has collapsed and there is no visible
foundation except for a possible log foundation at the south end for an addition which no longer exists.
Number 82: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -6 x 9 foot board pen or remains of a small shed at the rear of Site #81.
Number 83: Building (contributing) 1914-1922 -6 x 6 foot privy made of small logs with sand and cement daubing and
slab chinking. The comers are crudely notched with irregular ends. The privy has a shed roof.
Number 84: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -partially-collapsed wood frame building which measures approximately 10 x
20 feet. No foundation or roof is evident.
Number 85: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed wood frame building, approximately 20 x 30 feet in size.
Number 86: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed wood-frame building with only the west wall still standing. The
wall has two window openings and a wooden shelf on the interior side of the wall. The building is approximately 13 x 50
feet in size. The board floor has intermittent vertical rebar which probably supported heavy machinery. A metal pipe and
wood housing at the south side may have been a pump station. Cinders in the area indicate the building may have been
used as a blacksmith shop.
Number 87: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -ore bin measuring 6 x 8 feet and constructed of wood beams and boards. The
bin has fallen over and may have originally been located further up the waste rock pile.
Number 88: Site (contributing) 1919-1922 -collapsed remnants of a structure built of wood beams. A concrete head gate-type
feature is inside the ruins. The structure measured approximately 12 x 15 feet and appears to have been a pump
station.
Number 89: Structure (noncontributing) c. 1950s -small 4 x 6 foot pump house with board and batten siding and a gable
roof. The structure may have been used during the post-World War II mining operations at the lower adit.
Number 90: Site (contributing) 1922 -collapsed wood frame building just southeast of the lower mine adit
Number 91a: Structure (contributing) c. 1919 -The debris of the structure is 60 feet long and 25 feet wide. Sections of
metal pipe and a few feet of tram rails are in the ruins. The photograph of the site in Wirtz and Lovell (1976:61-62) shows
a number of large structures and buildings in this area which appear to be snow sheds and shop buildings for the tramway.
The location of Site #90 and the pieces of rail indicate the building may have been a shop for the ore cars. A 1937 map
shows a blacksmith shop in this area.
Number 91b: Structure (noncontributing) c.1950s -lower adit portal made of wood timbers with wood doors. The portal
was probably constructed during post-World War II mining operations.
Number 92: Building (noncontributing) c.1980s -gable-roofed, wood frame, two-seat privy with board and batten siding.
The privy was probably moved onto the waste rock pile by Timberline Minerals, Inc., during the early 1980s.
Number 93: Building (noncontributing) c.1980s -4 x 6 foot tool shed. The wood frame shack had a shed roof and is
sided with boards covered with tar paper. The shed was probably built or was moved onto the waste rock pile by
Timberline Minerals, Inc., during the early 1980s.
Number 94: Building (noncontributing) c.1980s -wood frame shack on two wood beam skids. The 6 x 10 foot structure's
walls are made of tar paper over horizontal boards. The boards forming the gable roof extend over the door and board
stoop, which is attached to the skid beams. The shed was probably built or was moved onto the waste rock pile by
Timberline Minerals, Inc., during the early 1980s.
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 9
Beaverhead County, MT
Number 95: Building (noncontributing) c.1980s -gable-roofed, wood frame, 4 x 6 foot warming shack (or "dog house"
in miner's slang). The siding is board and batten. There is a door on the east side and no windows. A chimney hole is on the
south slope of the roof. Benches for the miners are inside the shack. The shack was probably built or was moved onto the
waste rock pile by Timberline Minerals, Inc. during the early 1980s.
Number 96: Structure (contributing) 1922 -ore bin made of wood beams, poles and boards. Two chutes are on the east
side and the collapsed ruins of the tramway to the upper camp extend up the hillside from the west side of the bin. The
structure is 15 x 15 feet.
Number 97: Site (contributing) 1922 -remains of a flume, adjacent to the east side of the tramway bed, which runs from
the top of the waste rock pile to the mill. The remnants of the flume extend for 1400 feet. Sections of the flume, as well as
the pole, board and lumber trestle supporting it, still stand. The flume is from six to ten feet above the ground. The south
end of the flume abruptly ends at the northern edge of the waste rock pile. The original source of the water for the flume is
unknown.
Number 98: Site (contributing) 1919-1922 -the Elkhorn, or Boston & Montana, mill. In 1990, About one-half of the
original structure remained and covered an area of 100 x 250 feet. That section was torn down in 2000. The original
complete mill once extended an additional 150 feet down the hillside, covering approximately two acres in its entirety.
Built in three years at a cost of $900,000, the mill was originally in five sections. The walls of the mill were of wood frame
construction with 15 x 18 inch Oregon fir beams used throughout in the interior construction. Large ore bins are located at
the upper end of the mill and were filled by the ore cars which entered the upper section of the mill along the trestle
(Structure #100) at the southwest comer and exited along the trestle at the northwest comer. Numerous large 6/6 and 8/8
double- hung windows were on the north and south sides of the mill while three large openings on the south and two on the
north sides probably once held the doors which provided access for the mill's large equipment. The mill was equipped with
steam heat, a sprinkler fire protection system and 52 electric motors used to run the mill's crushers, separators, dryers and
other equipment for its oil flotation process. Extensive concrete footings and foundations were used to support the structure
and the heavy machinery housed inside. These substantial foundations remain as a testament to the scale of the mill and
operations at the mine.
Number 99: Structure (contributing) 1922 -wood beam and post platform measuring 15 x 15 feet, which once supported
the mill's water tower.
Number 100: Structure (contributing) 1922 -trestle made of beams, poles and boards. The trestle supported the tramway
tracks which brought the ore into the upper part of the mill.
Number 101: Site (contributing) 1922 -assay lab. The gable-roofed, wood frame structure has partially collapsed with
only the north section still intact. The assay office covered an area approximately 15 x 35 feet and had a concrete
foundation. The intact north addition has a gable roof covered with rolled asphalt. Novelty siding covered the thick walls,
although most of the siding has been removed. The interior floor is concrete. A brick chimney inside the building was for
the furnace used in the assay process. A ground-level opening at the west side was for loading coal into the lab's coal bin.
The roof, the south wall and part of the east wall of the lab's main section have collapsed. Fire bricks, ashes and assay
cupels are strewn on the slope below the lab.
Number 102: Site (contributing) 1922 -collapsed remnant of a well housing.
Number 103: Structure (contributing) 1919-1922 -section of trestle which supported the railway running to the west of
the mill's three boilers and compressor. The trestle is built of wood beams, poles and planks. The trestle runs for one
hundred feet approximately ten feet above the ground.
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 10
Beaverhead County, MT
Number 104: Site (contributing) 1922 -two concrete footings for the mill's compressor and boilers. They are three feet
high and 10 x 12 feet (south) and 10 x 15 feet (north) in size.
Number 105: Building (contributing) 1919-1922 -wood-frame, gable-roofed pump house. The building has horizontal
board walls with a door at the south end and a window opening at the north end. The 10 x 12 foot building has no
foundation.
Number 106: Site (contributing) 1920-1925 -gable-roofed, partially collapsed, wood frame building measuring
approximately 10 x 12 feet. The building has board and batten siding, and is raised off the ground on a low wood platform.
