Neihart, Montana
Encyclopedia
Neihart is a town in Cascade County
, Montana
, United States
. It is located in the center of Little Belt Mountains
. The population was 91 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Great Falls, Montana
, Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is one of only three places in the world where Neihart quartzite
—reddish, coarse-grained sandstone with interbedded dark-green sandstone and shale—may be found (the town gives the mineral its name).
, the town has a total area of 2 square miles (5.2 km²) all of it land. Its elevation is 5661 feet (1,725.5 m).
The Neihart area is rich in mineral deposits. Gold
, lead
, sapphire
s, silver
, and zinc
have all been discovered and mined in the area. Much of the exposed rock in the area is dated to the Precambrian
era (about 4567.17 to 542 million years old). Rocks in the area belong to what is known as the "Belt Supergroup
," and rest against granitic gneiss
. Amethyst
and marine fossils are common in the area. Pinto diorite, a red-and-green spotted diorite
, is found in large quantities in the area.
Neihart is on the Kings Hill Scenic Byway
, also known as U.S. Route 89
. Snow removal crews work throughout the winter to keep the road open. It is the only town between Monarch
to the north and White Sulphur Springs
to the south. The Lewis and Clark National Forest
surrounds the town. The area is moderately to steeply mountainous. The Showdown Ski Area
is nearby, and takes advantage of the mountainous terrain. Just south of Neihart, Route 89 begins to follow Sawmill Creek. The highway then climbs toward King's Hill, a major pass through the Little Belt Mountains.
ore on Galena Creek in the Little Belt Mountains. The mining towns of Barker, Galena Creek, and Hughesville soon sprang up in the area. Among the many small mining camps which were erected was Jericho, which soon went bust. In July 1881, three prospectors from Barker—James LeRoy Neihart, John O'Brien, and Richard Harley—discovered silver near the present-day town of Neihart, and established the Queen of the Mountains Mine. When the news reached Barker, several parties of prospectors headed for the are, and established a new mining camp on Belt Creek named Canyon City. The camp was renamed Neihart after James LeRoy Neihart, one of the miners who discovered the silver there. (His uncle was the noted poet John Neihardt
.) The mining district was never formally organized, but for many years was called the "Montana District." More than 40 mines operated in the area over the next 75 years.
In 1882, the town was large enough for the United States Post Office Department to establish a post office there. A road to White Sulphur Springs was constructed shortly thereafter, although ore was packed out by mule
to Barker and smelted
there. When the Barker smelter closed in 1883, a new smelter was built close to Neihart at the Mountain Chief Mine in 1885. By this time, the town boasted a blacksmith's shop, a boarding house, restaurants, two saloons
, and stables. About 50 houses had been built in Neihart, although many residents still lived in tents. From 1882 to 1929, about $16 million in silver was taken out of the area around Neihart. The Galt and Broadwater mines were dug in 1883, and a year later the Ball and Mountain Chief mines were in operation. The M and I, Rochester, and Silver Dyke mines also opened near Neihart. Despite the area's rich ore deposits, investment in mining in the Neihart region remained low because it was too expensive to get ore out. In 1887, these early mines larger shut down, as most of the richest and easy-to-reach veins of ore had been exhausted. By 1890, Neihart was almost deserted.
On November 15, 1891, a spur of the Montana Central Railway
reached Neihart and a strong mining boom began. Now even low-grade ore could be easily and cheaply shipped to the huge smelter in Great Falls
. The Panic of 1893
wiped out the area's mining economy, but the town continued to exist. This was due largely because some mines, such as the Benton, Big Seven, and Florence, continued in operation.
Neihart went through a series of booms and busts over the next half-century. Mining booms occurred during and after World War I, in 1929, and in 1935. The 1935 boom was built primarily around zinc mining. In 1939, the town's population was 168. During World War II, Neihart was a major source of zinc mining. After the war, the rail spur was abandoned and the track removed.
Portions of Neihart have been abandoned, and ghost town
ruins can be seen in the city's outer limits. Among the more famous is Wu Tang's former laundry and drug store. The remains of Jericho can also still be found in Neihart.
of 2000, there were 91 people, 44 households, and 27 families residing in the town. The population density
was 45.8 people per square mile (17.7/km²). There were 164 housing units at an average density of 82.5 per square mile (31.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.41% White, 1.10% Native American, 1.10% from other races
, and 4.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.10% of the population.
