Welcome to Clancy, Montana

Clancy, a few miles south of Helena, was named for Clancy Creek; the creek, in turn, was named for a colorful old-timer known as "Judge" Clancy. Post records show an office open 1872-85 and includes the notation that the place was first called Prickly Pear. In 1885 the name was changed to Alhambra, and an office under that name was active until 1947. Also in 1885, postal records show establishment of another Clancy office with Frances Harvey as postmaster. This new location was at the railroad station a short distance from the hot springs resort of Alhambra.

The area was a famous silver camp in the late nineteenth century and the ore from the Clancy district was so rich that even after it was hauled by bull team to Fort Benton and shipped by river and ocean to Swansea, Wales, for smelting, it still netted profit. (from Cheney's Names on the Face of Montana, Mountain Press Publishing Company)

Today you can visit Clancy's silver camps. The area silver was found uncovered in an area eight miles long and four miles wide, which included Lump Gulch, Clancy Gulch, Strawberry Gulch, Shingle Gulch and Warm Springs Gulch. Lump Gulch was prospected for placer gold, exaggerated reports brought a stampede to the diggings. In 1864 the area was named by William Sprague and Fred Jones because of a single lump of gold they found on a prospecting adventure in the gulch. Heavy lodes weren't found, so it was quickly deserted. Years later quartz lodes were discovered in the coarse-grained micaceous granite and was worked with success. The mineral ledges of Lump Gulch were inverted, meaning that findings were small near the surface and widened with depth. A few months later it paid $200,000 in dividends.

The Jefferson County Museum in Clancy comprises of two large galleries. One gallery focuses on Jefferson County history. Exhibits on mining, ranching and railroading tell the story of life in Jefferson County and in the nineteenth century. The second gallery hosts traveling exhibits. Past exhibits have been from the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association, Smithsonian Institution, National Architectural Museum and local artists.