Geyser Bob's Yellowstone Park History Service
Serving the Greater Yellowstone & Surrounding Gateway & Historic Communities
Cinnabar MT
Gardiner MT
Cooke City MT
Corwin Springs MT
Cody & North Fork
LaDuke Hot Springs
Monida & Beaver Canyon MT
West Yellowstone MT
Jardine MT
Livingston MT - Original Gateway to YNP
Cooke City MT
Cooke City & Silver Gate
Yellowstone's Northeast Gateways

Copyright 2019 Robert V. Goss 
All rights reserved.  No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the author




Cooke City Store & Gas, ca1930s
Sanborn RPPC


 

Cooke City is located at the northeast entrance of the park in the rugged environs of the Beartooth Mountains.  Due to its remote location and being surrounded by high mountain peaks and passes, the only year-round road access is from Gardiner, Montana and through the northern tier of Yellowstone Park and the beautiful Lamar Valley.  Road access from Red Lodge over Beartooth Pass and Cody over Dead Indian Pass are seasonal, opening late in the spring and closing very early in the winter

 Mines in the West were generally located in remote and unpopulated locations.  It was mining that fueled the engines of settlement and "civilization" in the West.  But even by those standards, Cooke City was remote - it was over 130 miles from Cooke to the closest settlement - Bozeman, Montana.  It was not until 1883 that the Northern Pacific Railroad came through Montana and drove a spur line south to the boundary of Yellowstone Park, where the small burgs of Gardiner and Cinnabar sprang up.  Even then, it was still 60 miles of rough trails from Gardiner to Cooke City.  The area never experienced the huge population booms that other mining town experienced.

 

 
Baronett Bridge, just above the mouth of Lamar River.
WH Jackson Photo, 1871

   The area was relatively unknown to white men until the late 1860's when gold miners prowled through the area prospecting for the elusive bane of Midas.  Bart Henderson, Adam Miller, Ed Hibbard, and James Gourley were the first known miners to discover gold in the area in 1869-70. In 1871 the first mining claims were filed on Miller and Henderson mountains. The same year, prospector and explorer John H. “Jack” Baronett (or Baronette) built the first bridge over the Yellowstone River near the junction of the Yellowstone and Lamar River (then known as the East Fork of the Yellowstone. He charged a toll for men and animals and saved many a man from a wet and potentially dangerous river crossing.



Only known photo of John H. "Jack" Baronett


John F. Curl was among the earliest businessmen in the mining camp of Cooke City in 1883 where he operated the Curl House hotel. He was involved in mining and in partnership with George Huston and Adam "Horn" Miller. Curl and his wife Zona sold their properties in Cooke City and moved to Gardiner around 1915 and ran the Cottage Hotel on Main Street. John died October 1, 1924 at 71 years of age and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Livingston. 

Adam “Horn” Miller  discovered gold in the Cooke City area with Bart Henderson and others in 1869-70, naming their mine the Shoo Fly Mine. The next few years he helped Henderson build the road from Bottler’s Ranch to Mammoth. Miller was one of the scouts under Gen. Howard during the Nez Perce War of 1877. Later on he settled down in a cabin across the Yellowstone River from Yankee Jim. He died in 1913 and an obit described him as a "man of sterling character, a man without enemies of any kind, it is said, and a citizen who always had a kind word for everyone."

Joe Brown discovered gold in Bear Gulch, near the park’s northern border east of Gardiner in 1866. It was reported that he took out $8,000 in gold that year. He discovered gold ore on Crevasse Mountain in the 1870’s and sold out to George Eaton in 1885, who built the first quartz mill in the district. A trail up Dome Mountain, near Yankee Jim Canyon, is named after Brown.

In 1864 George A. Huston conducted a party of 30-40 miners up the Yellowstone River into the Lamar and Clark’s Fork drainages. Later in the year he led another party up the Madison and Firehole rivers. In 1866 he guided a small group of miners through the west entrance of Yellowstone up the Madison River to the geyser basins and prospected around Yellowstone Lake, Hayden Valley, Mirror Plateau, and Lamar Valley. Huston was also heavily involved in the Cooke City gold mines and was one of the original Cooke City founders and townsite residents. One of his properties was known as the ‘Cache of Ore Millsite,’ part of which the Cooke City General Store was built after his death in 1886.

George Huston, from Harper's Weekly, 11-17-1877

 

One factor that negatively influenced growth and expanded mining opportunities was the fact that the area was a part of the Crow Indian Reservation. The Crow spent little time in the area and the miners were somewhat free to conduct their mining and prospecting operations.  But, they could not file any legal claims to their land or prospects.  This of course, led to a certain amount of claim-jumping and the miners had to be on their watch to make sure they, or a worthy representative was physically in the area to protect their claims.

