"Millie Ringgold (1845-1906)

Was a gold prospector,boarding house,proprietor,and long-time resident of Yogo mining district in the Little Belt Mountains of Central Montana.According to the 1900 census,Millie whose names are variously spelled Molly,Ringo,and Ringold,-was born a slave in Virginia.By the 1870s she had settled in Fort Benton,Montana,and worked as a nurse for the U.S. Army.In 1879 miners discovered gold along Yogo Creek near Helena,Montana,kicking off a short-lived gold rush.Millie was among the prospectors who flooded the region,reportedly with a wagon, a pair, of mules,and an $1,800 grub stake.Most miners left the area by 1883,she remained,never relinquishing her faith that additional gold deposits would be found.The 1900 census listed her as prospector-owner of her claim.By that point she had hired an African-American man to work for her,who may have been Abraham Carter,the other African-American resident listed in the 1900 census for the Yogo District,and one of those who remained after the initial boom played out.When Millie ran out of funds to pay,him she reportedly did the manual work herself,often wearing men's overalls.In addition to work her mining claim,Millie ran a boarding house for travelers through the are.All who wrote about her noted the immaculate house and dining room,complete with white linen and polished silver,that she kept up even after the town was all but deserted.Only nine people resided in Yogo by 1900 including Millie,who was one of two women in the settlement.Near the end of her life she was afflicted with rheumatism and was taken to Great Falls for medical care.Millie refused to stay and returned to her mountain home,where she died.