Number 107: Site (contributing) 1919-1922 -25 x 75 foot concrete foundation. The area is filled with wood debris and
pieces of rusted metal from the building which once stood on it. The purpose of the building is unknown.
Number 108: Site (contributing) c.1919 -partially collapsed, wood frame, garage-like building with a double door on the
west side. The gable roof has collapsed and part of the south wall is gone. One window opening is on the east side. The
walls have board and batten siding. The 12 x 20 foot building is raised off the ground by a log crib- work foundation.
Number 109: Site (contributing) 1922 -collapsed, 20 x 25 foot wood-frame pump house and the remnants of the log-crib
supports for the pipe which ran from the pump house to the mill, about 400 feet to the southwest. The pump house roof has
collapsed and the board and batten walls are partially collapsed. The pump house is adjacent to the head gate (Structure #
119) on the bank of the Elkhorn ditch. Five of the log-cribs and wood debris extend for 200 feet from the pump house to
the tailings piles below the mill. The cribs are roughly lO x 10 feet in size and from six to twelve feet high.
Number 110: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -lumber debris from the remains of the tramway from the lower mine portal
to the upper camp. The tramway is approximately 1450 feet long and was operated on a gravity system. The loaded cars
going down would pull the empty cars going up. The tramway had an unusual three-tracked system with the tracks dividing
at the mid-point of the tramway so the descending and ascending ore cars could pass each other.
Number 111: Structure (contributing) 1914-1922 -ore sorting shed and ore bin at the upper terminus of the tramway.
Number 112: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -foundation of the upper camp's bunk house. The building, which either
collapsed or was removed, once measured approximately 25 x 75 feet.
Number 113: Building (contributing) 1914-1922 -remains of the upper camp's cook house. A photograph in Wirtz and
Lovell (p. 95) shows the cook house as a two story, gable-roofed, wood frame structure with an outside stairway to the
second story entrance above the main entrance. A small shed addition existed on one side of the structure.
Number 114: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 –collapsed unknown building.
Number 115: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 –collapsed unknown building.
Number 116: Building (contributing) 1914-1922 -Frame building with a large wooden sliding door on the northwest end.
Dimensions approximately 20 x 40 feet.
Number 117: Building (contributing) 1914-1922 -Small frame building with a collapsing roof.
Number 118: Site (noncontributing) c. late 1950s -A-frame shelter.
Number 119: Structure (contributing) 1922 -concrete intake on the stream bank for the pump house (Site #109) on the
opposite bank. A concrete wall fifteen feet long is along the stream bank with a 2 foot 3 inch x 2 foot 3 inch concrete tank
in the middle where the mouth of the intake pipe would have been located. A ten foot long stone retaining wall extends
upstream from the end of the concrete wall.
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 11
Beaverhead County, MT
Number 120: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -collapsed adit opening. The cut into the hillside measures approximately ten
feet wide and 25 feet long and has three wooden fence-like partitions across it.
Number 121: Structure (contributing) 1914-1922 -section of corduroy road with small logs buried below the road
surface to provide a solid base in muddy sections of the road. The road is a segment of the original wagon road which
followed the Wise River to the mine site.
Number 122: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -remains of a wooden wagon, three feet wide and twelve feet long.
Number 123: Structure (contributing) 1914-1922 -loading dock consisting of a twelve foot long log retaining wall with
two log poles at each end.
Number 124: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -large scatter of trash, consisting of rusted cans and pieces of glass.
Number 125: Structure (noncontributing) 1992 -location of a wood stringer bridge over the Elkhorn Ditch. The bridge
decking was replaced in 1992. It is 25 feet long and twelve feet wide. The surface is formed by 1 x 10 inch boards over 4 x
6 inch post and beam construction which appears to have been built over an earlier bridge.
Number 126: Structure (contributing) 1919-1922 -13 foot long, 2 foot wide wooden raised platform, resting on wood
beams. A six-foot beam with a 2 x 2 foot platform is attached to the middle of the platform. The feature appears to have
been a rack for holding transformers of Coolidge's electric system.
Number 127: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -depression, probably for a privy.
Number 128: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -10 x 15 foot depression with a scatter of rusted cans in the center. It is
probable that a building was located at this site but nothing remains of it.
Number 129: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -small depression (most likely for a privy) with a scatter of rusted cans, Great
Falls Select beer cans and clear glass fragments.
Number 130: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -possible shaft. The circular pit is nine feet across and heavy beams which
are similar to timbers used in mine workings can be seen.
Number 131: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -remains of a wood wagon or sled. Dimensions: 3 feet x 11 feet 5 inches.
Number 132: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -remains of a bridge across Elkhorn Creek. It would have been about twelve
feet wide.
Number 133: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -depression, most likely for a privy.
Number 134: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -depression for a privy behind Site #66.
Number 135: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -depression eighty feet long and about six feet wide which appears to have
been an adit opening located behind Sites #67 and #72.
Number 136: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -thirty foot long, six foot wide collapsed adit depression. A thirteen foot
circular depression is at the west end of the adit depression.
Number 137: Site (contributing) 1914-1922 -wooden wagon box measuring 3 x 12 feet.
Number 138: Object (Noncontributing) c. 1950s -iron safe. The door has been removed and parts of it are scattered next
to the safe. Dimensions: 2 x 3 feet.
Number 139: Structure (contributing) 1919 -the railroad grade for the Montana Southern Railway. The rail line entered
the site from the north, passed through the area at the base of the mill (Building #98) and continued to the base of the
tailings dump below the lower mine adit where the line terminated. The sketch map of the site in Wirtz and Lovell
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
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Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 12
Beaverhead County, MT
(1976:80) shows a depot adjacent to the west side of the tracks near the terminus. The map also indicates there were double
tracks below the mill and that there was a spur track which switched off the main track between the mill and the depot and
ran up to the south side of the mill between the assay office (Site # 101) and the boilers (Site #104). All the rails for the line
were pulled up and sold for scrap sometime in the 1960s or early 1970s and a road was built on the railroad bed from the
mill to the south end of the site. What appear to be railroad ties below the waste rock pile are logs used as corduroy when
the railroad grade was used for automobile traffic. The road was extended beyond the rail line terminus around the south
end of the tailings dump to the adit portal. Although the rail line was reported to have been the last narrow-gauge railroad
built in the United States, the road bed was constructed to standard-gauge width in order to facilitate a planned conversion
to standard-gauge at a later date.
Number 140: Site (contributing) c.1922 -wood debris adjacent to the tramway bed at the section from the top of the
tailings to the mill. The debris is the remnant of the snow shed which once covered the tramway.
Number 141: Site (contributing) c.1922 -various pieces of wood and metal debris, wood beams, two circular wood
flotation tanks and two smaller wooden pieces of the mill's flotation system.
Number 142: Site (contributing) c.1922-1927 -4 x 5 foot, partially collapsed, wood structure on top of the tailings pile
below the mill. The structure was probably a housing for a water pipe valve.
Number 143: Structure (contributing) 1914-1922 -2 x 3 foot wooden water tank with pipes at the bottom. The tank is
partially recessed into the ground. It is located a few feet south of Site #108.
Number 144: Site (contributing) 1914-1922-waste rock pile from the lower adit at the south end of the site. This covers
an area approximately 300 x 600 feet.
Number 145: Site (contributing) 1922-1925 -tailings at the base of the mill. The tailings from the mill cover an area
approximately 75 x 150 feet.