Map of Crow Reservation changes 1882-present.
The Cooke City section (lower left) was ceded to the US in 1882.



In 1880 Jay Cooke Jr. came to the area with the idea of investing in the rich potential of some of the mines.  He and his cohorts examined the prospects carefully and believed the mines would be a grand investment.  However, due to the legal ambiguity of the mining and land claims, he eventually ended up backing out of the deal.  However, in the meantime, the local miners were ecstatic with the prospect of having someone with deep pockets buying their claims and filling their pockets with cold cash.  In anticipation of what they thought would be their financial salvation, they decided to name their town Cooke City, in honor of who they thought would be their benefactor.  Even though Jay Cooke bailed out, they kept the name, hoping perhaps when the lands came into the public trust he would return.  Finally in 1882 a treaty was made with the Crow and the land on which they squatted became public land, upon which they could finally file legal claims.  This they did, along with making formal surveys and creating a legal townsite with lots that could be bought and sold in a normal fashion.

 

I will not attempt to explore the vast and complicated history of the Cooke mining district, as it is beyond the scope of this article. However, a link to the Montana Dept. Environmental Quality website will provide much of the basic informatiom.

For additional detailed material on the history of the Cooke City area,
please viisit the Cooke City Museum website.


Cooke City Store

The ground on which the Cooke City Store was built was originally part of the "Cache of Ore Millsite," owned by George A. Huston, the earliest known prospector in the region. By the spring of 1886, John Savage and John Elder had purchased the site and were hauling milled lumber from the lower elevations around Cooke City to begin construction of their store. By the late 1880's Savage and Elder's was providing supplies for the community and area miners, but also had competition from Bause and French's mercantile store.


 By the summer of 1889, Savage and Elder had sold their store to Wm. Nichols and Hiram Chittenden for $800. On Nov. 14, 1895, the court authorized the sale of the store to Sophia Wetzstein for $600. She and her husband owned other property in Cooke City and were involved in the wholesale liquor business in Livingston. George Allison, leased the Wetzstein's Cooke City Store in 1906 for $300 a year for use as a general store and began an extensive remodeling of the building. In the spring and summer of 1907, the store was enlarged and sided with decorative pressed metal. Allison operated the store for two years, but encountering financial problems sold the store In July 1908, to Nels and Elizabeth Soderholm for $3,000 with $500 as a down payment, and $500 per year for five years at 6% interest. Nels was Postmaster in Cooke for many years and with his death in 1939, his wife Elizabeth was appointed to take his place. She passed away Nov. 17, 1959.



Cosmopolitan Hotel

J.P. & Amelia Allen
Livingston Enterprise, 1Jan1900

Probably the 1st hotel news ad
Livingston Enterprise, 19Sep1885

Cosmopolitan Hotel ca1887
YNP Archives #8217



The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Cooke City was built in 1883 and opened the following year by John "J.P." Allen. The following is an excerpt from an interview with him from the Big Timber Pioneer, 17Jun1937. Thanks to the Cooke City Museum for posting this interview:

“I am the last of the real pioneers of Cooke City,” says J.P. Allen, now in his 85th year. “I went to Cooke in 1882, soon after the country had been taken out of the Crow Indian reservation, and I have outlasted all others . . . When the Cooke stampede started in 1882 after the Indian reservation was moved, I went there and took up some claims. There was no road from Mammoth Hot Springs; only horseback trails up the Yellowstone, the Lamar and Soda Butte creek. We did have Baronette’s bridge across the Yellowstone, saving a wet crossing. At Cooke we were completely isolated, except for horseback transportation for mail and supplies. I worked out my claims that summer, and in the fall I went to Livingston and ran a restaurant. Then in 1883 I went back and built my hotel in Cooke, starting its operation in 1884. I have run the hotel ever since, except that I had it leased two years ago while Mrs. Allen and I spent a year on the Pacific coast . . . I was postmaster at Cooke during two different periods. Sometimes the mail came through from Gardiner on time, but often it was badly delayed by heavy snows. Once, for a time, the mail was carried from Columbus up the Stillwater and over the mountains to Cooke. But with plenty of groceries and lots of wood we were comfortable and happy—the little group of us who made our home in Cooke the year round."


