Frank A. Davey's Store
The exact founding date of Frank A. Davey's store is unknown: however, it was one of the earliest in Garnet, built about 1898. Typical of western general stores of the time, Davey's store sold dry goods and shoes in the front, groceries and canned goods further back, and meat in the rear. The store boasted a hardware section, an office that weighed gold, and in the 1910's also functioned as a post office. The meat and other perishables were stored in an icehouse which 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 the Bon Marche. Davey had received the patent for the Garnet Claim, so a majority of the town was built on his land. But it never made him rich. When he died in 1947 while out walking to one of his mining claims, it was the Elk's organization that buried him because his assets could not cover the cost. His belongings, along with the store items, were auctioned off in July of 1948. This officially marked the passing of Garnet into a ghost town.
