D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • FA L L 2 0 1 7
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D E PA R T M E N T
B A C K I N T H E D AY
PHOTOS COURTESY OF
GALLATIN HISTORIC SOCIETY/
GALLATIN HISTORY MUSEUM
Dogs and cart
Idaho Street, Virginia City, has seen many ghostly visitors. Humble ruins
and high style homes sit amicably side-by-side on the unpaved street. One
of the busiest in terms of spirit roaming is the Bonanza Inn, built in the
mid-1860s as the Madison County courthouse.
This man views a gaping hole on Highway 287 near Hebgen dam one
day after the August 18th, 1959 earthquake. A portion of the roadway
collapsed, leaving a wide gap where the man in the white hat and t-shirt
stands. Registering a magnitude of 7.3-5 on the Richter scale, the quake
caused a huge landslide, 28 fatalities, and millions of dollars in damage.
It also blocked the Madison River, resulting in the creation of Quake Lake.