Bannack Bound: Homes, Hearths & the Battle of the Big Hole

The heart of Bannack holds its share of stories, but it’s in the forgotten edges of town where the ghosts whisper loudest. While most ghost towns offer only a few scattered cabins, Bannack tells a fuller story. Some came to strike it rich, digging deep into the earth. Others saw opportunity above ground, opening businesses to serve the miners. And then there were the drifters—drawn by the chaos and chance of a town on the edge of nowhere, chasing drink, cards, and fleeting fortune until the next rush called them away. But all of them—every dreamer, gambler, and laborer—needed a place to lay their head. Come along as I explore how they lived—and the trials and tribulations they, and so many others, faced on the unforgiving frontier.

Lined up along the hillside behind Bannack stand some of the town’s earliest and smallest homes, a collection known as “Bachelors Row.” When miners first arrived in the summer of 1862, building permanent housing was far from a priority—tents were quicker and good enough for the season. But as winter crept in and the chill settled over the gulch, it became clear that something sturdier was needed to survive the long, harsh months ahead.

Bachelors Row

Set back on the north side of Main Street, these modest cabins each consist of a single room. Most feature stone fireplaces tucked into the corners, as wood-burning stoves were far too expensive to haul this deep into the Montana frontier back then. Many cabins held bunk beds to accommodate multiple miners, and in the more industrious homes, a small table and a few stools offered a place to eat, talk, or play cards after a long day in the gulch.

One detail, however, was anything but modest: an ornate set of hinges on the door of one small cabin. Were they salvaged from a grander building long gone—or simply the standard hardware of the Victorian age?

Hinge on a bachelor cabin

Just in front of this row of rugged bachelor cabins stands the Roe/Graves House—a striking contrast in both scale and story. Built around 1866 by William Roe, according to the Bannack Association, the home emerged just as the initial wave of placer miners was beginning to fade. With twelve rooms and more than half a dozen exterior doors, it was among the largest residences in Bannack. As reported by the Great Falls Tribune, Roe arrived with the earliest prospectors in 1862 and managed to scrape together a healthy sum of gold before the placer claims were exhausted. But Roe didn’t leave town with his fortune—he reinvested it. Over time, he established a general store, a meat market, and eventually a bank, becoming one of Bannack’s most prominent and enterprising citizens.

Inside the home, high ceilings, transom windows, and light blue trim hinted at a refined touch—and much of it remained in surprisingly good condition. There was some water damage on the ceiling, and the rooms were mostly empty—hopefully by design, rather than the work of looters. Even through cracks in the wallpaper, the floral pattern remained striking: white blossoms on a soft blue background, framed by dark green leaves.

Layers of floors from different eras in the Roe/Graves home

Covering some of the windows were plantation shutters—adjustable wooden vanes mounted outside the frame rather than in, unlike modern examples. It was a detail I’d never encountered in a ghost town before. For the time and place, they felt oddly out of step—more suited to a home in the Deep South than on the windswept Montana frontier.

William Roe remained in town longer than most and was still there over thirty years later in 1893. That year, according to a newspaper report, he was assaulted by a man named Joe Jaggers, who struck Roe over the head with a chair—for reasons now lost to history. Although William appeared to recover quickly at first, his friends soon began to notice troubling changes in his speech and behavior. Weeks later, his condition worsened dramatically when one side of his body became paralyzed.

Dr. Leavitt—a fellow Bannack founder and likely a longtime friend—examined Roe with his colleague, Dr. Leason. The two doctors diagnosed him with swelling of the brain. Concerned for his health, Roe’s friends arranged for him and his wife to travel to Chicago to seek treatment from a specialist. Remarkably, William made a full recovery.

Roe/Graves House

After the dawn of the 20th century, the home was occupied by Mrs. Sarah Leota Graves who was the wife of Fielding Louis Graves. Fielding was an early settler in Montana who arrived in the territory in 1865 when Bannack was fading as the Montana Territory's first capital. F. L. Graves was one of the first men to bring the gold dredge to the United States in 1895. He helped to begin the last phase of gold mining in Grasshopper Creek, the dredge era, which saw another five dredges working the grounds by 1902.

Next door to the elegant Roe/Graves home stands the only house of worship ever built in Bannack: the Methodist Church. Its arrival was a welcome one—many women living in Bannack during the 1860s and early 1870s mentioned the lack of a church in their diaries. In 1872, a minister named William Wesley Van Orsdel arrived in town and quickly became known as "Brother Van." He was reportedly shocked to find the saloons still open on Sundays. Undeterred by the rowdy scene, he approached one of the bars and declared himself a minister of the Lord. The bartender, showing a bit of respect, agreed to close the saloon for an hour.

Photo of the F. L. Graves dredge on July 25th, 1896 Photo courtesy of the Bannack Association

According to the Bannack Association, Brother Van then began singing a popular tune of the day—A Diamond in the Rough—and was said to have a remarkably good voice. The patrons encouraged him to keep singing, and by the end of that hour, they had received a healthy dose of rhythmic religion.

