River, Rail, and Gold: A History of Mineral County, Montana—from Indigenous Homelands to the Interstate Era

Beginning with the Sélis and Ql̓ispé peoples whose homeland and travel routes long predated county boundaries, the book follows the arrival of road builders, prospectors, merchants, railroad workers, loggers, Forest Service employees, outfitters, teachers, public officials, and families. It explores the Cedar Creek gold rush, the growth of Superior, Alberton's Milwaukee Road history, Savenac Nursery, the fires of 1910, the creation of Mineral County in 1914, and the 1996 Alberton chlorine derailment.The book also preserves stories of hunting camps, fishing streams, pack horses, local gathering places, community volunteers, and residents such as Thomas "Honest Tom" Bailey and Harold Joseph "Joe" Hanson. Illustrated with maps and historical interpretations, it is a story of boom and bust, work and recreation, danger and resilience-and of the people who made their homes along one of western Montana's most remarkable corridors.