| Long Description | <DIV class="cityaspfont"><ul class= "fotocolumn"><li class="brewfoto"><IMG SRC="/Pictures/Cities/Ellistonarea.JPG" BORDER=0 WIDTH=222 HEIGHT=140 ALIGN=BASELINE><p class="fotocap">Elliston Area</p></li></ul>
<p>Elliston is near the Continental Divide twenty-five miles west of Helena. It began as a trade town in a gold, quartz, and placer mining district. Later a lime quarry and a mill supported the economy of the town.(from Cheney's <I>Names on the Face of Montana</I>, Mountain Press Publishing Company) </p> <P>
Elliston is located on the west side of MacDonald Pass which crosses the Continental Divide at an elevation of 6325 ft. In 1870 E.M. Dunphy built a toll road over this portion of the Divide making extensive use of log "corduroying" in muddy spots. He hired Alexander "Red" MacDonald to manage the toll gate with charges for all types of transportation except pedestrians and those traveling after dark. During the early 1880s, a half dozen six-horse stages a day passed this way to and from Helena and western Montana. In September of Cromwell Dixon earned a $10,000 prize when he became the first aviator in America to fly over the Continental Divide not too far from this spot. Today a four-lane highway and an air beacon replace buckboards and biplanes of earlier eras.</p>
<P>Located just 18 miles west of Helena, the McDonald Pass area offers camping at the <a href="/categories/moreinfo.asp?SiteID=1&IDRRecordID=2175">Cromwell Dixon Campground</a>, <a href="/categories/moreinfo.asp?SiteID=1&IDRRecordID=6205">cross-country skiing</a>, and hiking along the <a href="/categories/moreinfo.asp?SiteID=1&IDRRecordID=4297">Continental Divide National Scenic Trail</a>. <a href="/categories/moreinfo.asp?SiteID=1&IDRRecordID=2187">Kading Campground </a>located on the Little Blackfoot River can be accessed one mile east of Elliston on US Highway 12, turn southwest on Forest Road 227 and continue 16 miles on dirt road. The area has popular trails for the outdoor enthusiasts as well as snowmobile access during the winter.</p> |
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