This state's first major gold strike occurred about 65 miles SW of Butte on Grasshopper Creek on July 28, 1862
Nearby Bannack, now a 
ghost town and site of Montana's first major gold strike (1862),... [DOC] [TLE] High, Wide and Handsome: The birth of Montana - Colorado Gambler [PAR] May 20, 2014 ... Montana celebrates two birthdays this year: becoming a territory on May 26, 1864
, and achieving statehood on Nov. 8, 1889.