Lion City.....
Named in honor of the mountain bearing the same name. Early newspaper accounts mention a community known as "Bryant," which in all probability was Lion City. As production at the nearby Trapper Mine began to wane between the years 1876 to 1878, attention gradually shifted to the workings on Lion Mountain, where new settlements began to form—communities that would come to be known as Lion City and Hecla.
Click on early images of Lion City, Montana to enlarge.
The surrounding mining district, variously known as the “Trapper District” or “Bryant District,” drew its name from the notable Trapper Lode and one of its earliest discoverers, James A. Bryant.
The origins of the mountain's name—whether “Lion Mountain,” “White Lion Mountain,” or “Lion Hill”—remain a subject of historical debate. The discovery of silver and lead upon the pale, exposed rock of this mountain occurred shortly after the strikes at Trapper Ridge. Early newspaper reports referred to the site variously as White Lion Hill, Lion Mountain, or more generally as “The Hecla Mines.” Accounts from early historians frequently recount the naming of the mountain, though the details often differ in both name and circumstance. One element, however, persists in every version: the presence—real or imagined—of a lion.
One popular legend tells of a prospector named Joe McCreary, who, while walking near the area now known as Lion Mountain, mistook a pale figure for a mountain lion. In truth, the apparition was a white mule belonging to his friend, P. J. Grotevant. In a panic, McCreary fled to camp for assistance. When his fellow miners returned to the spot and discovered the truth, they saw fit to immortalize the incident by naming the mountain where the “lion” was spotted as Lion Mountain—much to McCreary’s enduring chagrin.
In 1907-1908, a 20-stamp concentrator was constructed at Lion City by the Longmaid Brothers of the Penobscot Mining Company.
Another tale, recorded by the historian Marguerite LaMarche, tells of a man known as Dr. Glick, who was prone to visionary episodes when under the influence of drink. On one such occasion, Glick burst in among his companions, claiming to have seen a white lion. Several armed men followed him to the hillside, only to find an old white horse grazing serenely in the grass.
Yet, the most credible origin of the mountain’s peculiar name may lie with a certain Dr. Day. An early edition of the Glendale Atlantis, a newspaper dating from 1879–1880, wryly remarked that “Doc Day’s white lion of White Lion Mountain was an ass.” Dr. Day, a known figure on the mountain, had been employed as a prospector by Armstrong, Atkins & Co., and worked the slopes alongside a partner named Harvey. It seems unlikely that any physician would frequent such rugged terrain for reasons other than mining interests.
Notably, references to “White Lion Mountain” or “White Lion Hill” appear in local newspapers as early as 1874 and continued until roughly 1877. Over time, however, the descriptor “White” faded from usage, and the locality became known simply and enduringly as “Lion Mountain.”