Curl House




Curl House, center,
with AO Saloon to the right.
RPPC - Author Digital Collection

John F. Curl was born in 1853 in Pennsylvania and moved to Cooke City in 1883 to prospect for gold. He often partnered with pioneers Adam “Horn” Miller and George Huston in his various mine holdings. The Curl House was built in the 1890s and served as a combination hotel, restaurant and boardinghouse. Curl and his wife Zona sold their properties in Cooke City and moved to Gardiner around 1915 and ran the Cottage Hotel on Main Street. The family moved after 2-3 years to Bozeman so that his children Mary Margaret (born 1898) and Thomas (born 1902) could attend college. John died October 1, 1924 at 71 years of age and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Livingston. His pallbearers included W.A. Hall and Herb French. Zona Curl moved to New Haven Conn. after John’s death and passed away in Feb. 1929. Her body was shipped back to Livingston for burial.




Curl House, right side by pole.
AO Saloon on far right.
FJ Haynes Photo, courtesy Mont. State Univ.

 
Shaw's Camp & Lodge

In 1919, Walter Shaw, formerly a partner of the Shaw & Powell Camping Co. in Yellowstone, established the rustic Shaw’s Camp in Cooke City in 1919. He later setup Shaw’s Goose Lake Tent Camp by Goose Lake along the trail to the famed Grasshopper Glacier near Cooke City. The trail to the glacier was twelve miles one-way and required a 10 to 12-hour round-trip on horseback. The savvy traveler could spend the night at Shaw’s Camp and be able to spend more time in the area and not be so rushed. Shaw also maintained a guide service in Cooke City with saddle and packhorses and experienced guides. The trail to the glacier was opened up in 1921 and the camps were in use at least through 1928. 
                             Right: Shaw's Camp & Lodge, ca1940s YNP Archives #24-149




Walter died in June 1925 while crossing the Gardiner River near Gardiner. His wife Lillian continued to operate the Shaw Camp & Cabins in Cooke city until at least 1935 and perhaps later.  In 1946 the Shaw Camp was taken over by Sam & Euphie Fouse, who operated the business until 1959. Around 1965, Don & Ada Ellis purchased the lodge and advertised it as the Anvil Inn. In 1974 they removed to Livingston.

Left: Ad for Shaw's Camp, 16Jul1935, Billings Gazette
Right: Interior of Shaw's lodge, undated, RPPC


Beartooth Highway


     Until the mid-1930’s, Cooke City was mostly at the end of the road, blockaded by the vast Beartooth Mountains. A crude road existed from Cooke City to Cody via Sunlight Basin and over Dead Indian Pass. The road was narrow, steep and winding and hazardous in inclement weather. That situation changed when plans were made in 1933 to construct a 70-mile highway from Red Lodge, over the almost 11,000’ high Beartooth Pass and into Cooke City. With a railroad spur running from Billings to Red Lodge, visitors could enter or leave the Park via Cooke City allowing the area to become another Gateway to Yellowstone. Journalist Charles Kuralt once called it, “the most scenic drive in America.” Cooke city ceased to be the terminus of a dead-end road anymore (except in winter), and people could comfortably enjoy a drive over one of the most breath-taking roads in the country. The highway officially opened to the public June 14, 1936. The YPCo. ran White Motor Co. buses from Red Lodge over the pass to Yellowstone for many years. The road usually closes for the winter sometime in October and reopens in May, depending on weather conditions. It may close periodically, as snowstorms in that high elevation can occur during any month of the year.

  Top: Yellowstone Park Co. bus with tourists driving over Beartooth Pass, ca1936. Kropp Co. PC. Author's Collection

  Bottom: Photo of the Red Lodge railroad depot and YP buses, late 1930s.


Silver Gate

The town of Silver Gate is located one mile from the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park and three miles from Cooke City.   It is on the route of the Beartooth Scenic Highway. In 1931, John L. Taylor purchased 160 acres of land from Mr. George Winn who had obtained the land form Horace Double, the original homesteader. Taylor devised plans to create a new town to serve the Yellowstone tourist trade and create an old-west style of town.  He envisioned selling lots on which people who ‘wanted to get away from it all” could build their summer resort.  After much planning and consideration, Park County Commissioners approved the townsite of Silver Gate in September of 1932.

