FOR SALE: Old Wild West Theme Town Attraction in Montana

You could be the owner, mayor, and proprietor of this old-timey Western Town.

This isn't something you see every day. An entire Wild West-themed town is for sale in Montana for $1.7 million. Named Frontier Town, the tourist attraction was open to the public from 1948 until 2001, when it became a private residence.

Located off US Hwy 12 at the top of the Continental Divide fifteen miles west of Helena, MT, this one-of-a-kind property has quite the backstory. According to the Frontier Town website, the storied property was the dream of a gentleman named John Quigly.

One man and his dream.

Construction of the mock town began in 1947. With the help of his wife Sue and a few friends, they began the project, using hand-hewn logs and native stone from the acreage and surrounding area to build the sprawling compound. It was mostly constructed in the style of 1800s mining towns that once dotted Montana.

An old brochure for Frontier Town said that the attraction drew up to 2,000 visitors on "good days" and "hundreds of thousands" of tourists and travelers visited during its decades-long run, including several somewhat famous public figures of the times.

Cowboy and Western-theme towns were popular post-World War II when characters like the Lone Ranger and Roy Rodgers captivated kids around the United States. Visitors to Montana looking for an "authentic Western experience" probably loved Frontier Town.

The longest one-piece bar in the World

Every good tourist attraction needs a few catchy gimmicks. Frontier Town had several, including the longest one-piece bar in the world. The fifty-foot bar was carved by Quigly from a massive Douglas pine and reportedly weighs six tons.

During Frontier Town's heyday, it was filled with antiques and curiosities, as Quigly was an avid collector of legitimate Western antiquities and kitschy reproductions. There were various rudimentary animatronics set throughout the property that recreated Western scenes.

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Why did Frontier Town close?

Frontier Town's troubles began in 1979 when Quigly died of cancer at age 64. His daughter and son-in-law came to help his widow Sue run the town. Sue Quigley sold the property in 1992 and in 1994 the new owners sold most of the extensive antique collection.

The property exchanged hands a couple more times; eventually leading to legal problems and a sheriff's auction in 2001, where Frontier Town sold for $190,000. The 40-acre property then became a private residence.

In 2005, Quigley's daughter told a Helena newspaper the buyer purchased "a shell of a maintenance nightmare", adding that there was no way she or the family heirs could afford to restore the property to its former glory.

Now the former Frontier Town is available for $1.7 million, just waiting for the next showman/historian/eccentric to realize their dream of owning a private Wild West theme town in Montana. It's listed by Deb Wong at Capital City Realty & Property Management. More details HERE.