Number 146: Structure (contributing) 1919-1922 -Elkhorn ditch. This ditch diverts Elkhorn Creek just north of the
bridge (Site #125) which crosses the creek at the north end of Coolidge. The diversion runs north for approximately 2600
feet and then turns west and rejoins Elkhorn Creek. The ditch was "to afford room for impounding tailings" (EMJ 112 #16
October 15, 1921 :633).
Integrity:
Although many of the site's structures have collapsed, are in ruins, or have disappeared altogether, much of the original
historic character of the district remains. The massive foundation of the mill still stands and over 100 structural remains are
found on the site.
The district's period of significance covers most of the 19l0s and 1920s and no major intrusive elements, which would
detract from the site's historic character, have been added to the district since that period. The immediate setting of the
district and the surrounding landscape are virtually unchanged from when the town was occupied and the mines and mill
were in operation. Vegetation in and around the district has returned, restoring the forested environment in which this
mining activity originated.
It appears that almost all of the structures and features within the Elkhorn/Coolidge historic district are from the period of
significance. One exception in Coolidge may be the small pump house on the banks of Elkhorn Creek
The structural remains on the site have been severely impacted by weather, natural deterioration, vandalism and salvage
operations. Heavy accumulations of winter snows have collapsed a majority of the roofs of the town's residences. Many of
the walls of the town's frame buildings have also collapsed. A number of buildings- including: a store, "Ripley's pool hall",
a railroad depot, a sawmill, an ice house and a water tower -have disappeared since the mid- 1970s. The buildings may
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 13
Beaverhead County, MT
have been salvaged since no significant ruins or debris remains at the locations of these structures. The lower portion of the
mill was destroyed by salvage operations during the late 1970s and the remaining upper half was removed in 2000. As late
as 1946, the mill was still in excellent condition with the machinery in place and ready to resume production. The mines
were ready to go into operation and the company's buildings were intact and usable. But when the mines did not reopen, all
the mill's heavy machinery was removed and the building was allowed to deteriorate, as were the site's other structures. The
tracks of the Montana Southern railroad were tom up and sold for scrap sometime during this same period. The nearby
assay office has also suffered serious deterioration since 1982.
Vandalism has also impacted the site. Many of the frame-construction structures have been stripped of weathered boards
and, in some cases, entire buildings were tom down for the lumber. Mining activities during the 1970s have also modified
the site to an unknown extent. An unknown number of historic structures were tom down for salvage materials during
exploratory mining operations in the early 1970s.
A considerable amount of trash is scattered on the surface behind the row of residences on the east edge of the site. Most of
the trash consists of rusted cans. Included were numerous condensed milk, lard, sardines, Edwards and MJB coffee, Oscar
Mayer Wieners, Great Falls Select beer, corned beef, and assorted fruit and vegetable cans. Scattered pieces of amethyst,
brown and clear glass are also found throughout the site.
When Harry J. Evans examined the site in 1946, the town, mill and mines were still completely intact. He reported that the
mill was still in excellent condition with most of the equipment still in place and ready to resume production. The mines
were also completely equipped and intact, and the company's buildings in Coolidge were still in good condition and usable.
Evans listed the company's surface assets as consisting of: the mill, the assay building, a two-story store, 21 dwellings, one
boarding house, nine bunk houses and two pump houses in the lower camp plus three bunk houses, six log cabins, a
boarding house, a blacksmith shop, a carpenter shop, the hoist, a compressor building, a small mill and snow sheds at the
upper camp. Evans estimated the total value of the Elkhorn/Coolidge properties at one hundred million dollars (Evans
1946).
As late as 1975 the mill building was still intact and the lower camp sawmill, railroad depot, store, pool hall, ice house and
a water tower adjacent to the mill were still standing although most of the district's buildings and structures were, at this
point, showing serious deterioration (Wirtz and Lovell 1976).
An examination of the photograph showing the panoramic view of the Elkhorn mine in Wirtz and Lovell (1976:61- 62)
show a number of large structures on top of the waste rock pile at the entrance to the lower adit. The photograph was taken
around 1974 or 1975, indicating the structures were removed sometime during the late 1970s or early 1980s. Structure #89,
and Buildings #92, 93, 94 were moved onto the waste rock dump at the main adit entrance, and the adit portal (Structure
No. 91) was built during recent exploratory work at the mine by Timberline Minerals, Inc. from 1981 to 1984. No other
structures appear to have been moved onto the site at a later date, although some of the existing residences may have been
altered somewhat by the handful of persons who have lived on the site in more recent times.
Even though the structural remains within the Elkhorn/Coolidge historic district are, with a few exceptions, badly
deteriorated, the site is perhaps the most intact and complete mine and mining camp site remaining in Montana. The fact
that the mine, mill and town were kept in operating order up to the mid-1940s has meant that the processes of natural
deterioration have had less effect than older abandoned mine sites. The isolated setting of the Elkhorn/Coolidge historic
district and the fact that relatively little large-scale modem mining has taken place on the site has meant that few intrusive
modem elements have been introduced into the historic district.
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 14
Beaverhead County, MT
Table of Contributing and Noncontributing Resources
Resource Category Status Date
1 Site contributing 1914-1922
2 Site contributing 1914-1922
3 Site contributing 1914-1922
4 Structure contributing 1914-1925
5 Building contributing 1914-1922
6 Site contributing 1914-1922
7 Site contributing 1914-1922
8 Site contributing 1914-1922
9 Building contributing 1919-1922
10 Structure contributing 1914-1922
11 Site contributing 1914-1922
12 Building contributing 1914-1922
13a Building contributing 1914-1922
13b Building contributing 1914-1922
14 Site contributing 1914-1922
15 Building contributing 1914-1922
16 Site contributing 1914-1922
17 Site contributing 1914-1922
18 Site contributing 1914-1922
19 Site contributing 1914-1922
20 Site contributing 1914-1922
21 Site contributing 1914-1922
22 Site contributing 1914-1922
23 Site contributing 1914-1922
24 Site contributing 1914-1922
25 Structure noncontributing c.1950s
26 Site contributing 1914-1922
27 Building contributing 1914-1922
28 Site contributing 1914-1922
29 Site contributing 1914-1922
30 Building contributing 1914-1922
31 Site contributing 1914-1922
32 Site contributing 1914-1922
Resource Category Status Date
33 Site contributing c.1922
34 Site contributing 1914-1922
35 Site contributing 1914-1922
36 Site contributing 1914-1922
37 Site contributing 1914-1922
38 Building contributing c.1922
39 Site contributing 1914-1922
40 Building contributing c.1922
41 Site contributing 1914-1922
42 Site contributing 1914-1922
43 Site contributing 1914-1922
44 Building contributing 1914-1922
45 Site contributing 1914-1922
46 Site contributing 1914-1922
47 Site contributing 1914-1922
48 Building contributing 1914-1922
49 Site contributing 1914-1922
50 Site contributing 1914-1922
51 Site contributing 1914-1922
52 Building contributing 1914-1922
53 Site contributing 1914-1922
54 Site contributing 1914-1922
55 Site contributing 1914-1922
56 Site contributing 1914-1922
57 Building contributing 1914-1922
58 Site contributing 1914-1922
59 Site contributing 1914-1922
60 Site contributing 1914-1922
