METHODIST CHURCH at BANNACK MONTANA GHOST TOWN Poster

Built in 1877, the Methodist Church was the first building in Bannack built exclusively for the purpose of worship. Throughout Bannack's history, it was the respectable women who wrote in their Diaries and Letters about a 'lack of a proper place to worship.' In 1877, settlers throughout the region barricaded themselves in Bannack against a possible attack by Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce Indians. News came that they had just defeated General Gibbon in the Battle of the Big Hole and they were on a rampage. Although Bannack citizens did extensive preparation for the attack, it never materialized. The indians killled four settlers whose burial was presided over by the circuit Methodist Minister, Brother Van Orsdel. The town was so full of people that the enterprising circuit preacher persuaded them to build the church.