Cooke City
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Location: Cooke City
In 1868 a party of prospectors came into this country by way of Soda Butte Creek. They found rich float but were set afoot by Indians. Caching their surplus supplies on the stream now called Cache Creek they made it back to the Yellowstone and reported their find. In the next few years many prospectors combed these mountains; the first real development began about 1880 with Jay Cooke’s infusion of eastern capital.
Chief Joseph’s band of fugitive Nez Perce Indians came through here in 1877. In 1883 there were 135 log cabins in the settlement, two general stores, and thirteen saloons.
Cooke City had been waiting years for reasonable transportation connections to the outside world so that her promising ore deposits could be profitably mined. She’s no blushing maiden, but this highway was the answer to her prayers.
Cooke City