This small, colorful city of about 1,000 residents has won several 'awards' for its beautifully restored downtown, which was built in the mid-1800s during the height of Montana mining. The town's claim to fame from that era would probably be is its sapphires.

It could easily have become a ghost town as several former mining cities around it, but a handful of fortuitous circumstances, including being named the seat of Granite County, have saved it.

Nearby ghost town Granite was once the largest silver-producing mine in the States. I drove my RV up the twisting, muddy mountain road and probably made it at least 3/4 of the way there, but  I didn't have a map or cell phone service and it was raining and darkness was approaching, so I turned around. Part of me wanted to camp there for the night, but how creepy would it be to be stranded in or near a ghost town?

The layout of Phillipsburg reminds me of some small European towns I've been to.

This is the Episcopal church, built by one of four 'dueling' denominations that erected buildings within years (and blocks) of each other during the mining days.

This window is inside the courthouse.

In town there is a huge tourist-friendly candy store.

View of the old bi-metallic mill, seen from the small ghost town of Kirkville.
To get a sense of the permanence of any civilization, one could sit here in complete silence and watch the clouds go by over the lifeless towers, as they have for more than a hundred years, now.

Headed back to town from Kirkville.