Blue Spruce Lodge & Cabins
Kropp Co. PC, Author Collection

Covenants were written for the townsite that required the use of rustic building materials and log construction.  Taylor and J. J. White formed the Silver Gate Co. to manage the business of building a new town.  An article in the Helena Independent newspaper of July 4, 1937 proclaimed that “A new town is blossoming in Montana . . . and, according to the man promoting it, the best, newest and nicest little city in Montana.” The article quoted Taylor as claiming that the water mains and telephone connections had been installed and that a lighting system was in the works. At that time there were reported to be 69 cabins, stores, restaurants, gasoline station and taverns.  Construction was to begin soon on a new $10,000 log hotel that would be both “modern and rustic,” feature two stories and be 60’ by 136’ in size. The post office was approved and opened in late October of 1937. 


View of Silver Gate ca1940s
Kropp Co. PC,
Author Digital Collect.

 

To this day, Silver Gate still retains its quaint, old-western ambiance and all the buildings in the original townsite still feature log construction..Silver Gate is located in Montana, about a mile from the Yellowstone Northeast Entrance Station and about 3 miles from Cooke City. The 2010 Fed. Census listed the permanent population at 20.

The rustic, log Northeast Entrance Station was constructed in 1935. it was declared a Nat’l Historic Landmark in 1987, and was placed on the Nat’l Register of Historic Places at the same time. Real-Photo postcard, author collection.

 

After the opening of the stunning Beartooth Highway in 1936,  the Helena Independent reported Paul J. Campbell and P.R. Gorham were partners in the construction of the log chalet that would have 38 rooms with rustic-design beds.  Construction began on the Gorham Lodge in 1937. Whole logs were brought in from the surrounding forests and oil paintings depicting beautiful mountain scenes were commissioned to line the banisters of the second floor. The lodge was constructed to be an “indoor playground” for all of the tourists coming over the Beartooth Highway. The main floor would provide space for a café, bar and dance floor and was expected to open on June12, 1938. 

Gorham's Chalet linen postcard, ca1940s  
Author's Digital Collection  



Since its opening, Gorham Chalet, with name changed to the Range Rider in the early 1950s, has seen many wild times and brought a lot of entertainment to a small mountain community. Ernest Hemingway even used to frequent the bar and write. The original logs still stand and the lodge possesses all of the magic that it has had since the day it opened. Over the years not much has changed, just enough so that people can continue to enjoy the Range Rider as so many have been able to in the past.

Range Rider's Lodge Real-Photo PC, ca1950s  
Author's Collection  

 

In the 1880s, the miners and Montana businessmen fought Congress and Yellowstone Park advocates over the creation of a railroad line that would extend from Cinnabar through park lands and into Cooke City. This would be the only way the miners could really profitably exploit the riches of the area. Hauling ores from Cooke to Cinnabar by wagon or mule train was slow and costly, eating up most of any potential profits.  Mining and ore processing continued in the hopes that the railroad would save their town and mines.  Park proponents eventually beat down the railroad plan in the early 1890's, squashing the miner's hopes for riches.  Mining continued on and off for the next century, with various new generations of investors hoping to make a buck off the mineral wealth.  Attempts in the 1980-90's to begin a new round of metals mining generated intense opposition due to environmental factors and the New World Mining district plans were thwarted in 1996 by President Clinton.


Realizing that mining was no longer their ticket to fame, local businessmen promoted other avenues of prosperity to enhance their economy. These included, snowmobiling, hunting, hiking, 4-wheeling and tourism, and have helped to keep the local economy alive. The introduction of wolves to the northern tier of Yellowstone, although opposed by many, has added another dimension to the economic community as thousands of wolf-watchers annually trek to the Lamar Valley to scan the valleys and hills for the elusive canine, bringing extra dollars into the Cooke community.

As the old saying goes, “Gold is where you find it.”  These days finding gold is perhaps more easily mined from the pockets and billfolds of the Greater Yellowstone area visitors, than it is from the earth below them.




Copyright 2019 Robert V. Goss 
All rights reserved.  No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the author

 



























 

The new Cooke City Montana Museum is finally open to the public and celebrated its Grand Opening on July 19th, 2014 after much research and hard work. It now presents permanent exhibits on the history of the three communities of Colter Pass, Cooke City, and Silver Gate as well as exhibits on the Beartooth Highway, Mining, Schooling, Gas Stations and Tourism, Women and Winter. When you are in the area, please stop by the museum on Main Street in Cooke City and enjoy the displays and delve into the extensive local history on their interactive computer station.
Click on photo at right to visit their website.





Visit the Cooke City Area Community Council







Keywords:
Silver Gate, Cooke City, Yellowstone Gateway, Northeast Entrance to Yellowstone, Beartooth Pass, Adam Horn Miller, Bart Henderson, George Huston, Jay Cooke, Gardiner Montana, Red Lodge, Beartooth Highway, Lamar Valley.



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