History
Radersburg Cemetery is an active cemetery located southwest of Townsend in Radersburg, Montana. The town of Radersburg, named after its founder Reuben Rader, emerged as a boom mining town in the early 1860s, becoming one of the first in the Montana Territory. It served as a hub of industry and travel for southwest Montana and briefly held the status of county seat for Jefferson County before Broadwater County was formed in 1897. The cemetery is situated in Township 5 North, Range 1 East, Section 21, at Lat. N46° 10' 34", Lon. W111° 36' 45".
The history of Radersburg is closely tied to the gold rush in Confederate Gulch, a steeply incised valley on the west-facing slopes of the Big Belt Mountains. In 1864, Confederate soldiers on parole made a minor gold discovery, followed by the sensationally rich Montana Bar strike the next year. This led to a frantic boom period of placer gold mining from 1866 to 1869. During this time, Confederate Gulch, and its main boomtown Diamond City, outstripped all other mining camps in the Montana Territory in gold production, attracting a population of up to 10,000 people, which constituted about 35% of Montana's total population in 1866. The intense hydraulic mining methods employed during this period significantly altered the landscape and eventually consumed the original site of Diamond City.
By 1870, the gold supply in Confederate Gulch was largely exhausted, leading to a rapid decline in population. Diamond City, once a bustling county seat, was almost entirely abandoned. The hydraulic mining operations left behind massive spoil banks, obliterating most traces of the original town. Today, Confederate Gulch can be accessed via an unimproved road, with only overgrown spoil banks and occasional timber remnants indicating past settlements. The Radersburg Cemetery, however, remains active, serving the community that evolved from this rich mining history. An older, abandoned cemetery, Macomber Field Cemetery, located about three-quarters of a mile ESE from Radersburg Cemetery, had many of its graves transferred to the higher ground of Radersburg Cemetery after a fire destroyed its wooden markers.
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. Henry B. "Old Doc" Barkley (d. 1884): Pioneer physician and weather prognosticator, served as a surgeon in the Confederate Army. Practiced medicine and engaged in placer mining in Radersburg. Murdered in 1884. Nancy (Boyles) Easterly (d. 1924): Pioneer of Radersburg, lived alone and was found deceased in her home. Interred in Radersburg Cemetery. Allen M. Easterly (d. 1927): First Sheriff of Jefferson County (Radersburg area). Mined on Indian Creek, engaged in politics, and was elected assessor. Buried in Resurrection Cemetery in Helena. Myrtle (Bennett) Holling (d. ~1924): Died by suicide after attempting to murder her husband with an axe. Mother of three children. Buried in Radersburg Cemetery. Edmond Hossfeld (fl. 1889): Placed a public notice in the Townsend Star in 1889 refusing to pay bills contracted by his wife, who had deserted him. John H. Kennon (fl. 1864-1865): Pioneer who, with his wife Martha Borton, traveled from Kansas to Alder Gulch, Montana, in 1864, and then to Last Chance Gulch (Helena) in 1865. His daughter, Kate, was reportedly the second white child born in Helena. M. H. Parker (fl. 1884): Married Mittie Kennon (daughter of John H. Kennon). Taught school and established a law practice in Townsend. Later moved to Radersburg and Boulder. All members of these first families are interred in the Radersburg Cemetery. Baker (d. 1871): Executed by citizens of Radersburg in 1871 for the murder of Dr. Mann. Dr. Mann (d. 1871): Stabbed to death by Baker in Keatingville in 1871.
Visiting
The Radersburg Cemetery is an active cemetery located southwest of Townsend, Montana. It is situated in Township 5 North, Range 1 East, Section 21, at Lat. N46° 10' 34", Lon. W111° 36' 45". While specific GPS directions or an address are not readily available, its location southwest of Townsend suggests access via local roads. The nearby Confederate Gulch can be accessed via a passable but unimproved road. The cemetery is known to contain graves of early pioneers, and some graves from the abandoned Macomber Field Cemetery were transferred here. Visitors can expect to find an active cemetery with historical significance, though specific details on road conditions, land ownership, hours, or fencing are not explicitly stated in the available information. The condition of stones and signage would likely vary given its historical nature.