In 1898 George Meacham and John Molson founded Molson as a base for gold mining in the hills. The gold didn’t pan out and the town went bust in 1901. A few people stayed on and settled down to homestead. 1904 brought welcome news of a railroad line coming right by Molson and the town experienced another boom. More change, unwelcome this time, came when the townsfolk discovered that JH McDonald, owner of the local stage line, had quietly bought up the town site acreage. In 1909 McDonald kicked everyone off of the land and the town was moved 1/2 mile north. Trains stopped running past Molson in 1935 and the population dropped again. There isn’t much left of either old or new Molson today - just a few house along the streets of New Molson, a schoolhouse, an old store building, vacation homes, ranches, and the Old Molson ghost town.
Buildings have been moved to the original town site to form a small town. Farming and mining equipment and other artifacts are displayed on the grounds and in the buildings. The brick schoolhouse, which had over 100 students in the 1950s, is now a museum.
The main floor of the schoolhouse is accessed by a stair lift. The basement and top floors are accessed by stairs only. The basement displays can be seen from a viewing window cut into one of the entry floor walls. A paved path circles around some of the displays at Old Molson but the buildings do not have ramps so access to very limited.
There aren’t any services in Molson however dry camping is permitted in the pull offs along Sidley Lake, just a little over a mile north. This is fish and wildlife site where a Discover Pass is usually required to park or camp but since there are no signs about a fee I think it’s okay to camp here without the pass.
The parking areas at the schoolhouse and Old Molson, and at the pull offs at the lake are all large enough for RVs.
Thank you Gary and Sharon for coming to visit us!
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