A Booming Little Place

A Booming Little Place. . Marysville owes its existence to the nearby Drumlummon Mine developed by a determined miner named Tommy Cruse. The British-owned Montana Mining Company acquired the mine in 1883. Expansion of Drumlummon operations, including a large ore processing mill, brought miners, their families, and businesses to the adjacent camp called Marysville. Soon substantial wood-frame and brick buildings replaced the old camp's log shacks. Within a few years Marysville consisted of genteel residences surrounding a vibrant commercial district. Along with grocery stores, hotels, mercantiles and restaurants, Marysville included churches, a variety of fraternal societies, an orchestra, and a substantial schoolhouse. A brewery and 27 saloons satisfied the town's earthier needs. One writer predicted in 1892 that "within a dozen years Helena will only be a suburb of Marysville.” It was not to be. By 1895, a severe national depression and the mining company's legal woes drifted Marysville into a slow decline. A fire devastated the commercial district in 1910 and the Northern Pacific Railway abandoned its line to Marysville in 1925 as the ore, and business, played out. While not quite the "Denver of the North,” the town endures and is proud of its heritage.