In the late summer of 1877, Chief Joseph and his band of nearly 800 Nez Perce men, women, and children were attacked by Colonel John Gibbon and the U.S. Army near the Big Hole River. Earlier that year, the Nez Perce had been ordered onto a reservation—despite their largely peaceful relationship with settlers since first encountering Lewis and Clark nearly 80 years prior, as noted by the History Channel. Refusing to submit, Chief Joseph and Looking Glass set out to lead their people on a harrowing 1,200-mile journey toward freedom in Canada.

In early August, the Nez Perce set up camp along the banks of the North Fork of the Big Hole River, about 50 miles from Bannack. Believing they had gained enough distance from their pursuers, they let their guard down—a miscalculation that would spark the third of four major battles between the tribe and the U.S. Army, according to the Big Hole River Foundation. Despite never having more than 200 warriors in any engagement, the Nez Perce fought fiercely. Though caught off guard by the initial attack, they quickly regrouped and drove Gibbon’s forces back into a pine thicket on the ridge above the camp.

Teepee poles stand on the battlefield today to honor the tribe and mark the location of their camp Image courtesy of the Nimiipuu Tribal Tribune

While the army was pinned down, many of the Nez Perce women and children seized the opportunity to escape north—closer to the Canadian border and the freedom they sought. The warriors held their ground for more than a day, fighting with remarkable determination. At one point, they even captured Colonel Gibbon’s mountain howitzer, the only piece of artillery he had brought on the campaign. Eventually, the U.S. forces managed to regroup and push forward, forcing the remaining Nez Perce fighters to retreat and follow after their fleeing families.

Back in Bannack, fear spread quickly as word of the nearby battle reached the settlement. Residents worried that the Nez Perce, understandably angry after the attack, might strike Bannack next. The hills of Hangman’s Gulch were hastily fortified with earthen berms, and families from outlying ranches fled into town for protection. Although four ranchers southwest of Bannack were killed in the chaos, the Nez Perce never directly threatened the town. Still, the tension was high. Brother Van, ever resourceful, saw an opportunity in the influx of people and organized a community effort to finally build Bannack’s Methodist church.

Back on the Big Hole, the damage was devastating. Between 60 and 90 Nez Perce men, women, and children lay dead—victims of a campaign that continued to haunt the tribe's legacy. After the battle, the surviving Nez Perce fled east toward the newly established Yellowstone National Park, hoping the Crow people would offer refuge. But according to the Nimiipuu Tribal Tribune, their appeals were met with silence; the Crow, fearing U.S. reprisal or simply unwilling to become involved, refused to help.

The original location of the mountain howitzer above the Nez Perce camp Image courtesy of David Lingle

Undeterred, Chief Joseph led his people on a harrowing push northward, traversing hundreds more miles through rugged terrain. Their destination: the Canadian border and the promise of sanctuary. But just 40 miles shy of safety, the journey ended at the Battle of Bear Paw. Exhausted, outnumbered, and freezing in the early autumn snows, the Nez Perce could no longer fight. It was there that Chief Joseph delivered his now-famous surrender speech: “From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.”

(Weaver, 2024)

Bannack is more than a ghost town—it’s a living archive of ambition, resilience, and frontier spirit. From the rugged simplicity of Bachelors Row to the quiet elegance of the Roe/Graves House, each structure tells the story of those who dared to carve out a life on the edge of civilization. These weren’t just miners and merchants—they were visionaries determined to bring modern comfort and lasting community to a remote corner of Montana. In the final installment of Bannack Bound in a few weeks, we’ll meet the remarkable matriarch whose bold choices and untamed spirit helped preserve Bannack for generations to come—and discover the wild path that led her there.

A home near the edge of Bannack built on the site where the Governor's Mansion once stood

A sturdy hearth within the home above

Sources:

A&E Television Networks. (2009, November 16). Nez Perce Fight Battle of the big hole | August 9, 1877. History.com. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-9/nez-perce-fight-battle-of-big-hole

Big Hole River Foundation. (2025, February 17). The Legacy of the Big Hole Battlefield. Big Hole River Foundation. https://www.bhrf.org/newsandevents/the-legacy-of-the-big-hole-battlefield

Fielding l. graves dies from a paralytic stroke. (1913, December 28). Anaconda Standard (MT) .

Accessed from Findagrave.com

Inbody, K. (2014, April 9). Bannack at 150 . Great Falls Tribune .

Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland. (2020, August 10). 143 years, remembering the battle at big hole. Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland. https://www.wallowanezperce.org/news/2020/8/10/143-years-remembering-the-battle-at-big-hole

Walton, A. (n.d.). Bannack Montana. Western Mining History. https://westernmininghistory.com/towns/montana/bannack/

Weaver, J. (2024, March 15). I will fight No more forever. Teaching American History. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/i-will-fight-no-more-forever/