All of these tools were utilized to extract gold by washing it from the sand and gravel. But by 1870, the gold that could be found by using these simple and inexpensive methods was nearly exhausted. What was left were gold bearing quartz veins that made it necessary to use refined extracting and smelting techniques. And besides, by the 1870s, silver mines in other locations were drawing the miners away from the Garnet area.
But like all good things silver mining was soon to see a bad turn of events, namely due to the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890. This act required the American government to buy a certain amount of silver each month to be added to the national currency. It wasn't long before the excessive purchase of silver was threatening to drain the nation's gold supply and this, by 1893, resulted in a nation-wide financial panic.
Garnet, Montana: Photograph Identification
The green-roofed building in the foreground center is a log and frame cabin that was the home of Ole Dahl. Ole and his wife Marion moved into this building in 1938. Sometime later, the Dahls built a kitchen at the rear of the building, followed by a garage as well as a generator shed to provide electricity to both their home and their saloon. The saloon, Dahl's Saloon, was built further down the road from their home. Directly behind and a little to the right of the Dahl home is Kelly's Saloon. Located to the right of Kelly's Saloon, with what appears to be two false fronts, stands Frank A. Davey's Store. To the far right beyond Davey's Store, and behind the two pine trees, is the J. K. Wells Hotel that was built during the winter of 1897. To the far left, situated behind what appears to be a small tree and two bushes, is the cabin that was referred to as the Honeymoon Cabin. It was built between 1896 and 1900. On the rise behind Kelly's Saloon and Davey's Store are a cluster of miners' cabins.
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