61 Site contributing 1914-1922
62 Building contributing 1914-1922
63 Building contributing 1914-1922
64 Site contributing 1914-1922
65 Site contributing 1914-1922
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 15
Beaverhead County, MT
Resource Category Status Date
66 Site contributing 1914-1922
67 Site contributing 1914-1922
68 Site contributing 1914-1922
69 Site contributing 1914-1922
70 Site contributing 1914-1922
71 Site contributing c.1918
72 Site contributing 1914-1922
73 Site contributing 1914-1922
74 Site contributing 1914-1922
75 Site contributing 1914-1922
76 Site contributing 1914-1922
77 Site contributing 1914-1922
78 Site contributing 1914-1922
79 Site contributing 1914-1922
80 Building contributing 1914-1922
81 Site contributing 1914-1922
82 Site contributing 1914-1922
83 Building contributing 1914-1922
84 Site contributing 1914-1922
85 Site contributing 1914-1922
86 Site contributing 1914-1922
87 Site contributing 1914-1922
88 Site contributing 1919-1922
89 Structure noncontributing c. 1950s
90 Site contributing 1922
91a Structure contributing 1919
91b Structure noncontributing c.1950s
92 Building noncontributing c.1980s
93 Building noncontributing c.1980s
94 Building noncontributing c.1980s
95 Building noncontributing c.1980s
96 Structure contributing 1922
97 Site contributing 1922
98 Site contributing 1919-1922
Resource Category Status Date
99 Structure contributing 1922
100 Structure contributing 1922
101 Site contributing 1922
102 Site contributing 1922
103 Structure contributing 1919-1922
104 Site contributing 1922
105 Building contributing 1919-1922
106 Site contributing 1920-1925
107 Site contributing 1919-1922
108 Site contributing c.1919
109 Site contributing 1922
110 Site contributing 1914-1922
111 Structure contributing 1914-1922
112 Site contributing 1914-1922
113 Building contributing 1914-1922
114 Site contributing 1914-1922
115 Site contributing 1914-1922
116 Building contributing 1914-1922
117 Building contributing 1914-1922
118 Site noncontributing c. late
1950s
119 Structure contributing 1922
120 Site contributing 1914-1922
121 Structure contributing 1914-1922
122 Site contributing 1914-1922
123 Structure contributing 1914-1922
124 Site contributing 1914-1922
125 Structure noncontributing 1992
126 Structure contributing 1919-1922
127 Site contributing 1914-1922
128 Site contributing 1914-1922
129 Site contributing 1914-1922
130 Site contributing 1914-1922
131 Site contributing 1914-1922
132 Site contributing 1919-1922
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Resource Category Status Date
133 Site contributing 1914-1922
134 Site contributing 1914-1922
135 Site contributing 1914-1922
136 Site contributing 1914-1922
137 Site contributing 1914-1922
138 Object noncontributing c. 1950s
139 Structure contributing 1919
140 Site contributing c.1922
141 Site contributing c.1922
142 Site contributing c.1922-
1927
143 Structure contributing 1919-1922
144 Site contributing 1914-1922
145 Site contributing 1922-1925
146 Structure contributing 1919-1922
Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Beaverhead County, MT
Name of Property County and State
8. Statement of Significance
Applicable National Register Criteria: A, B
Criteria Considerations (Exceptions): n/a
Significant Person(s): William R. Allen
Cultural Affiliation: n/a
Areas of Significance: INDUSTRY
Period(s) of Significance: 1911-1927
Significant Dates: 1911, 1919. 1922, 1927
Architect/Builder: n/a
Narrative Statement of Significance
The Elkhorn/Coolidge Historic District is significant as an example of one of the few large-scale silver mining projects in
Montana during the early part of the twentieth century. During this period, most mining operations in the region were
small-scale operations which, for the most part, either reopened old mine workings or reworked old mine dumps. With the
exception of Butte, where silver production was a by-product of the copper, zinc and manganese mines, the Elkhorn project
was a rare large-scale mining development during the 1920s designed solely for silver production. Even more significantly,
it is an example of how a project of this magnitude can fail even though it had large-scale investment, systematic
development of the mines and processing and transportation facilities, use of the most modem equipment and techniques,
and the existence of sizeable and proven ore deposits.
Even with these favorable conditions, the odds were against a successful operation. Historically in Montana, for every
successful bonanza mine there have been perhaps a dozen mines that failed. The Elkhorn project serves as a case example
of the fundamentally risky nature of any mining venture and the propensity for most mining ventures to ultimately fail. An
element of luck, either good or bad, can often be a critical factor in the outcome of any mining operation. The 1927 Wise
River flood illustrates the effects an unforeseen accidental event can have on an enterprise such as the Elkhorn project. For
these reasons, the Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District is eligible for listing in the National Register under Criterion A.
William R. Allen was a businessman and politician in Montana during the first half of the twentieth century. A native
Montanan, he rose through the ranks of the Anaconda Company, managing several aspects of the operation. By 1902 he
entered state politics, serving in the Legislature and later Lieutenant Governor. He left his promising political career
behind, however, to devote all his energies and personal fortune in the Elkhorn project. As the business headquarters of this
prominent industrialist, and the location of his greatest financial and personal investment, the Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic
District is eligible under Criterion B. The district gains additional significance under Criterion C for its important
representations of genuinely rustic architecture associated with early twentieth century mining camps.
Beginning of the Elkhorn Mining District
The E1khorn mining district was first located in the early 1870s. The first discovery of silver ore in the district was made
by Preston Sheldon in 1872. He shipped a carload of the ore, assaying 300 ounces of silver to the ton, from a claim called
the Old Elkhorn, located about one mile southwest of what would become the Coolidge townsite and Elkhorn mine. In
1874, Mike T. Steele located the Storm claim --adjacent to the west side of the Old Elkhorn claim --and shipped two
carloads of ore, assaying 260 ounces of silver to the ton. Next to be discovered was the Mono lode which was located by
Clark Smith in September of 1875. By 1885 D. B. Mason and Steele acquired the claim and sank a 35-foot shaft. In 1888,
the Storm Mining Company sank a 90-foot shaft on the Mono vein; eventually the shaft would reach a depth of 250 feet
(Winchell 1914; Sassman 1941; Geach 1972).
Other mines in the district, located on Bailey Mountain, were operated by the Magnet Company in 1887. The Dillon
Examiner reported on January 27, 1 ~92, that a number of mines were producing, including the Critic, Fraction, Navajo,
Good Enough, Park, Red Sky, Hamburg, Washington, Guy, Last Chance, Cleopatra, Mascott [sic], and Cleveland. A 10-
stamp mill had been built at the Critic and Fraction mines. In 1895, Frank Williams shipped ore from the Simpson claim,
abutting the southwest side of the Old Elkhorn claim (Sassman 1941).
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Mining operations were severely restricted by the lack of economical transportation. In order to be smelted, the ore had to
be hauled by wagon to Corinne, Utah, then sent by railroad to San Francisco and from there by ship to Swansea, Wales,
where the smelters were located. Only high-grade ore could be sent on this long, circuitous route to the smelters in order to
be profitable. In spite of this serious handicap, a number of mines in the district did manage to operate profitably on a small
scale during the 1870s. In the 1880s more mines went into operation following the completion of the Pacific Railroad to
Silver Bow in 1881. In 1893, however, silver prices crashed and mining operations throughout the district, excepting a
small amount of prospecting work. shut down for the next decade (Winchell 1914; Sassman 1941; Geach 1972).
