In 1866, prospector John White found gold in Bannack, Montana and the rush was on after that. Mining flourished in the early 1900s and so did the town. At one point, Bannack was known as the Territorial Capital of Montana. Around the 1930s, once the mining stopped, the town started to suffer, however, it wasn’t fully abandoned until the 1940s. The last Bannack resident left after all non-essential mining was prohibited due World War II. Bannack is now a well-maintained State Park, and tends to be more appealing to history lovers than your everyday tourist. There are plenty of the older buildings that are still accessible for visitors to explore.