Chico, Montana

Last updated

Chico, Montana
extinct town
Nickname: 
Old Chico
USA Montana location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Chico, Montana
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Chico, Montana
Coordinates: 45°19′16″N110°42′19″W / 45.32111°N 110.70528°W / 45.32111; -110.70528
Country United States
State Montana
County Park
Elevation
[1]
5,420 ft (1,650 m)
Population
 (2010) [2]
  Total
15
Time zone UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code
59027
Area code 406
GNIS feature ID781213 [1]

Chico is an unincorporated community in Park County, Montana, United States. The population of Chico was 15 as of 2010. Chico currently shares a postal ZIP code 59027 with nearby Emigrant. The community is sometimes called "Old Chico", to distinguish it from the nearby Chico Hot Springs Resort.

Contents

History

Old Chico or Chico City was established as a town in 1874 but had grown into a permanently populated community much earlier, making it one of Montana's oldest surviving settlements. It is situated in the mouth of Emigrant Gulch. The Chico post office was open from 1874 until 1919.

Gold was discovered in the Chico area in 1863. Mining in the Curry Mining District was begun in the spring of 1894. During this period, miners working in the area lived in a settlement called Yellowstone City. Due to harassment by Crow Indians, Yellowstone City was abandoned by 1865. After Yellowstone City's demise, a new settlement was built at Chico. The Chico townsite was closer to Emigrant Gulch and the mining activity. Chico's population in 1874 was 300. Eventually a school, general store and two boarding houses were built at the site. The town never had a saloon. As the threat from the Crow abated, houses were built further up Emigrant Gulch and closer to the mines. The St. Julian Mine was opened in 1887. Ore from the St. Julian assayed out at $360 in gold and $40 in silver per ton of ore. A ten stamp mill was built in the late 1890s and a 12 stamp mill in 1904. The 1904 mill also had a Blake Crusher and 6 Frue Venners.

Many historic buildings still stand in Chico today, including the old schoolhouse and store, as well as boarding house apartments from the height of its mining days. There are efforts to preserve or restore some of these structures.

The town can be reached both by car or by horseback from the Chico Hot springs resort, and is surrounded by charming views of nature.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telluride, Colorado</span> Town in Colorado, United States

Telluride is the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The town is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River in the western San Juan Mountains. The first gold mining claim was made in the mountains above Telluride in 1875, and early settlement of what is now Telluride followed. The town was founded in 1878.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helena, Montana</span> Capital city of Montana, United States

Helena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the seat of Lewis and Clark County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park County, Montana</span> County in Montana, United States

Park County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. At the 2020 census, the population was 17,191. Its county seat is Livingston. A small part of Yellowstone National Park is in the southern part of the county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crow Agency, Montana</span> Census designated place in Montana, United States

Crow Agency is a census-designated place (CDP) in Big Horn County, Montana, United States and is near the actual location for the Little Bighorn National Monument and re-enactment produced by the Real Bird family known as Battle of the Little Bighorn Reenactment. The population was 1,616 at the 2010 census. It is the governmental headquarters of the Crow Nation Native Americans. It is also the location of the "agency offices" where the federal Superintendent of the Crow Indian Reservation and his staff interacts with the Crow Tribe, pursuant to federal treaties and statutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basin, Montana</span> Census-designated place in Montana, United States

Basin is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, Montana, United States. It lies approximately 10 miles (16 km) southeast of the Continental Divide in a high narrow canyon along Interstate 15 about halfway between Butte and Helena. Basin Creek flows roughly north to south through Basin and enters the Boulder River on the settlement's south side. The population was 212 at the 2010 census, down from 255 at the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillsboro, New Mexico</span> Unincorporated community & CDP in New Mexico, United States

Hillsboro is an unincorporated community in Sierra County, New Mexico, United States, located in the southwestern part of the state. It was founded in 1877, following the discovery of gold. The community was the county seat of Sierra County from 1884 until 1936, when Hot Springs became the county seat.

This is a broad outline of the history of Montana in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emigrant, Montana</span> Unincorporated community in Montana, United States

Emigrant is an unincorporated community in Park County, Montana, United States. As of the 2010 census, the ZIP Code Tabulation Area (59027) for Emigrant had a population of 372. Emigrant is located in southern Montana, on the Yellowstone River, approximately 30 miles (48 km) north of Yellowstone National Park, and 20 miles (32 km) south of Livingston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crow Indian Reservation</span> Indian reservation in United States, Crow

The Crow Indian Reservation is the homeland of the Crow Tribe. Established 1868, the reservation is located in parts of Big Horn, Yellowstone, and Treasure counties in southern Montana in the United States. The Crow Tribe has an enrolled membership of approximately 11,000, of whom 7,900 reside in the reservation. 20% speak Crow as their first language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver City, Nevada</span> Unincorporated community in the state of Nevada, United States

Silver City is a Census Designated Place and small residential community in Lyon County, Nevada, USA, near the Lyon/Carson border. The population as of the 2020 census was 155.

Aldridge is a ghost town in Park County, Montana, United States. According to the book Ghost Towns of the Montana Prairie, the town was incorporated as Aldridge in 1906 but was earlier named Horr, and later Electric. Aldridge was a mining town that supplied coke and coal to the smelters for the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. Aldridge is located two miles north of the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jardine, Montana</span> Unincorporated community in Montana, United States

Jardine is an unincorporated village in Park County, Montana, United States. The town lies just to the north of Gardiner on inactive travertine terraces, much like those at Mammoth Hot Springs in nearby Yellowstone National Park. The town's chief industry was a gold mine. The community has the name of A. C. Jardine, a businessperson in the mining industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Confederate Gulch and Diamond City</span> Steeply incised gulch in the Big Belt Mountains

Confederate Gulch is a steeply incised gulch or valley on the west-facing slopes of the Big Belt Mountains in the U.S. state of Montana. Its small stream drains westward into Canyon Ferry Lake, on the upper Missouri River near present-day Townsend, Montana. In 1864, Confederate soldiers on parole during the American Civil War made a minor gold discovery in the gulch, but the discovery of the sensationally rich Montana Bar the following year—one of the richest placer strikes per acre ever made—led to other rich gold strikes up and down the gulch, and touched off a frantic boom period of placer gold mining in the area that extended through 1869. From 1866 to 1869, the gulch equaled or outstripped all other mining camps in the Montana Territory in gold production, producing an estimated $19–30 million worth of gold. For a time, Confederate Gulch was the largest community in Montana. In 1866, Montana had a total population of 28,000, and of these, about 10,000 (35%) were working in Confederate Gulch.

Maitland, originally called Garden City and sometimes misspelled Midland, is a ghost town in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was a mining community that boomed during the Black Hills Gold Rush, but was abandoned by about 1915.

Rochford is an unincorporated community in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It is not tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Roubaix, formerly known as Perry or Lewisville, is an unincorporated community in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It is not monitored by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Galena is an unincorporated community in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It is often considered to be a ghost town, although a few families still live in the area. It is not tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terraville, South Dakota</span> Ghost town in South Dakota, United States of America

Terraville is a ghost town in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was founded in 1877 as a mining camp and later evolved into a town. It was purchased by the Homestake Mining Company and was destroyed in 1982 to make way for a new mine.

The Cripple Creek Gold Rush was a period of gold production in the Cripple Creek area from the late 1800s until the early 1900s. Mining exchanges were in Cripple Creek, Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Victor. Smelting was in Gillett, Florence, and (Old) Colorado City. Mining communities sprang up quickly, but most lasted only as long as gold continued to be produced. Settlements included:

References

  1. 1 2 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Chico, Montana
  2. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 14, 2011.