The Rise and Fall of SOCIAL WELFARE in a FRONTIER MINING COMMUNITY.

The article examines social welfare in the mining communities of Virginia City and Madison County in Montana Territory during the 1860s. According to the author, these communities were unable to sustain organized welfare programs when mining operations failed and their populations decreased. It is suggested that the uncertainties inherent in mining towns had discouraged investments in long-term projects such as hospitals and homes for the poor which would have benefited the indigent in these communities. Topics discussed include laws concerning the care and burial of the poor, medical practitioners, taxation, and the transportation of the sick and indigent from the territory.