Louisville is a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

located in

Mineral County, Montana Mineral County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,535. Its county seat is Superior, Montana, Superior. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau ...

. Originally known as Louisville, the community began as a

mining camp A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry. Historical mining communities Australia * Ballarat, Victoria * Bendig ...

in the late-1800s, the town was inhabited by Chinese-American immigrants after being abandoned by its initial founders. The settlement was subject to a 2008 archeological dig by the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

, during which numerous artifacts were uncovered originating from its Chinese-American inhabitants.

History

Louisville was originally named Louiseville, and was established as a mining camp along Cedar Creek in

circa 1869. The settlement was named for miner Louis Barrette's wife, Louise. The town's construction was "rushed" and its design not well-planned, exhibiting as "a town built overnight." An account of its design published in ''

The New Northwest ''The New Northwest'' was an American weekly newspaper published in Portland, Oregon, from 1871 to 1887 by Abigail Scott Duniway, and for another two years by O. P. Mason. One of the first newspapers in the Western United States to champion the ...

'' in June 1870 noted that: "Louiseville is a City, with streets 20 feet () wide, and cabins, shanties, and shelters perched on every spot, and men as densely thronged as in a bivouac." After the encampment was largely abandoned circa 1870, Chinese immigrants inhabited the town after fleeing from the bordering

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. A newspaper account of the town in 1874 notes that it had by that time been largely been abandoned: "The lumber and logs off the old town of Louisville ichave pretty much been utilized in building flumes. There are three souls and a ghost in Louisville." Scholar Christopher Merritt notes in his 1995

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

that "Louiseville quickly faded into memory and derelict buildings predominated by the mid-1870s, yet the Chinese staked a relatively permanent presence in the drainage now known as China Gulch, directly adjacent to the town. China Gulch is an ephemeral drainage running into Cedar Creek from the northeast, and from the name, it seems that this might have been the center of the Chinese population in the area around Louiseville."

2008 archeological dig

In 2008, the

performed archeological digs of the former settlement, unearthing hearths,

opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

tins, ceramic pottery, calligraphy stones, bottles, and numerous soup bones at the site.

References

Sources

*{{cite thesis, url=https://hs.umt.edu/chineseinmontana/documents/CedarCreek1995Report-Revised.pdf, publisher=

, title=The Cedar Creek Chinese Report on Excavations at 24MN249 & 24MN262, edition=Revised, 2007, last=Merritt, first=Christopher, year=1995, url-status=live, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514014810/https://hs.umt.edu/chineseinmontana/documents/CedarCreek1995Report-Revised.pdf, archive-date=May 14, 2021, pages=1–79 Chinese-American culture in Montana Ghost towns in Montana Mineral County, Montana Mining communities in Montana