Ben Phillips, the Phillips County sheepman and Charles (Pop) Whitcomb found rich gold deposits up Ruby Gulch, just west of Zortman, Montana. They built a mine and mill and a town for workers to live in called Whitcomb on the side of the steep gulch leading to a pass from one side of the Little Rockies to the other.
They made a great deal of money but needed other investors so McNamara and Marlow of Big Sandy invested in the mill and mine and made a lot of money there too long before the turn of the century.
McNamara and Marlow knew that the mine and mill were worth a great deal of money so the...
