Emigrant Gulch
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Location: Milepost 28 on Hwy. 89 south of Emigrant
A party of emigrants who had traveled with a wagon train across the Plains via the Bozeman or Bonanza Trail arrived in this gulch August 28, 1864. Two days later three of these men explored the upper and more inaccessible portion of the gulch and struck good pay. A mining boom followed.
When cold weather froze the sluices the miners moved down to the valley, built cabins and “Yellowstone City” began its brief career. Provisions were scarce that winter. Flour sold for $28 per 96 lb. sack, while smoking tobacco was literally worth its weight in gold.
The strike was not a fabulous one, but snug stakes rewarded many of the pioneers for their energy and hardships.
Emigrant Gulch