Hot Springs, Montana

Episode 490 / 4 May 2024 / 70 min / express

Hot Tub Horrors

"We are going to Hot Springs, Montana, in western Montana all the way over by Idaho, in northwestern Montana near the Idaho border, about an hour and 20 from Missoula." about 0:03:05

The case: Murder of Lawrence Kenmille (May 25, 2013); Death of Kerry Ann Allison (2020). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2024

Population

618

Median household income

$19,659

Median home value

$224,100

History, in brief

• The town was founded as the settlements of Pineville and Camas in the 1890s and incorporated in 1929. about 0:05:40
• It was previously known as Camas and Camas Hot Springs, after the camas plant that grows in the area. about 0:05:48
• The Hot Springs post office opened in 1913. about 0:06:07
• A 1918 fire destroyed most of Main Street. about 0:06:14
• The town burned down again in 1931 and was rebuilt. about 0:06:31
• The sawmill burned down at a time when the hospital was closed. about 0:06:50
• The Hot Springs Mercantile burned to the ground in the 1980s. about 0:07:05
• Cattle prices fell and logging was curtailed, and the population dropped to 400 by 1990. about 0:07:12
• The Wild Horse Hot Springs was developed in 1913 when a well driller hit 128-degree water. about 0:16:29
• It was originally known as the Camp Aqua Bathhouse and was found by Mollie Bartlett in 1912 while a well was being drilled for drinking water. about 0:16:50
• Mollie Bartlett was the daughter of Robert B. Smith, the third governor of Montana. about 0:17:15
• In 1941 she raised money for the Montana Warm Water Project for Crippled Children and built the Camp Aqua polio treatment centre. about 0:17:23
• A public resort was built later, and in the 1980s it was funded by a Montana renewable energy grant. about 0:17:37
• It was renamed the Wild Horse Hot Springs in the early 1990s when it changed from public to private ownership. about 0:17:43
• The springs are fed by the Mother Dragon Geyser and the water runs from about 100 to 128 degrees. about 0:18:01

The reviews read out

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