Marysville is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Lewis and Clark County,

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, United States. Elevation is 5,413 ft (1,650 m).

Demographics

History

Marysville was a bustling mining town of 3,000 residents in the 1880s and 1890s and was the center of

gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining. Historically, mining gold from Alluvium, alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to mor ...

in Montana. The town was named by Thomas Cruse, mine owner, to honor Mary Ralston the wife of a miner. A few buildings remain, including a baseball field with bleachers and the historic Methodist-Episcopal Church of Marysville. The population as of the 2010 census was 80.

Geography and Location

Marysville is in southwestern Lewis and Clark County, by road northwest of

Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer * Saint Helena (disambiguation), this includes places Places Greece * Helena ...

, the state capital. It is in the valley of Silver Creek, which flows east into the Helena Valley and joins the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

. West of the town is the Great Divide Ski Area on the eastern and northern slopes of Mount Belmont, while down the road to the east is the Silver City Saloon on Highway 279. It is very close to the Great Divide ski area, and you can ski from late November to March. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the Marysville CDP has an area of , all land.

Mining revival

View of the mines at Marysville Montana by Carleton E Watkins

In 2010, there were news reports stating that recent exploration of the richest gold mine in the area, the Drumlummon Mine, had led to possible new discoveries. Its lower levels were allowed to flood when the mine was closed in 1904 during litigation. Sentiment in the town is mixed regarding possible resumption of extensive mining operations."As a Near Ghost Town in Montana Watches, a Gold Mine Is Reborn"
article by Kirk Johnson in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' April 30, 2010

Lore

Much of the lore in Marysville was centered on one Irishman, "Irish Tommy" Cruse. He came to the area to look for gold but would return with an empty poke and a smile. He didn't have much money and often slept in a bar counter in Helena. One day, in a site near present-day Marysville, he hit it rich. He named the site Drumlummon, after his birthplace in Ireland, and founded Marysville. Some believe it was named so because the first person there was a Mary Ralston. Others believed it was for the first three Marys there. Another said it was after one of Tommy's associates. Tommy got $150,000 before selling it for $1,500,000.

Education

The elementary school district is Trinity Elementary School District, and the high school district is Helena High School District.

Notes

External links

Marysville
at former Hometown Locator website (archived)

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Montana Unincorporated communities in Lewis and Clark County, Montana Ghost towns in Montana Populated places established in 1876 1876 establishments in Montana Territory