Development of the Elkhorn Mines and Mill
The Elkhorn lode was located by Mike T. Steele and F. W. Pahnish on October 24, 1873. A partnership was formed with
Con Bray and Judge Meade and enough money was raised to build a small mill on the site. For the next two decades, small
amounts of high-grade ore were mined and shipped to Swansea for smelting. In 1893, the Elkhorn shut down, along with
the district's other mines, after the disastrous drop in silver prices that year. By 1903, silver prices had recovered to a point
where it seemed feasible to revive the Elkhorn mine. Tom Judge, while prospecting on the Elkhorn Ledge, found a rich
vein of silver ore and some interest was generated to reopen the mine, but there was not sufficient financing to get the
project underway. In 1906, Frank Felt bought a number of claims in the district and, along with M. L. McDonald and
Donald B. Gillies, started a tunnel on the Idanha vein which eventually would become the major producing mine for the
Elkhorn group. In 1909, the Park Mining Company developed the tunnel further, extending it to 748 feet (Sassman 1941;
Wirtz and Lovell 1976).
Modern, large-scale development of the Elkhorn got underway in 1911 when William R. Allen, lieutenant governor of
Montana turned mining entrepreneur, became interested in the property and devoted his efforts to developing the Elkhorn
mines on a scale which dwarfed anything attempted in the area before or since. Allen would be inextricably linked with the
fortunes of the Elkhorn mine for the next forty years. Although many others were involved in the development of the
Elkhorn mine, Allen was the chief promoter and prime mover of the project from beginning to end. His personal career and
fortune would be mirrored in the development and ultimate failure of the Elkhorn mine project.
William R. Allen
William R. Allen was born July 25, 1871, in French Gulch, southwest of Anaconda, Montana. His father, William N.
Allen, travelled to Alder Gulch from Missouri as a pioneer in January 1864. In 1865, he moved to the French Gulch placer
mining district. Allen's mother, Cordelia Waddell Allen, died when William was a small boy. Since winters in French
Gulch were especially severe, the family acquired a ranch at Mill Creek near what later became Anaconda. They spent the
winters there cattle ranching and the summers at French Gulch mining.
Young William attended Deer Lodge County schools. Initially he had intended to go East for college but decided instead to
go to Helena Business College, from which he graduated with honors in 1891. After graduation, Allen returned to French
Gulch to mine with his father. Allen married Elizabeth Berkin of a pioneer Boulder family. Their first child, a son named
Leslie, died in early childhood in 1893. The Allens had three other children: Mildred, Esther, and Ruth.
Allen became associated with Marcus Daly, managing his Electric Light, Street Railway, and Water Works department. He
also managed the Daly's lumber business, which was one of the major components of Daly's development of the Anaconda
smelter complex. After his father's death in 1898, Allen began to develop his Elkhorn Mine at Brundy (later renamed
Coolidge). For eight years, starting in 1903, Allen also was a timber developer. He then began branching out into other
enterprises, becoming involved in real estate, fire insurance, banking, and railroads. During most of the nineteen-teens,
Allen lived in Boston, Massachusetts, where he established important business connections, which he used to finance his
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Montana enterprises. After Elizabeth's death in 1917, Allen remarried, to Ethel Louis deMar, in Boston. They had two
daughters and one son. (Allen Papers 1903-1953; Patterson 1989).
Allen, a Republican, was elected to the Montana House of Representatives in 1902 and served in the legislature until 1908
when he was elected lieutenant governor under Governor Edwin L. Norris. Although it seemed that Allen had a promising
future in politics, he resigned as lieutenant governor in 1911 in order to devote all his efforts to the Elkhorn mining project.
In 1920, and again in 1924, Allen was a delegate to the Republican National Convention. He came out of political
retirement in 1940 to run for Congress, but was defeated by Jeannette Rankin in the Republican primary. William R. Allen
died at the age of 82 on October 31, 1953.
He demonstrated a talent for financial promotion and was able to interest financiers in London and Boston in the venture.
Allen helped form the Boston-Montana Development Corporation in 1913 and became its president. The company was
incorporated with fifteen million dollars in capital stock. Allen spent $474,000 of his own funds to purchase the principal
mining claims, including the Elkhorn, Blue-Eyed Annie, Park, Idanha, Central, Aspen. Red Top, Mono, Boston, Grotto,
Homestake, Washington, and Blue Jay, which he then sold to the new corporation. In 1918, he reported to the stockholders
that exploration work in the area justified buying additional mining claims adjacent to the Elkhorn properties and soon
acquired the Mono, New Year, Thomas Paine, Montreal, Mary, Humboldt, Dell, Climax, Homestake, Modoc, Black Jack,
Hazel, Ajack, Atlas, Washington. Ram, Evolution, Ucon, Robert Ingersoll, Robert Ingersoll #2, Jessie, Lincoln, and
Bonanza. Eventually the corporation would acquire close to eighty mining claims, covering approximately sixteen hundred
acres. The company acquired all of the claims in the area as part of a deliberate policy to avoid the type of situation like that
which had once existed in Butte where conflicting adjoining claims led to endless litigation (Sassman 1941; Evans 1946;
Boston-Montana Development Company 1918; BLM Plat map 5828).
Allen also formed the Boston-Montana Milling and Power Company to develop the mine and mill while another subsidiary,
the Butte, Wisdom and Pacific Railway Company, was incorporated in 1913 to construct a railroad line from the Oregon
Short Line at the town of Divide on the Big Hole River to the mine. The railroad's name changed to the Montana Southern
in 1914 (Sassman 1941; Geach 1972; Wirtz and Lovell 1976; Allen Papers 1903-1953; Patterson 1989). At that time,
extensive exploration work had already been underway on the various claims held by the Boston-Montana Development
Corporation. Three tunnels had been driven on the Grotto claim, a 600-foot tunnel was run on a vein at the Aspen, two
shafts were sunk on the Blue-Eyed Annie and cross-cuts were driven at the 200-foot level and shafts and tunnels were
found on the Park, Elkhorn, Storm, Red Sky, Homestake, Ruby, Bonanza, Mary, Montreal, and Washington claims. The
Idanha had a 900-foot tunnel with a 600-foot cross-cut and a double-track tunnel was started in October 1913. The Idanha,
located just above the Elkhorn mill, would become the company's greatest producer (Sassman 1941; Boston and Montana
Development Co. Claim Map 1937).
Construction of the Rail Line and Mill
A wagon road had been built to the mines but it was obvious that a rail line would be needed. Preliminary work on the
route was done in 1914 and heavy machinery for the mines was purchased, but the outbreak of World War I delayed
financing from the English backers. Construction work on the railroad finally got underway in May of 1917. The line for
the Montana Southern Railroad was run up the Big Hole River from Divide and then up the Wise River to the mines.
Completed by December 1919, it was reported to have been the last narrow-gauge railway built in the United States. The
railroad was equipped with three Baldwin locomotives, 28 freight cars, three passenger cars, a machine shop, an engine
house and depots at a total cost of 1.5 million dollars [J. R. Pelt, director of the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, in
a letter to Mrs. Fannie Gold on August 9, 1954, put the figure considerably higher at 2.1 million dollars.] (Sassman 1941;
Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology files; Wirtz and Lovell 1976).
