Pony is located 30 miles southwest of Three Forks on Hwy 287. This old mining town is perched on a steep incline deep in the Tobacco Root Mountains. Pony took its name from Tecumseh “Pony” Smith who mined here in 1868. The approach to Pony is so steep and so tight in the nook it occupies that one resident penned, “Pony, Pony, the beautiful little town where train backed in cause it couldn't turn around.”
Though it may seem like a ghost town, there are about 115 residents. Many of the historic buildings are standing and some are still in use. Pony is a pleasant blend of the past and the present. Nearby is the ghost Strawberry Camp that was named because a miner swinging his pickaxe in a strawberry field discovered a vein that was rightly named the Strawberry. Several other ghost mines are above Pony. Pony is the nearest town to Potosi Hot Springs.
Photo Gallery Bozeman Area
