Our visit to Big Sky Country won't be a long one, yet we certainly started it off right.

It travels through an area once bustling with mining activity from the last quarter of the 19th century.

Mrs. Wells designed it after one she owned in Bearmouth. With its elaborate woodwork, it was equal to the luxurious buildings in Helena. Originally, one would have entered through beautifully carved doors with stained glass windows. To the left was the ladies' parlor, on the right stood the hotel office, and moving forward a guest would enter the grand dining room.

While this was a very modern building, there were no plaster walls or insulation. The walls were covered by cloth backed wallpaper. Heating the large building required two stoves in the dining room, rising warm air heated the upstairs rooms. Access to these rooms was by an oak staircase.

The outhouse behind the hotel was accessed by descending the steps from the second floor. The interior of the lower regions was heavily white washed for the ultimate in sanitary conditions.

After the Wells Hotel closed in the 30s, Frank Davey moved into the kitchen. Davey maintained several rooms for visiting friends, but in unkept rooms mushrooms grew out of the still made beds. When Davey died, every thing left in the hotel was sold at an auction.

There were over a dozen structures to examine and read about. My favorite had to be the Adams house, built between 1896 and 1900.

It was among the nicer homes in Garnet, although constructed from logs, not boards, as it appears. A covered passageway led to the woodshed and outhouse. Mrs. Jennie Adams filled her parlor with plants, which further added to its fine appearance, as did a white picket fence around the front yard. 

The Adams family lived there from 1904 to 1927. Mrs. Adams had the Post Office in the house until 1910.

I loved this painted thread spool used as a drawer pull.

As mentioned in the description, there was no insulation here. Walls were lined with anything discarded. I can't even imagine how difficult a Montana winter would have been here. I did think this cardboard box label was interesting- Tom Sawyer Shirts and Suits for Real Boys. The Elder Manufacturing Company, Inc. began producing clothing in 1916. Turns out, the tagline "for real boys" was some sort of valued guarantee. Wild stuff.

Some miners and saloon girls found what they were looking for, some used this time as a stepping stone to the next adventure, and many of these people left their stories to be told in these old towns. Preserving what is left of these old places gives all of us a chance to appreciate and respect bygone days and helps to us understand all the work and efforts of these pioneers. Our first Montana history lesson was a fantastic one!