About Deer Lodge
Deer Lodge is the second oldest town in Montana. Over the years it has had several names including LaBarge City, Spanish Fork, Cottonwood, Deer Lodge City and now Deer Lodge. In 1852, float gold was discovered in what is now Gold Creek. The location of this first discovery of gold, in Montana, is about twenty miles north of the city. Pan and sluice mining of gold by James and Granville Stuart, in 1860, attracted other prospectors and the district was established.