When your town is called P-Burg, you need to either have a small bladder, a sense of humor or like to keep things short and simple. P-Burg is just the popular local slang for Philipsburg, Montana. And yes, only one “L” in that spelling as well.
So where is P-Burg? You’ll find it in Granite Mountain County. Which is where? Ride along Montana Highway 1 from a Anaconda on the way to Drummond which is on the way to Missoula and you’ll bump into at about 5270 ft. Where’s Anaconda? About 30 miles from Butte, Evel Knievel’s home town that every July celebrates the fact that he broke into a few stores as a kid and had accommodations in the local jail. Celebrating his later hi-jinks, some 50,000 bikers take part in the festivities that include explosive do-it-yourself stunts. That’s not to say Philipsburg (pop. 930) is any less biker friendly that Butte (pop. 34,000). They’ve got their biker parties, too. Not only that they’ve built a special Bed & Breakfast just for motorcyclists.
Philipsburg lies within the Pintler Scenic Loop (ala Montana Highway 1) a 63 mile drive that takes you from Anaconda to Drummond through Montana's 1998 Tourism Community of the Year, yep, Philipsburg. The road, an alternate to the I-90 Interstate close by, winds around Flint Creek with some of Montana’s best views all around you including snow capped mountains (it can snow even in July!), sage covered hills, the huge Georgetown Lake (trout, salmon) and plenty of open meadows where deer and antelope play. The local Chamber of Commerce states that P-Burg was voted one of the “Prettiest Painted Places” in America, the main street restored in 19th century bright pastel colors.
If you’re into photographing the local fauna, of various sizes and dispositions, P-Burg is only a 30-mile putt from two National Wilderness Areas, the Sapphire Mountains on the west, the Flint Range on the east, and the Pintler Mountain Range to the south. Make that 360 degrees of Nature’s best Kodak moments thanks to a plenitude of deer, elk and mountain goats.
First a bit of history about the place. A boomtown in the 1880s thanks to the discovery of gold, then when that panned out, the attraction turned to silver mining, and lastly, during WWI and the resulting needs for war materials it became the largest producer of manganese. Ranching is still a major occupation, herds of cattle chewing on the tall grass while P-Burg also serves as the county seat. It sits strategically halfway between Yellowstone and Glacier Parks and only about an hour from the Missoula (78 miles) and Butte (52 miles) as the moose flies.
P-Burg’s main museum, The Granite County Museum and Cultural Center, can be found locating within the former Courtney Hotel on South Sansome Street. Artifacts, photos, volunteer tour guides of the displays that include an assay office, a bank, a miner’s cabin.…all for three bucks.
There’s all kinds of outdoorish activities all year round, but the summer months really warm up to motorcycle exploration as well as backpacking horseback riding and some of the best fishing streams in Montana. P-Burg’s list of attractions also includes a number of ghost towns in the area. Closest is the Philipsburg Mining District found on the east side of the town and stretching eight square miles. Miners looking to strike it rich flocked to area from 1865 up until the 1960s so there’s dozens of buildings and a maze of tunnels, shafts, glory holes, and prospect diggings. Just keep in mind if your exploring these areas, most of it remains as it was a century ago, so watch your step.
While the gold and silver may be hard to find nowadays, there’s another way to find your treasure in Philipsburg, and almost guaranteed. Sapphire Mining. Back in 1894 world-class sapphires were discovered at nearby Rock Creek. You are directed to specific areas where the gravel contains the precious stones and left to dig for your own. Occasionally some tourist turned amateur sapphire hunter for a day hits the jackpot finding a big stone as the areas has produced sapphires up to three carats after processing the raw material. The colors of the gem range from “cornflower blue” to “red-orange” and “mint green.” Year round sapphire mining is available at The Sapphire Gallery and Gem Mountain.
This writer/rider arrived there in the first week of October this year, wisps of snow blowing across the pristine roadways, nary a car insight, the mountains in the distance gleaming with far more than a dusting of snow. Winter was announcing its imminent arrival, but the sun was still shining and diehard bikers were still on the prowl.
Case in point Mr. George Byrd, one of the 930 residents of Philipsburg, and you could say one of its local treasures. At 81, he’s been there, done that, done it again, rode there, and rode there again. He's still at it aboard a 1200 Sportster.
George has spent several decades traveling all over the U.S. as a highly skilled boilermaker, his talents including major installations in the L.A. area with Philipsburg being his hometown. While he liked the place, he needed more room and accommodations for his several children so decided to expand upon the available options. In fact, he decided to put together his own ghost town of original buildings, some found nearby, others he literally hauled to his property outside of town.
About eight years ago, he also decided to form his own motorcycle club devoted to promoting business in Granite County and also promoting good rides.
“I just happened to like the idea of aliens so came up with the name Alien Motorcycle Club,” says George who at the time was wearing a black leather jacket on the back of which was stitched two E.T. patches.
George organizes an annual event, bikers (and aliens) welcome. People ride in for the local history and George’s history making hamburgers that he prepares in the red caboose he built as a mobile kitchen. George and his caboose also show up at P-burg’s various summer events including the July 4th celebrations.
One of George’s neighbors, Dave Chappell, has made biker friendly accommodations available by converting an 1880s church building into a cool Bed & Breakfast called “Biker’s Sanctuary” complete with hot tubs and a machine shop for bike repairs. Dave also stages the annual July 4th holidays Bike Ride and Picnic, the proceeds benefiting Camp Make-a-Wish.
More info about P-Burg:
Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 661
Philipsburg, MT 59858
www.philipsburgmt.com
406-859-3388
