Getting Near the Top.

….“East of Butte we go up a long hard grade …. “

Continuing To Follow Rt-2 Towards Butte, MT, Pipestone Pass, MT. My Rand McNally Map shows Elevation 6,453 ft, and also says this is the Continental Divide. My own GPS gives elevation as 6,455 ft.
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…. Pipestone Pass Likely Got Its Name By Adoption From A 1860’s Town, Some 14 Miles East Of Pipestone Pass. ~
…..Concerning the Name “Pipestone Pass” => This name might possibly suggest the land around here has a certain kind of Easily Carved Red Rock, which was carved by Native Americans into a Ceremonial Smoking Pipe.
….However, as you will learn SECOND Photo Next => There is no “Pipestone” rock, clay, or other similar material anywhere around. => So Google to rescue => The following Montana Standard (of Butte, MT) Newspaper excerpt, in explaining of Butte, MT Mining History, gives the likely steps where the name “Pipestone” comes from =>
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Butte, MT => Mining City History: Pipestone Hot Springs.
…. NOTE WORDS BELOW => “A Law Suit That Was Won By His Lawyer, ABRAHAM LINCOLN” !!
……..By Richard I. Gibson, Apr 22, 2019 1
....Butte’s people found relaxation in diverse ways, but two hot springs, Gregson (Fairmont) to the west and Pipestone, 33 miles to the southeast [of Butte, MT], were among the most popular destinations.
....Pipestone springs were discovered in the middle 1860s by John Paul, about the time gold was found at Butte. Paul was an indentured servant in Missouri who fled to Illinois, where he engaged a lawyer to challenge his indenture – a suit that was won by his lawyer, Abraham Lincoln. Paul worked briefly as an errand boy for Lincoln in Springfield before heading west.
....Paul homesteaded the area at the springs, called pipestone supposedly for clay that was good for making pipes, although there is little material in the area that would serve that purpose. Legend said Native Americans would visit the springs under truce, and that wickiups were still standing there when Paul and other gold-seekers arrived. According to prospector Thomas Seerley’s journal, he probably “made” $206 in gold from Pipestone in six weeks during September and October 1864. A village named Milner’s Store developed to support prospectors, but had no long-lasting life.
....The next known landowner there was Ms. Ollie Barnes, probably a step-daughter of John Paul, with her brother who came to Montana about 1870 and acquired the springs in 1875. By 1879 Ollie was the sole owner and the following year she became the first postmistress for the small community of Pipestone. She constructed a hotel, barn, and guest house. ***SNIP***
…. The Above Is Excerpt From Montana Standard (Butte, MT): Click Here to See Remainder Of Article & Photo Of The Pipestone Hotel, circa 1920.
….Thus historically, from the name of Pipestone Hot Springs, MT, this name likely ALSO was subsequently adopted for nearby => Little Pipestone Creek, Big Pipestone Creek, and the small town of Pipestone, MT. And we can suppose this is where the name Pipestone Pass, came from!
….Similar “got name by adoption” happened in other places in USA. See for example =>
Discussion of How It Seems Everything Around Here, Gets Named after “John Day” !! AFTER page comes up, scroll down to word everything … .


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(Photo = 109-0957c ...... ZMM Page = 236 ...... WayPt = 238w 6455ft)