Photo Description
The Collar mine and mill were located about 1 1/2 mile NE of Maiden and was the first large amalgamation mill built in central Montana. It was a bust and only operated a month or so. Production was maybe a little silver. The massive stone foundation of the mill in Collar Gulch and an open cut higher up on Crystal Peak are the only remains.
The Collar was Maiden's first disaster as workers and merchants were owed large sums of money from the busted operation headed by eastern capitalists. Things were so bad in the winter of 1883 - 84 that the military at nearby Fort Maginnis delivered rations to those really hard up. In 1886 - 87 Perry and Clara McAdow, of Spotted Horse mine fame, acquired the mill and moved it to the Spotted Horse. It was replaced in 1889 with a larger more modern mill.
Text courtesy of Jerry Hanley
