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Onward to Independence Part 2

© Connie Troutman

The journey to Independence by miners and settlers was not an easy task at times. Weather conditions as well as road conditions made some want to turn back. But for most, the prospect of gold kept their spirits going along the rugged and steep terrain.

Independence was born in the 1880's and boasted a population between 400 and 500 people and many others in the surrounding area. Today you can still search for gold nuggets and view parts of the mine still standing. The only logical way to reach this area is by a 4-wheeler or a jeep. I've seen trucks make it up there but I wouldn't advise that. In the winter it's snowmobiles or snowshoes.

Now just a mere image of the past, a ghost town, Independence still gives you a feeling of life. A feeling of prosperity and despair that some felt back then, visions of a mining town trying to survive. According to the Montana DEQ, the mining boom occured from 1888 to 1893 and the town of Independence flourished. Although mining was skittish after that time, prospectors still came even into the early 1900's but today it's just an image of what was.

The remains of cabins do give you a sense of how people lived. And you can almost visualize what the contents could have been: a small wooden table and bench for eating, a wooden bunk seated in the corner draped with a thin blanket, a weaved rug, a hat hanging on a wall, perhaps even a wood stove. No matter what the furnishings, settlers didn't have all the fancy comforts.

Oh, you who lounge on your divans and sofas, and sleep on your fine luxurious beds know nothing of the life of a settler! Here we are sitting on a pine block, a log, or a bunk, sleeping in beds with either a quilt or a blanket as a substitute for sheets. I can tell you it is very aristocratic to have a bed at all. --Mrs. John Berry, settler, in a letter to a friend "back east"

Independence wasn't without resources. There were 2 general stores, saloon, stamp mill, blacksmith shop, hotel and feed stable. Card playing and drinking had to have been the entertainment of those days, not to mention "girls of the night". There wasn't a school but halfway between Big Timber and Independence, the town of Contact did have a school, hotel, post office and a tavern by the name of "The Bucket of Blood". Contact was a stage and freight stop where teams were changed. I can imagine gunfire in the middle of town as well. What's the 1880's without it?