Gold Creek was the area in which Henry Villard, president of the Northern Pacific Railroad, came to drive the iron spike that completed the line linking the West Coast with the East. This area is claimed to be the site of the first gold discovery in Montana. However, no one has been able to establish the name or place of the first discovery. On May 8, 1862, James and Granville Stuart set up the first sluices in Montana near the head of Gold Creek. The brothers had written a letter to their brother, Thomas, in Colorado, advising him to join them. The first post office was established in 1886 and operated until 1894 with Francis Bird as postmaster. The office was then reopened in 1898 and closed again in 1901. It then reopened for the third time in 1903.
Gold Creek is located in southwestern Montana, on I-90 between Butte and Missoula.
Gold Creek was the area in which Henry Villard, president of the Northern Pacific Railroad, came to drive the iron spike that completed the line linking the West Coast with the East. This area is claimed to be the site of the first gold discovery in Montana. However, no one has been able to establish the name or place of the first discovery. On May 8, 1862, James and Granville Stuart set up the first sluices in Montana near the head of Gold Creek. The brothers had written a letter to their brother, Thomas, in Colorado, advising him to join them. The first post office was established in 1886 and operated until 1894 with Francis Bird as postmaster. The office was then reopened in 1898 and closed again in 1901. It then reopened for the third time in 1903.