Built in 1862 the building on the right first served as a residence for Major Watson, but by the late 1860s it had become the Montana Hotel, housing numerous miners and travelers. It was acquired by the Gibson Family in 1890 and continued to operate as a boarding housing for local prospectors. In the 1940s the building was used as a temporary school house. The building on the left was first utilized as a blacksmith shop, but when the Gibsons acquired the properties, it was turned into their private home. Photo byKathy Weiser-Alexander.