Extremely Rare Photo by Joseph G. Kopp of Timberline, Montana.

(Kopp, Joseph G.) Retaining the Joseph G. Kopp backstamp, this identified photo of the ghost town of Timberline, Montana, c. 1885 shows several log structures, 2 sets of railroad tracks and a group of nine men and a child. At the time of the photo the coal mining town of Timberline was located between Bozeman and Livingston, Montana. The post office of Timberline opened on 1-19-1885 and closed 4-22-1898. A quote from the Bozeman Weekly Chronicle of 11-19-1884 reads "Timberline. Any one who does not appreciate the extent of the coal industry already prosecuted in this county and its future possibilities should pay a visit to the thriving place of Timberline, now already comprising about four hundred inhabitants. Houses are going up all round, There is a good opening there for a hotel and boarding house. As it is now, visitors cannot spend a night there for lack of accommodations." By 1888, Timberline was pretty much of a ghost town.

Today, research shows precious little concerning Timberline. In conversation with the Gallatin History Museum, although they have ample records concerning the Kopp family there is no identification of photographer Joseph G. Kopp. Nor is he listed in Langdon's list of 19th -Early 20th Century Photographers. Perhaps this is one of possibly only a handful of Kopp's known photographs.

Cabinet card, albumen photograph, 4 x 6 inches, great contrast and in vg cond.