MELROSE, Montana Community Information

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  Scenic View

  Photo courtesy: Rob Outlaw

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  Town View

  Photo courtesy: MTOT

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  Local Area

  Photo courtesy: Rob Outlaw

Melrose is on the Big Hole River halfway between Butte and Dillon. It is famous for its trout fishing. (from Cheney's Names on the Face of Montana, Mountain Press Publishing Company) The town is nestled in the Pioneer Mountains and the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.

Near Melrose is Beaverhead Rock State Park. The huge landmark for which the park gets its name, Beaverhead Rock, resembles the head of a swimming beaver. Sacajawea recognized this landmark while traveling with the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The site is 4,949 feet in elevation and is 71 acres in size. The site can be viewed and photographed from a distance but is not directly accessible.

Bannack south of Melrose is the best preserved of all Montana ghost towns. Bannack State Park is a registered historic landmark and the site of Montana's first major gold discovery on July 28, 1862. This strike set off a massive gold rush that swelled Bannack's population to over 3,000 by 1863.