Madison County, MTGenWeb

a part of MTGenWeb & The USGenWeb Project

State Coordinaor - Karen De Groote | Asst. State Coordinator - Suzanne Andrews
County Coordinator - Denise Wells

PLEASE NOTE THIS SITE IS CURRENTLY BEING REDESIGNED AND UPATED BEGINNING 9/22/2022. I HOPE TO HAVE MUCH MORE ONLINE VERY SOON. THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND PATIENCE.

William H. "Bill" Fairweather, Henry Edgar, Thomas W. Cover, Michael Sweeney, Barney Hughes and Henry/Harry Rodgers discovered gold in Alder Gulch in southwestern Montana in 1863. They were on their way to Yellowstone Country from Bannack but were waylaid by a band of Crows. While hiding from the Indians in a gulch they found gold. They named the gulch after the alder trees lining the gulch. Alder was one of the great gold producers of all time. The site of the largest placer gold strike in world history. It produced $10,000,000.00 during the first year. A year later the boom town of Virginia City had a population of 10,000. People lived in makeshift tents and shacks and every third construction was a saloon. The site gave birth to two of Montana's most famous towns: Virginia City and Nevada City. The discoveries at Alder Gulch drew people away from Bannack, reducing the population, making Virginia City the territorial capital from 1865 to 1875.

August 2019 | June 2016
November 2015 | August 2014

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Surrounding counties: Beaverhead, MT | Gallatin, MT | Jefferson, MT | Silver Bow, MT | Freemont, ID