The Mining Family Named Carpp

                         Charlie and Ina Carpp holding a string of grouse at their Moose Lake cabin

Charles Carpp Sr. was a colorful buffalo hunter, Indian fighter and miner. Born in 1852, in New York, he came west from Michigan at the age of fourteen where he prospected in the Black Hills and then established a trading post near Fort Benton. At one rime he had as many as ten skinners working for him while hunting buffalo as far south as Texas. The skins sold for $1.00 a piece. When the buffalo ran out he moved to the Pintler area and on the ridge bearing his name found silver float. In 1887 he called in government surveyors and they gave his name to the lakes, creek and ridge. 

The Carpp Mine is described in Emmons, “Geology and Ore Deposits”(1913) from a 1907 report by D, F. McDonald as located about two miles north-east of Carpp Lake on the south slope of a very steep canyon drained by a (Middle) fork of Rock Creek. About 1000 feet of work had been done in drifts and crosscuts. The Ore consists of white quartz and silicate limestone stained with copper carbonates and carries a little pyrite and copper glance. The richest ore, according to McDonald, was near a crosscutting body of quartz porphyry encountered in the tunnel about 220 feet from the portal.  At one time Charlie was offered $50,000 for his mining claim but refused to sell. Not long after the silver vein ran out, and he looked in vain to find it again. Thirty years later he sold the claim for $800.00.

 At the age of forty, in 1892, Charlie traveled back to Michigan to marry Ina Mae Hazard on January 14, 1892 and they returned to live in their log cabin.. To this marriage was born one son, Charles Jr., in Philipsburg, on August 14, 1906. Besides discovering ore on Carpp Mountain, Charlie Sr., patented claims on Willow Creek and was foreman of placer mines at Basin Gulch. Charles Senior died at the age of eighty-eight in the first week of April, 1941 and was interred in the Philipsburg Cemetery. 

Ina died at the age of eight-three, after living for seven months in a Rest Home in Drummond on February 7, 1952. Survivors were her son and daughter in law and two grandsons. 

Charlie Jr., graduated from Granite County High School in 1924. and after attending Electrical College, in Los Angeles for one year, young Charlie found a job at Moose lake where Bessie Dunn had William Isom and Arthur Taggart building a mill and residence. When the partnership fell apart Isom hired Charlie as caretaker of the property during the winter of 1932. Taking advantage of the situation, Charlie married, a long time girlfriend, Pauline Dorsett in Bozeman on November 1, 1932 and brought her to Moose Lake to spend this first winter of their marriage. 

The story goes that they ate moose, moose and more moose to get through the 6 months of winter. Pauline said they snow-shoed everywhere except the outhouse. According to “Gold on a Shoe String” Pauline went out just once in eight months. She snow-shoed to the Carey ranch (where East Fork and Middle Fork merge) and caught a ride into town with the mailman. In my possession is a crocheted doily given to me by Annie McCale Sanders that Pauline gifted to her. 

                               Charlie (Jr.), Pauline, Charles Walter and Larry Dale Carpp Circa 1940

To this marriage was born two sons: Charles Walter and Larry Dale. Charles Carpp Jr. became foreman of the Sapphire mine in 1936 and was able to convince J. Walter Kaiser that the claims were financially solvent and American Gem Mining Syndicate sold the Rock Creek claims to Charles Carpp Jr. and J.W. Kaiser in 1936/37. I found in August Erickson’ diary this notation “October 29, 1937—Sapphire News------The mines have been leased to Charley Carrp. 20% on 3 years-$10,000 basis.” 

They lived in the Philipsburg area until 1943 while Charlie was in the mining business and had the partnership in the Sapphire Mines. Carpp and Kaiser leased the claims to George Carter when the market for sapphires tanked. The couple next lived in Butte until 1948 then moved to Dillon where Charlie worked in the hardware business. Charlie was also a sales representative for Coast to Coast Hardware, until they returned to Philipsburg when he retired. 

Charles Jr. died at the age of eighty-three in the Granite County Memorial Nursing Home on April 21, 1990 following a long illness and is buried in the Philipsburg Cemetery. Survivors were: Pauline and the two sons. Pauline, died November 16, 2002 at the age of eighty-nine at Redmond, Washington.