There were 44 households out of which 15.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were married couples
living together, 2.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.36.
In the town the population was spread out with 17.6% under the age of 18, 19.8% from 25 to 44, 30.8% from 45 to 64, and 31.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 54 years. For every 100 females there were 152.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 167.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $21,458, and the median income for a family was $25,625. Males had a median income of $11,250 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $20,266. There were 20.7% of families and 21.7% of the population living below the poverty line, including 20.0% of under eighteens and none of those over 64.
Cascade County, Montana
-National protected areas:*Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge*Lewis and Clark National Forest -Economy:Malmstrom Air Force Base is a driving force in the regional economy...
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located in the center of Little Belt Mountains
Little Belt Mountains
The Little Belt Mountains are a section of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. state of Montana. Situated mainly in the Lewis and Clark National Forest, the mountains are used for logging and recreation for the residents of Great Falls, Montana...
. The population was 91 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County...
, Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is one of only three places in the world where Neihart quartzite
Quartzite
Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...
—reddish, coarse-grained sandstone with interbedded dark-green sandstone and shale—may be found (the town gives the mineral its name).
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 2 square miles (5.2 km²) all of it land. Its elevation is 5661 feet (1,725.5 m).
The Neihart area is rich in mineral deposits. Gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, sapphire
Sapphire
Sapphire is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide , when it is a color other than red or dark pink; in which case the gem would instead be called a ruby, considered to be a different gemstone. Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give...
s, silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
, and zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
have all been discovered and mined in the area. Much of the exposed rock in the area is dated to the Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
era (about 4567.17 to 542 million years old). Rocks in the area belong to what is known as the "Belt Supergroup
Belt Supergroup
The Belt Supergroup, is an assemblage of Mesoproterozoic sedimentary rocks which outcrop chiefly in western Montana, but also exposed in Idaho, Washington, Wyoming, and British Columbia. It is most famous as the formation that makes up Glacier National Park in northwest Montana...
," and rest against granitic gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
. Amethyst
Amethyst
Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz often used in jewelry. The name comes from the Ancient Greek ἀ a- and μέθυστος methustos , a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness; the ancient Greeks and Romans wore amethyst and made drinking vessels of it in the belief...
and marine fossils are common in the area. Pinto diorite, a red-and-green spotted diorite
Diorite
Diorite is a grey to dark grey intermediate intrusive igneous rock composed principally of plagioclase feldspar , biotite, hornblende, and/or pyroxene. It may contain small amounts of quartz, microcline and olivine. Zircon, apatite, sphene, magnetite, ilmenite and sulfides occur as accessory...
, is found in large quantities in the area.
Neihart is on the Kings Hill Scenic Byway
Kings Hill Scenic Byway
The Kings Hill Scenic Byway passes through the Little Belt Mountains in the Lewis and Clark National Forest in Montana, United States.. The route is home to a wide variety of wildlife and provides many recreational opportunities for travelers on the route. The Byway is a 71 mile route that begins...
, also known as U.S. Route 89
U.S. Route 89
U.S. Route 89 is a north–south United States Highway with two sections, and one former section. The southern section runs for 848 miles from Flagstaff, Arizona, to the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park...
. Snow removal crews work throughout the winter to keep the road open. It is the only town between Monarch
Monarch, Montana
Monarch is an unincorporated community in Cascade County, Montana, United States.-Geography:Monarch is located in the Little Belt Mountains of central Montana, southeast of Great Falls on US Highway 89 in the Lewis and Clark National Forest...
to the north and White Sulphur Springs
White Sulphur Springs, Montana
White Sulphur Springs is a city in and the county seat of Meagher County, Montana, United States. The population was 984 at the 2000 census.The center of population of Montana is located in White Sulphur Springs.-Geography:...
to the south. The Lewis and Clark National Forest
Lewis and Clark National Forest
Lewis and Clark National Forest is located in west central Montana, United States. Spanning , the forest is managed as two separate zones. The eastern sections, under the Jefferson Division, is a mixture of grass and shrublands dotted with "island" pockets of forested areas. Here, cattle leases to...
surrounds the town. The area is moderately to steeply mountainous. The Showdown Ski Area
Showdown Ski Area
Showdown is an alpine ski area located in the Little Belt Mountains in Central Montana, United States.-History:Created in 1936 and originally called King's Hill Ski Area, Showdown is a small-scale ski area normally closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, receiving most patrons on the weekends...
is nearby, and takes advantage of the mountainous terrain. Just south of Neihart, Route 89 begins to follow Sawmill Creek. The highway then climbs toward King's Hill, a major pass through the Little Belt Mountains.
