I was packed early & found the Atlantic City Mercantile for breakfast still uncertain of the day’s plans.
After leaving this place, The Divide route crosses the Great Divide Basin – 135 miles of hot, empty desert, with only two water sources – it is one of the challenging sections. On chatting with locals, I decided to rest up the day, rehydrate & start early tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, the Mercantile’s wigwam, pitched in front of their place, was offered as shelter so no need to pitch my tent.
Atlantic City is a tiny! An old gold mining town that’s now celebrating its 150th year of existence. It is also the only unghostly place around for 40 miles.
Entertaining toAtlantic City
South Pass City, 5 miles away, another gold mining town, briefly became county seat back in the late 1860’s, did not survive & is now a ghost town. As with other places visited in Montana, locals strongly value their history & the place is now a State Historic Site.
Both places owe their existence to the early 1860s when a few frontier military men were assigned to protect telegraph lines, Pony Express stations & emigrant trails in the South Pass Region. Some fellas discovered gold &, overnight, everything changed.
By 1869, South Pass City was born, with banks, hotels, etc. By the early 1870’s the rush ended but South Pass survived well into the twentieth century.
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