In the 1890s, Montana’s Marysville gold camp grew to about 4,000 people; today, its population is officially 82, with local estimates closer to 90–100

Picture a small town, much smaller than your college dorm floor. This is Marysville, a town situated on a hillside in Montana, which was among the richest land on this continent per acre. The town has even appeared in a 2010 New York Times feature, “As a Near Ghost Town in Montana Watches, a Gold Mine Is Reborn,” detailing how the town saw a mining firm return to open up the shafts originally dug by hand by an Irish immigrant Thomas Cruse in 1876. Cruse had named the claim after his birthplace in Ireland (County Roscommon), unknowingly creating one of the most profitable square miles in the American West. This is a tale of boom and bust economics.

A town built on a lucky strike

Thomas Cruse was an impoverished prospector who borrowed money to continue his work at a claim no one believed in. However, he created one of the richest mines in the USA within a few years. During the 1880s and 1890s, Marysville was booming, with around 4,000 people living there at the time. At its peak, there were 27 saloons, 7 hotels, a bakery, and a drug store.

The Drumlummon Mine alone accounted for around half of the $50 million worth of gold mined in the area, roughly $25 million from that single claim. As per a report from the U.S. Geological Survey on gold mining districts in Montana, Lewis and Clark County was one of only four counties in the state to exceed one million ounces of gold produced. The Marysville-Silver Creek district alone was estimated to have produced over 1.3 million ounces by 1959.

From 4,000 people to a few dozen

Eventually, Cruse sold the Drumlummon to a British syndicate for around a million dollars. He became a rich man, but the town continued to thrive through legal battles, floods, and running out of easy ore to mine. As is often the case with extraction industries, production levels started to decline, and people began to leave.

Today Marysville has an official population of 82 according to the 2020 U.S. census. However, local estimates suggest the population is nearer 90-100. This is a fraction of what it was during the golden age. The mine has seen a few brief revivals in the late 2000s due to rising gold prices but was closed again in 2013.

Why this resonates with a generation accustomed to boom times

Whilst Marysville could be considered quirky roadside Americana (many travel websites list it as such), it provides an interesting insight into the impact of putting all of your eggs in one basket. The town relied completely on one commodity and exploited it more than almost anywhere in the country. When the commodity ran out, they had nothing. This isn’t just a tale from the 19th Century; it’s the story of half the Rust Belt, half of oil-rich North Dakota, and arguably a few crypto mining towns which have popped up and vanished over the last 5 years.

Whilst Marysville isn’t looking for sympathy (a few of its original buildings remain, including a church built in 1886; Marysville House provides food and light for the curious tourists who visit from Helena), it serves as a great example of what can happen when an economy puts all their effort into one resource. The easy gold may be gone, but the lesson hasn’t.