History
On October 20, 1879, E.A. "Buck" Barker and Patrick Hughes, two prospectors, discovered silverSilver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
ore on Galena Creek in the Little Belt Mountains. The mining towns of Barker, Galena Creek, and Hughesville soon sprang up in the area. Among the many small mining camps which were erected was Jericho, which soon went bust. In July 1881, three prospectors from Barker—James LeRoy Neihart, John O'Brien, and Richard Harley—discovered silver near the present-day town of Neihart, and established the Queen of the Mountains Mine. When the news reached Barker, several parties of prospectors headed for the are, and established a new mining camp on Belt Creek named Canyon City. The camp was renamed Neihart after James LeRoy Neihart, one of the miners who discovered the silver there. (His uncle was the noted poet John Neihardt
John Neihardt
Johnathan Gneisenau Neihardt was an American author of poetry and prose, an amateur historian and ethnographer, and a philosopher of the Great Plains...
.) The mining district was never formally organized, but for many years was called the "Montana District." More than 40 mines operated in the area over the next 75 years.
In 1882, the town was large enough for the United States Post Office Department to establish a post office there. A road to White Sulphur Springs was constructed shortly thereafter, although ore was packed out by mule
Mule
A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...
to Barker and smelted
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
there. When the Barker smelter closed in 1883, a new smelter was built close to Neihart at the Mountain Chief Mine in 1885. By this time, the town boasted a blacksmith's shop, a boarding house, restaurants, two saloons
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
, and stables. About 50 houses had been built in Neihart, although many residents still lived in tents. From 1882 to 1929, about $16 million in silver was taken out of the area around Neihart. The Galt and Broadwater mines were dug in 1883, and a year later the Ball and Mountain Chief mines were in operation. The M and I, Rochester, and Silver Dyke mines also opened near Neihart. Despite the area's rich ore deposits, investment in mining in the Neihart region remained low because it was too expensive to get ore out. In 1887, these early mines larger shut down, as most of the richest and easy-to-reach veins of ore had been exhausted. By 1890, Neihart was almost deserted.
On November 15, 1891, a spur of the Montana Central Railway
Montana Central Railway
The Montana Central Railway was a railway company which operated in the American state of Montana from 1886 to 1907. It was constructed by James Jerome Hill's St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway, and became part of the Great Northern Railway in 1889....
reached Neihart and a strong mining boom began. Now even low-grade ore could be easily and cheaply shipped to the huge smelter in Great Falls
Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County...
. The Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
wiped out the area's mining economy, but the town continued to exist. This was due largely because some mines, such as the Benton, Big Seven, and Florence, continued in operation.
Neihart went through a series of booms and busts over the next half-century. Mining booms occurred during and after World War I, in 1929, and in 1935. The 1935 boom was built primarily around zinc mining. In 1939, the town's population was 168. During World War II, Neihart was a major source of zinc mining. After the war, the rail spur was abandoned and the track removed.
Portions of Neihart have been abandoned, and ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
ruins can be seen in the city's outer limits. Among the more famous is Wu Tang's former laundry and drug store. The remains of Jericho can also still be found in Neihart.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 91 people, 44 households, and 27 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 45.8 people per square mile (17.7/km²). There were 164 housing units at an average density of 82.5 per square mile (31.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.41% White, 1.10% Native American, 1.10% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 4.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.10% of the population.
There were 44 households out of which 15.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 2.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.36.
In the town the population was spread out with 17.6% under the age of 18, 19.8% from 25 to 44, 30.8% from 45 to 64, and 31.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 54 years. For every 100 females there were 152.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 167.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $21,458, and the median income for a family was $25,625. Males had a median income of $11,250 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $20,266. There were 20.7% of families and 21.7% of the population living below the poverty line, including 20.0% of under eighteens and none of those over 64.