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With the completion of the railroad, heavy equipment and materials for the mill could be transported to the mine site. Work
on the mill was begun immediately and the construction of a 65,000-volt power line from Divide to the mine and Coolidge
was begun. About $900,000 was spent on the construction of the mill, while another $150,000 was spent on the power line.
Completed in 1922, the Boston-Montana Mill was the largest mill in Montana. It was equipped with steam heat, a sprinkler
system, a 2500 cubic-foot air compressor, two crushers, two ball-mills, four classifiers, sixteen concentrating tables, two
settling tanks, two thickener tanks, a large filter and 52 electric motors to operate the mill's oil-flotation system designed by
O. B. Hoffstrand. The system had the capacity to process 750 tons of ore per day with a recovery rate of90 to 93 percent
(Sassman 1941; Evans 1946; Wirtz and Lovell 1976; Mining Record 1981).
Most of the ore processed by the mill came from the Idanha tunnel at the 300 foot level, which was located at the upper
camp, 800 vertical feet above the mill. Ore from the Idanha could be lowered through the No.1 raise to the lower tunnel at
the 1000 foot level where electric locomotives hauled ore cars a quarter mile to the mill. Ore from other shafts and adits at
the upper camp was brought to the mill via a rail cable car system that ran down the mountain side from an ore bin at the
upper camp to an ore bin a few yards north of the lower mine tunnel portal.
The tramway employed a gravity system where loaded cars going down pulled the empty cars back to the top. The tramway
had an unusual three rail track; in the middle the rails divided so ascending and descending cars could pass each other.
From the ore bin at the bottom, ore was transferred to the lower electric tramway, which hauled it to the mill. No forced-air
ventilation system was needed for the mine workings which were adequately ventilated by natural convection currents
(Sassman 1941; Evans 1946; Wirtz and Lovell 1976).
Also located at the upper camp was a sawmill, three bunk houses, boarding house, six log cabins, cook house, stables,
blacksmith shop, carpenter shop, hoist, and an ore sorting house (Evans 1946).
The Town of Coolidge
Allen renamed the small mining camp of Brundy after Calvin Coolidge who had become a friend of Allen's while Coolidge
was still lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. Coolidge never visited his namesake but there were reports that he had
invested in the mine. The buildings, sites, and structures that remain in Coolidge were constructed after 1911. Construction
of the major portion of the Coolidge mining camp was begun around 1914, at the same time the mines were first
extensively developed. When work started on the mill in 1919, large number of workers and miners moved into the camp.
Initially, many of the miners lived in tents over board platforms. Later, more substantial log or board and tar paper
residences were built (Sassman 1941; Wirtz and Lovell 1976; Patterson 1989).
A company store sold equipment to the miners, as well as food and other necessities to the community's residents. Below
the store was a boarding house where many of the miners ate. For amusement, miners and townspeople could visit the pool
hall, run by Elmer Ripley. There were no saloons in town but liquid spirits were said to have been available from a still
located near the town. Skiing and sledding were popular pastimes during the winter (Wirtz and Lovell 1976).
Company offices, other boarding houses and bunk houses were also part of the community. The town was equipped with
electric power and telephone service; plumbing, however, was rudimentary, and few houses or boarding houses had
facilities for bathing. Elizabeth Patterson, the daughter of William Allen, lived in Coolidge as a young girl. Patterson said
that most everyone in town went down to the mill when they wanted to take a shower. Postmasters Frank H. Tyro and Evan
L. Woolman ran the post office from 1922 to 1932 when it was closed. A school district was organized in October of 1918
to operate a school for the town's twenty or so school children. In the early 1930s the town's population declined to a point
where a school could no longer be supported. Although the town had most of the amenities of other small communities, it
did not have any churches. At its peak, Coolidge probably had a population of around 350. Most of the residents of
Coolidge came from the local area, as well as from Butte and Dillon. Elizabeth Patterson and Gilbert Dodgson, who
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worked at the site, both reported that there were no blacks, Chinese or other distinctive ethnic groups in town (Sassman
1941; Wirtz and Lovell 1976; Patterson 1989; Dodgson 1990).
The Failure of the Elkhorn Project
An estimated five million dollars was spent by the Boston-Montana Development Company in building the Elkhorn mine
project. At the start of 1922 it appeared the undertaking was about to fulfill the expectations of Allen and the other
investors: the mill was a modem, efficient system ready to process the ores; the mine workings were well-equipped and
were being developed by experienced miners; the narrow-gauge railway was ready to haul the processed ore; and the high
voltage line to power the mines and mill had been completed.
However, before the mill even went into production, serious problems began to appear. The economy had slowed down
during the 1920-1921 depression and, to make matters worse, the company's bond and note issues, along with other
financial obligations, came due during this same period. These debts and obligations probably could have been met if the
mines and mill had been able to go into full production, but it was discovered almost as soon as the mill went into
production that the veins of ore were not developed enough to supply sufficient ore to keep the mill operating at even half
its capacity. A decision was then made to mine low-grade ore as well as high-grade ore, but even this move failed to
produce an adequate ore supply for the mill. Although 24,000 feet of underground workings were developed by 1925, it
was not enough and the depressed economy prevented raising the necessary capital for mine development. Only one section
of the mill's two parallel flotation systems was ever used, and then only for three months in 1922-1923 and four months in
1925 (Sassman 1941; Evans 1946; Geach 1972; Krohn and Weist 1977).
Within a year after the mill started production, the company was placed under a stockholders receivership. In 1923 Charles
S. Murphy, president of the Montana Mine Owner's Association, and I. H. Brand of New York City were appointed
receivers. The company was eventually able to liquidate its debts but was forced to seriously curtail its underground
development program. In spite of this limited development, by 1927 approximately 120,000 tons of ore were blocked out to
be mined, the ore bins were filled with three thousand tons of ore, and six cars of concentrates were ready for shipment
from the mill. Then the final blow in the series of misfortunes experienced by the company occurred in June of that year.
The Montana Power Company's dam on Pattengai1 Creek broke, flooding the lower Wise River valley and washing out
twelve miles of The Montana Southern Railroad's tracks and several of the line's bridges across the Big Hole River. The
line was not feasible for the company to resume production (Sassman 1941; Evans 1946; Geach 1972; Wirtz and Lovell
1976).
The company was reorganized on May 17, 1933, as the National Boston-Montana Mines Corporation. In 1944, it
reorganized yet again, this time becoming the Boston Mines Company. Even with the changes it was still unable to revive
the operation. By the end of the 1940s most of the company's deeded properties were acquired by Beaverhead County in
lieu of taxes. As head of the National Boston-Montana Mines Corporation, William Allen continued for the next two
decades to try and revive the Elkhorn mines. Although he lost his personal fortune in the enterprise, he continued to believe
that the mines were a potential bonanza until his death in 1953 at his home in the town of Wise River (Sassman 1941;
Evans 1946; Geach 1972; Wirtz and Lovell 1976; Patterson 1989).
