History
The Barker Cemetery is associated with the ghost town of Barker, which emerged in the Little Belt Mountains of Judith Basin County, Montana, following the discovery of silver in 1879 on Galena Creek. The mining camp of Barker was named after E.A. “Buck” Barker and his mine, while nearby Hughesville was named for Patrick Hughes. The area quickly boomed, with numerous mines opening and other camps like Gold Run, Central City, Leadville, and Galena City developing along Galena Creek. Initially, large quantities of lead and silver ore were transported to Fort Benton for shipment down the Missouri River for smelting.
In 1881, the Clendenin Mining and Smelting Company was established, building a smelter near Barker that processed approximately 4 tons of ore daily, yielding about $375,000 in bullion during its 18 months of operation. Despite a brief decline in activity by 1883 due to depleted surface ore, the area experienced a revival in 1890 with new rich strikes. The Montana Central Railroad further boosted mining efforts by completing a branch line to Barker in 1891, facilitating easier ore transport to smelters in Great Falls, Helena, and Neihart.
However, this resurgence was short-lived, as the Silver Panic of 1893 led to the closure of most mines. For the next decade, mining was sporadic, focusing on recovering lead and bismuth from slag dumps and tailings. The railroad spur ceased operations in 1903. Activity resumed in the 20th century when T.C. Power acquired several claims, operating them as the Block P Mine and building a mill in Barker in 1910. The mine was profitable until the 1920s, and in 1927, Power sold it to the St. Joseph Lead Company, which expanded it to become Montana’s largest lead producer.
The Great Depression forced the mine to close, though it briefly reopened in the early 1940s before closing permanently in 1943. The equipment and railroad tracks were subsequently salvaged. At its peak, Barker and Hughesville supported up to 500 people. Today, little remains of the once-thriving camps, though mining remnants, standing cabins, and the ruins of the Clendenin Smelter can still be found. The St. Joseph Company’s mining buildings are on private property. An old cemetery, likely the Barker Cemetery, is visible near Hughesville.
Landscape and markers
The cemetery is a physical record of the harshness of the frontier. The dates carved into the markers tell a story of brief booms and sudden collapses, of winters that took the young and mining accidents that took the strong. To walk among these graves is to feel the immense weight of the past pressing down on the present landscape.
Who is buried here
The stones here tell the story of the settlement. Erick Anderson (unknown – 12 Mar 1892) Ole E Bergh (3 Jan 1865 – 3 Jun 1890) William Booth (unknown – 11 May 1898) Infant Son Brady (1892 – 17 Feb 1892) Amelia Buchanan (unknown – 4 May 1891) Edward Cluff (1853 – 30 Apr 1893) Moses Doggitt (unknown – 4 Dec 1894) Jerome J Donovan (1855 – 23 Mar 1893) Henry S “Harry” Englar (11 Sep 1867 – 8 Dec 1923) Merle Wallan Englar (5 Nov 1912 – 8 Dec 1923) Verley Senseny Englar (18 Sep 1910 – 8 Dec 1923) James “Fighting Finn” Finn (1852 – 26 Jan 1882) Edwin Fletcher (1834 – 18 Jun 1899) William Gallagher (unknown – 13 Dec 1898) Henry B Holt (1842 – 25 May 1882) John “Captain Jack” Killaly (unknown – 26 Aug 1883)
Visiting
The Barker Cemetery is located in Cascade County, Montana, with coordinates 47.05220, -110.64500. The cemetery has about 44 recorded memorials, but only 4 markers were found, with the rest of the graves unmarked. One upright stone is next to a tree, two are flat markers, and one flat marker is in a fenced area that was unreadable. It is generally associated with the ghost town of Hughesville, where an old cemetery can be seen.