Ellen Baumler Knihy

Distinguished by statesmen and magnates, Helena's history is colored with many other compelling characters and episodes nearly lost to time. Before achieving eminence in Deadwood, Sheriff Seth Bullock oversaw Montana Territory's first two legal hangings. The Seven Mile House was an oasis of vice for the parched, weary travelers entering the valley on the Benton Road, despite a tumultuous succession of ownership. The heritage of the Sieban Ranch and the saga of "King Kong" Clayton, "the Joe Louis of the Mat," faded from public memory. From unraveling the myths of Chinatown to detailing the lives of red-light businesswomen and the Canyon Ferry flying saucer hoax, revered local historians Ellen Baumler and Jon Axline team up to preserve a compendium of Helena's yesteryear.

Helena was born of the gold rush, nurtured by the wealth of its financiers and raised on its political struggles. The lawless gold camp and its vigilante hangings left an indelible imprint on the modern community. Restless spirits from Helena's turbulent past still linger around town. Historian and award-winning author Ellen Baumler blends history with the supernatural as she expertly weaves the past with the present in a ghostly web. Firsthand accounts and historical records add credibility to these spooky but true tales. Explore the legacy of the hangman's tree and meet the ghosts of historic Last Chance Gulch. These stories and more bring to light the shadowy places in Helena where the past sometimes comes to life--from Amazon.

Montana's past embodied the rough, unforgiving and often vicious nature of the old Wild West. Unscrupulous gold camps and railroad expansion attracted the good, bad and ugly from all across the Union and as far as China. Many a soul shed blood under the Big Sky, leaving restless spirits to linger. Discover the famous cowboy artist who refuses to leave his Missoula home. Exhume the truth behind Stormit Butte, investigate the mystery at Brush Lake and become enraptured with the firsthand account of a Browning rancher's attempts at reconciliation with the ghost of a murdered Chinese rail laborer. Historian and award-winning author Ellen Baumler presents this collection of Last Best Place hauntings.