Philipsburg, Montana

About 50 miles north of Butte we found the quaint little town of Philipsburg,  which is an old mining town.  In 1894 in the Gem Peak area on Rock Creek, the first load of sapphires was shipped from placer mines to as far away as Switzerland.  Before that only North Carolina was a source of sapphires in North America. 

Broadway Hotel

We walked the main street where there were stores selling merchandise, restaurants, and a candy store where we made a purchase.  They had the largest inventory we have ever seen, from what is being sold today all over, and a lot of ‘oldies but goodies’!  They also carried (or made) delicious fudge in all flavors imaginable, salt water taffy, plus hand-dipped chocolates, taffy and truffles.  The first Sweet Palace started in 1934.  The owner and proprietor, Pete Winninghoff learned to make candy while living in Missoula and brought his craft back home to Philipsburg.  He put a genuine sapphire in each of his famed boxes of Sapphire Chocolates!  What a gift!

Visiting here you see the historic Opera House Theatre, restaurants, The Broadway Hotel, The Granite County Museum and Cultural Center which has mining exhibits, real estate offices, gift stores gem and jewelry stores, and more.


Off of the main drag we spotted quite a few church tops so we took a walk upward on the streets.  The town is quite hilly and you develop muscles you didn’t know you had.  We passed the courthouse, the jail, a lot of churches of many denominations.  We saw a young man mowing the lawn in front of the jail who was wearing black and white striped pants. They all were within a very small area.  

Episcopal Church

Formerly 1st Pres Church

Court House

Jail

Not an NFL Referee

Kaiser House

Morse Hall

Opera House

Passing a billboard, Judy started laughing and shared with Mike what it said.  It was for an Italian restaurant and said in big letters, “Legalize Marinara”.  We thought it was very funny AND clever.