SigMT

SiG MT 26 DAY TRIP Some say the town and district were named aer the Italian city of Rimini, but most agree they were likely named as a nod to Francesca da Rimini, a character from the Dante's Inferno opera that was all the rage in Helena at the time. As 1890 rolled around, Rimini was supporting over 100 area mines and boasted approximately 300 residents. A Northern Pacific spur line constructed in 1885 provided the town with a direct route to the smelter in Wickes, where Rimini was sending an estimated 400 tons of ore by 1891. e town was abuzz with activity as gold, zinc, lead, and silver flowed from the surrounding hills. Multiple hotels were built, as well as a church, a sawmill, several boarding houses, pool halls, gambling houses, a physician's office, a school, a livery stable, a handful of stores, and more than a couple saloons. But everything changed when the price of silver crashed just a couple of years aer Rimini's prosperous peak. By the end of the 1890s, many of the town's residents had moved on. Just 20 people remained by 1920. As much as $7 million in ore was pulled from the mountains around Rimini between the initial silver lode discovery and the shutdown of the last significant gold mine in 1926. e town experienced a brief revival in 1943 when the area became a military training ground for 100 pack dogs, 800 sled dogs, and approximately 125 soldiers during World War II. e training camp was established to prepare for the snowy invasion of Norway, which was occupied by Nazis at the time. Several mining-era structures remain. Moose Creek Campground is the perfect place for a wilderness getaway. Rusted memories sit abandoned on Rimini streets.

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