The ultimate antique collectible will soon be auctioned, an entire historic town. The town of Garryowen, Montana is located across the Little Bighorn River from the National Park Service’s Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.Garryowen is home to the Custer Battlefield Museum. The sale of the town includes a 4,000 square foot home, a trading post, the museum, an office complex, a bed and breakfast, a post office, a gas station, a restaurant and an archive of Elizabeth Custer’s papers. The starting bid at the auction will be $6.5 million dollars.
The town’s owner, Chris Kortlander has owned Garryowen since 1993, and is selling the town in the hopes that someone with more resources will buy the town and build a museum and research facility for Elizabeth Custer’s archive. If you value antiques, you’ll love the archive, it contains photographs, correspondence, drawings, notes, book drafts, invitations and even a card from her and George Custer’s 1864 wedding.
I’m not sure exactly what the Custer Battlefield Museum holds, but I doubt you could find most of it from your local antique dealer. The Battle of Little Bighorn is one of the most famous battles in all of the Indian Wars. The value of antiques found on that battlefield must be more than I can imagine.
Hopefully, the person who ends up with this town will put all the historical items to good use. I’d hate to see our Nation’s history used by a corporation to make money.
By Jamie.
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