At their peak, the mine and mill employed 250 men, yet a total of only 26,000 tons of ore was mined from 1921 through
1924. Another 20,000 tons was produced in 1925 but from then on, only a few tons were mined sporadically during the
years 1935-1937, 1939, 1942, 1948 and 1953. Total production from the Elkhorn mines was 52,385 tons of ore and from
that, 8,900 tons of concentrates were produced for shipment to smelters at Tooele, Utah and East Helena, Montana. The
concentrates yielded 851,725 pounds of lead, 4,100 pounds of zinc, 370,799 pounds of copper, 180,843 ounces of silver
and 1,013 ounces of gold. In 1949 the company reported the total production of the Elkhorn mines amounted to $375,000
(Sassman 1941; Trauerman and Reyner 1950; Geach 1972; Krohn and Weist 1977).
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In 1981, the Elkhorn mines were bought by Timberline Minerals, Inc. who did some exploratory prospecting work on the
site for the next three years. They reported that there was good potential for silver, as well as tungsten and molybdenum,
but no significant production was reported during this period (Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology files).
Elkhorn’s Architectural Legacy
Though many are in a state of collapse, the buildings and structures at Elkhorn-Coolidge are significant examples of early
twentieth century mining camp architecture. By and large, Coolidge was a “company town,” and the Boston-Montana
Development Company constructed boardinghouses and social halls for their workers. There were also individual
residences, a school, and stores, but interestingly no saloons or churches.
The community of Brundy was established in the 1880s as part of the first wave of mining interest in the area, but the
district does not contain any resources dating to that period. Instead, the impermanent architecture of the earliest days of
occupation gave way to the buildings, sites, and structures dating to Allen’s renaming and re-establishment of the town
after 1911. In 1911, the Coolidge mining camp began with canvas tents set on board pallets. Though expedient, the tents
were replaced with both log and wood-frame buildings and structures.
These functionally-disposed buildings, though lacking in “attributable style,” are “not without aesthetic.” Architectural
Historian Kingston Heath defines vernacular architecture, as “composed of everyday forms, often made with readily
available materials for functional application, by local, usually anonymous builders, who respond to traditionally mandated
or locally adapted formulas.”(Heath, xvii, xix) Heath goes on:
Vernacular architecture is a ubiquitous form of “art.” It is unlike “elite” architecture which tends to be the
noticeable exception in a community and is often produced by imported talent privy to the latest
innovations of style. Vernacular architecture is all around us, and the very familiarity of a log cabin, false
front, school house, a laborer’s four square house encourages us to take it for granted as nothing special.
But what is common to a local, may be unfamiliar to an outsider; and whether desirable or not, that
characteristically familiar form (as well as other manifestations of a culture) may in many instances be the
most reliable record of who and what we are simply because of its nonself-conscious, all too familiar
presence. What form the structures take, why those forms are there, and how they got there often hold the
story of settlement, land use, the level of technology available, the regional preference of materials, the
projected values of it people, and the patterns of economic growth and stagnation.(Heath, xx)
At Elkhorn-Coolidge, the pervasiveness of log and wood-frame buildings speak to the commitment of the company and
residents, and their willingness to invest substantially in infrastructure. By the 1910s, improvements to mining technology
at Elkhorn Mine, which created the need for the town of Coolidge, resulted in structures built by miners and merchants
alike reflect the exploitation of the moment, the minerals and the environment for personal gain. By 1914, the tent town
began to give way to the more permanent and labor-intensive log cabin. Allen and his company established a sawmill,
necessary for mine development and the town’s residential and services needs. The resultant frame buildings and structures,
combined with roads, plumbing systems, and electricity resulted in well-established community.
The log buildings in Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District are constructed of the lodgepole pine logs readily available in the
area. They are generally one-story, front gabled buildings, with saddle notching or cornerboards. Like most log cabins in
mining camps, they are either one or two pens, and often feature small frame additions to the rear. They are built on stone
or log foundations. The frame buildings at Elkhorn were of both modest and substantial size, ranging from one-room
cabins and outhouses to the massive, 2-acre mill.
Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Beaverhead County, State
Name of Property County and State
9. Major Bibliographic References
See continuation sheet
Previous documentation on file (NPS):
___ preliminary determination of individual listing (36 CFR 67) has
been requested.
___ previously listed in the National Register
___ previously determined eligible by the National Register
___ designated a National Historic Landmark
___ recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey # __________
___ recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # _________
Primary Location of Additional Data:
X State Historic Preservation Office
___ Other State agency
_X__ Federal agency Beaverhead-Deer Lodge
___ Local government
___ University
Other -- Specify Repository:
10. Geographical Data
Acreage of Property: approximately 105 acres
UTM References: Zone 12 Easting Northing (NAD 27)
A) 340257 5039849
B) 340749 5039941
C) 34l048 5038852
D) 340764 5038767
E) 340621 5039l07
F) 340l61 5038893
G) 340070 5039093
H) 340556 5039269
Legal Location (Township, Range & Section(s)): located generally in SE ¼ SE ¼ of Section 11, W ½ SW ¼ SW ¼ of Section 12,
W ½ NW ¼ of Section 13, and the NE ¼ of Section 14, Township 4 South, Range 12 West
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Verbal Boundary Description
The boundary of the Elkhorn/Coolidge historic district is shown as a solid line delineating the district on the accompanying
USGS 7.5 minute Elkhorn Hot Springs, Montana (1988) map.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Boundary Justification
The site boundaries were defined by the historic limits of mining activities and residences in the town site. Although small
prospect mining operations, logging activities or other small-scale activities may have occurred outside the boundaries of
the district, there is very little visible evidence of such activities in the immediate vicinity of the district. Only a few
subsequent intrusive elements were added to the district since its period of significance; thus, the existing historic structural
remains of the Elkhorn mine and mill and the Coolidge town site clearly delineate the extent of mining and residential
activities within the historic district during the period of significance.
The cluster of mining claims to the west of the district, even though once held by William Allen, were intentionally
excluded from the Elkhorn/Coolidge Historic District. Most of the claims have been patented and are held in private
ownership by a number of claimants. Most of these claims were not developed in association with the Elkhorn mill during
the period of significance, necessitating their exclusion from the nominated district.
11. Form Prepared By
name/title: Mike Ryan and Zane Fulbright
organization: Beaverhead-Deer Lodge National Forest date: May 2006
street & number: 420 Barrett St. telephone: (406) 683-3900
city or town: Dillon state: MT zip code: 59725-3572
Property Owner
name/title: Beaverhead-Deer Lodge National Forest
street & number: 420 Barrett St. telephone: (406) 683-3900
city or town: Dillon state: MT zip code: 59725-3572
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 9 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 22
Beaverhead County, MT
BIBLIOGRAPHY :
Allen, William R.
1903-1953 Manuscript Collection 105. Personal Papers. Montana Historical Society Library, Helena.
Boston-Montana Development Company
1913,1915,1918 Manuscript Collection 105, Boxes 3:8 & 3:16. Montana Historical Society Library, Helena.
Browne, J. Ross
1868 "Report on the Mineral Resources of the States and Territories West of the Rocky Mountains."
Washington: Government Printing Office.
Dodgson, Gilbert
1990 Personal communication with Paul Anderson, April 27, Wise River, Montana.
Engineering and Mining Journal
1921 Volume 112 #16. October 15,1921.
Evans, Harry J.
1946 "Report of the Mining Properties of the Boston Mines Company, Beaverhead County, Montana."
Unpublished report to Marvin E. Walker, Baltimore. Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology's
files of Montana mining properties. Butte: Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology.
