The Prickly Pear Diggings

The Fisk or Northern Overland Expedition camped at the future site of Montana City in 1862 after leaving Minnesota in June under Capt. James Fisk with 125 emigrants to open a wagon route across the northern Great Plains to Fort Benton, the eastern terminus of the Mullan Road. After arriving in Montana, members drifted south toward mining camps in Idaho and Grasshopper Creek in Montana and found “Gold Tom,” one of Montana’s first prospectors, living in a tepee near Prickly Pear Creek and scratching gravel for gold. Although his results were slight, about half of the Fisk party stayed through the winter with gold fever. By 1864, a few hundred men were mining along the creek with only marginal success. Montana City then declined as richer strikes elsewhere in the territory drew residents away, and by 1870 it was little more than a memory. The Montana Central Railroad reestablished it in 1888 as a station on its line, and today Montana City is a distinct community proud of its heritage.

Montana City, Montana · United States