Ellen Vogelsang, MHS Volunteer
Most
Montanans are familiar with the Grasshopper Creek Gold Discovery in 1862, which
began the gold rush to Bannack and the Montana Territory. However, Granville Stuart “found” gold four years
earlier, near what is now Gold Creek. Stuart had been delayed by illness at Malad Creek (Utah) in 1857, on his
journey from the gold rush of California back to the 'States'. He heard, from other mountaineers, of gold
found on a branch of the Hell Gate River (present-day Clark Fork River) and detoured to the north. He found gold, but lacked sufficient tools to
excavate and did not return until 1862.
Earlier in Utah, Granville
Stuart had learned of Metis trapper named Francois Finlay, known as
“Benetsee”, who had found light float gold on what he called Benetsee Creek (now named Gold Creek) in 1852. This prompted the detour north by Stuart and
associates. Benetsee traded the gold to
Angus MacDonald at Fort Connah, which ultimately led to MacDonald finding gold in British Columbia. Both Benetsee
and MacDonald were employed by the Hudson Bay Company and were told to keep the
gold discovery quiet to protect HBC’s interests. The company had seen what the California gold rush
had done to their trapping grounds and business.
Stuart returned to Gold Creek in the spring of 1862 with the proper equipment to viably mine gold. The Pike’s Peakers got wind of gold in Montana, which led to John White coming north from Colorado and finding gold in Grasshopper Creek on July 28, 1862.
Benetsee
can be credited with finding the first recorded gold in Montana, 10 years prior
to the Grasshopper Creek/Bannack discovery.
Granville Stuart had the means to make his discovery profitable several
months before John White.
 |
| Granville Stuart, 1883 [MHS Photo Archives 981-260] |
Stuart returned to Gold Creek in the spring of 1862 with the proper equipment to viably mine gold. The Pike’s Peakers got wind of gold in Montana, which led to John White coming north from Colorado and finding gold in Grasshopper Creek on July 28, 1862.
 |
| View of Bannack in 1891 with Grasshopper Creek in the background [MHS Photo Archives 940-699] |
References:
Angus
MacDonald (1816-1889) - MHS Archives Papers/SC 47: Box 3/Folder 3
Granville
Stuart “Forty Years on the Frontier”
Wikipedia:
Gold Creek, Hell Gate