The Smith River Valley

The mountains to the west are the Big Belts, and those to the east are the Castle Mountains. The gulches draining the west slope of the Big Belts were famous in the 1860s and 1870s for their gold placer diggings. Montana Bar in Confederate Gulch was called the “richest acre of ground in the world.” The Castle Mountains are also well-known for their quartz mines. Fort Logan, first established as Camp Baker in November 1869, as a military outpost to protect the mining camps and ranches to the west from possible attack by Indians, was located towards the north end of the valley. The White Sulphur Springs, typical of the many thermal springs in Montana, were discovered in 1866 by Jas. Scott Brewer. Analysis of the water is said to be almost identical with that at the famous spa, Baden Baden, Germany.