After making camp we visited Bannack State Park, www.bannack.org, a ghost town of about 60 wood buildings from when Bannack was the first Territorial Capital of Montana. Gold was discovered here in July 1862 and the resulting boom brought miners, "soiled doves," doctors, shopkeepers and outlaws of all stripes and types.
Most of the buildings are open and can be walked through and many have original windows, wallpaper and flooring but are sadly in disrepair. In its heyday it was a complete town and even had a jail although jails were seldom used when gold was at its peak. Criminals were warned, banished or hanged as no one wanted the job of watching a prisoner when they could be out working their claim. From the window of the jail, its occupants could clearly see the gallows.
With the decline in mining folks moved on, the Post Office closed in 1938 and eventually the town was abandoned. It now exists as a State Park and is a fascinating slice of Montana history.