A New Reality TV Gold Mining Show is Set in Montana

Gold was first reported in Montana in 1858, near Drummond. A few years later, word spread about a major gold strike near present-day Bannack and by 1862 thousands of prospectors where heading to the hills and stream beds of western Montana, hoping to strike it rich. Some became very wealthy, most did not.

Mining for gold is hard work.

The first prospectors to the area found the "easy" gold first, usually by panning stream beds and operating basic sluice-boxes. Mining towns begin to pop up almost overnight and as the rush for gold continued, mining operations quickly became much more sophisticated. Thousands of miles of tunnels have been excavated underneath the mountains of western Montana. You can still see the rusting hulks of massive mechanical gold dredges around Virginia City and Bannack. If you spend much time in the hills and hollers of Montana, you've likely encountered images like the one below.

American Gold: The Legend of Bear Gulch

A new gold mining reality show debuted this week on Fox Business called 'American Gold: The Legend of Bear Gulch' and I'm planning to check it out when I get a chance. It's filmed in the Tobacco Root mountains, near the quant mining town of Pony. Fox's synopsis reads,

Featuring the Dale brothers, Rick, John, Tad, Paul and Kitt, the hour-long series will follow the family as they attempt to mine 800 acres of previously worked land for gold in the wild mountain valley of Bear Gulch, Montana.

The Dale family has been involved in the mining industry for years and an interesting legend is part of the show. Supposedly, their grandfather reported stories about a hidden mine in the area that remains filled with millions of dollars of gold. I guess we'll have to tune in to see if the brothers strike it rich.