Geach, R. D.
1972 "Mines and Mineral Deposits (Except Fuels) Beaverhead County, Montana." Montana Bureau of
Mines and Geology Bulletin 85. Butte: Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology.
Heath, Kingston W.
1985 “Striving for Permanence on the Western Frontier: Vernacular Architecture as Cultural Informant
in Southwestern Montana.” PhD. Dissertation. American Civilization Department, Brown
University.
Krohn, Douglas H. and Margaret Mlynarczyk Weist
1977 "Principal information on Montana Mines." Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology Special
Publication 75. Butte: Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology.
Mining Record
1981 May 20, Volume 20(93).
Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology
n.d. File of Montana mining properties. Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology, Butte.
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 9 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 23
Beaverhead County, MT
Noble, Bruce J., Jr. and Robert Spude
1992 National Register Bulletin 42 "Guidelines for Identifying, Evaluating, and Registering Historic
Mining Properties." Washington, D.C.:U.S. Government Printing Office.
Patterson, Elizabeth
1989, 1990 Personal communication with Paul Anderson. November 2 and 10, 1989; March 15, 1990, Butte,
Montana.
Sassman, Oren
1941 "Metal Mining in Historic Beaverhead." Unpublished M.A. thesis, Montana State University,
Bozeman.
Trauerman, Carl J. and Millard L. Reyner
1950 "Directory of Montana Mining Properties: 1949." Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology Memoir
No. 31. Butte: Montana School of Mines.
United States Department of Interior
n.d. Bureau of Land Management Mineral Survey Records, Butte, Montana.
Winchell, Alexander N.
1914 "Mining Districts of the Dillon Quadrangle, Montana and Adjacent Areas." U.S. Geological
Survey Bulletin 674. Washington, D.C.:U.S. Government Printing Office.
Wirtz, Shirley and Lorene Lovell
1976 One Man's Dream: Elkhorn Mine -Coolidge. Montana. Butte: Ashton Printing.
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 10 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 24
Beaverhead County, MT
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 10 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 25
Beaverhead County, MT
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 10 Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 26
Beaverhead County, MT
Detail of Elkhorn Hot Springs Quadrangle, showing the Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District boundary
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 27
Beaverhead County, MT
Photograph #s 1-35 were taken by Kate Hampton in May 2006, using Tri-X black and white film and printed on Ilford
Multigrade IV RC paper. Photographs 36 and 37 were taken by Mark Sant in November 2007 using a high-resolution
digital camera. In accordance with the March 2005 Photo Policy expansion, the photos are printed on HP Premium Photo
Paper (glossy), using a Hewlett Packard Vivera ink 100 gray photo cartridge. This combination of paper and ink is
included on the NR’s list of “Acceptable Ink and Paper Combinations for Digital Images.” The images are also recorded
on a CD as .tiff files with a resolution at least 1200x1800 pixels, 300 dpi in “true color” 24-bit format.
Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Photo Log
Photo # Description View to
1 Site #1 partially collapsed dugout W
2 Site #2 collapsed log cabin N
3 Structure #119, concrete intake for pumphouse (#109) W
4 Building #5, wood frame cabin SE
5 Site #8 (foreground) collapsed log building, Building #9, shiplap building SW
6 Structure #123, loading dock NE
7 Site #7, collapsed wood-frame building S
8 Building #9, shiplap building NW
9 Structure #125, stringer bridge W
10 Site #124, trash scatter E
11 Building #15, two-room cabin NE
12 Building #15, and site #s 16 and 17 NE
13 Site #s 19, wood-frame cabin, and 20, pumphouse, NW
14 Site #26, collapsed 3-bay building, and Building #27, frame gabled building SE
15 Site #35, overview of timbered area on east side of road N
16 Site #34, collapsed 2-story frame building E
17 Building #38, Tyro House SE
18 Overview of Building #40 and site #s 41 and 42 NE
19 Building #44 SE
20 Site #50 W
21 Site #55 E
22 Site #s 60, 63, and 64 SE
23 Site #s 64, 66, 67, and 72 NE
24 Site #s 66, 67, and 72 SW
25 Site #71 SW
26 Site #s 79 and 80 S
27 Overview of south end of townsite E
28 Structure #91, c. 1950s lower portal mine adit W
29 Building #95, c. 1980s shack NE
30 Overview of Site #s 84-87 SE
31 Site #96, tramway SSW
32 Structure #140, road between tramway (#96) and flume (#97) N
33 Structure #140, road, and Site #97, flume N
34 Structure #100, trestle N
35 Structure #99, loading area E
36 (digital image) Site #98, mill foundation NE
37 (digital image) Site #98, mill foundation NW
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 28
Beaverhead County, MT
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 29
Beaverhead County, MT
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 30
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #1 Site #1 partially collapsed dugout View to W
Photo #2 Site #2 collapsed log cabin View to N
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 31
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #3 Structure #119, concrete intake for pumphouse (#109) View to W
Photo #4 Building #5, wood frame cabin View to SE
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 32
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #5 Site #8 (foreground) collapsed log building, Building #9, shiplap building View to SW
Photo #6 Structure #123, loading dock View to NE
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 33
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #7 Site #7, collapsed wood-frame building View to S
Photo #8 Building #9, shiplap building View to NW
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 34
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #9 Structure #125, stringer bridge View to W
Photo #10 Site #124, trash scatter View to E
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 35
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #11 Building #15, two-room cabin View to NE
Photo #12 Building #15, and site #s 16 and 17 View to NE
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 36
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #13 Site #s 19, wood-frame cabin, and 20, pumphouse, View to NW
Photo #14 Site #26, collapsed 3-bay building, and Building #27, frame gabled building View to SE
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 37
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #15 Site #35, overview of timbered area on east side of road View to N
Photo #16 Site #34, collapsed 2-story frame building View to E
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 38
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #17 Building #38, Tyro House View to SE
Photo #18 Overview of Building #40 and site #s 41 and 42 View to NE
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 39
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #19 Building #44 View to SE
Photo #20 Site #50 View to W
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 40
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #21 Site #55 View to E
Photo #22 Site #s 60, 63, and 64 View to SE
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 41
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #23 Site #s 64, 66, 67, and 72 View to NE
Photo #24 Site #s 66, 67, and 72 View to SW
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 42
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #25 Site #71 View to SW
Photo #26 Site #s 79 and 80 View to S
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 43
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #27 Overview of south end of townsite View to E
Photo #28 Structure #91, c. 1950s lower portal mine adit View to W
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 44
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #29 Building #95, c. 1980s shack View to NE
Photo #30 Overview of Site #s 84-87 View to SE
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 45
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #31 Site #96, tramway View to SSW
Photo #32 Structure #140, road between tramway (#96) and flume (#97) View to N
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 46
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #33 Structure #140, road, and Site #97, flume View to N
Photo #34 Structure #100, trestle View to N
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 47
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #35 Structure #99, loading area View to E
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 48
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #36: View of Elkhorn Mill (Site #98) to the northeast. Photo by Mark Sant, November 2007.
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(Rev. Aug. 2002) Expires 1-31-2009
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Photographs Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District Page 49
Beaverhead County, MT
Photo #37: Overview to the northwest of Elkhorn Mill (Site #98). Photo by Mark Sant, November 2007.