General Store

The exact founding date of Frank A. Davey's Store is unknown, but it was one of the earliest in Garnet, built about 1898. Typical of western general stores of the time, Davey's Store sold, amoung other things, dry goods, shoes, jewelry, canned goods, mining tools and cuts of meat. The store boasted a hardware section and an office that weighed gold. In the 1910s it functioned as a post office. The meat and other perishables were stored in an icehouse that also contained three secret compartments built into the back wall. There, gold would safely await shipment down the hill. The annex was added to the east side of the store to keep a supply of essentials such as flour and sugar. These items were only sold in emergency situations, a policy that angered many of the townspeople. Frank Davey operated the store until 1947. Before moving to Garnet, Davey worked in the grocery department of the Missoula Mercantile which is now Macy's. Davey had recieved the patent for the Garnet Claim, so the majority of the town was built on his land. But it never made him rich. He died in 1947 while walking to one of his claims. His belongings, along with store items were auctioned off in 1948. This officially marked the passing of Garnet into a status of a ghost town.

 

 

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