Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
“The Gem Saloon, at 808 Main St. in Thompson Falls, Montana, USA, was built in 1914. It is a historic building listed on the U.S.”
Wikipedia article Gem Saloon, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 23 National Register listings published here for Sanders County · listed in 1986 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 143 fires within 5 miles of Gem Saloon between 1992 and 2020, burning about 221 acres in total. 34 started naturally. 14 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Natural | 34 |
| Debris and open burning | 23 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 21 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 19 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 14 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 12 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 9 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 5 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Lolo National Forest | PROSPECT CREEK |
| 6 September 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Lolo National Forest | GET SHORTY |
| 5 September 1998 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1.0 acres | Lolo National Forest | BACK TO SCHOOL |
| 26 September 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Lolo National Forest | not named |
| 25 September 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Lolo National Forest | MOUTH OF PROSPECT |
| 24 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Lolo National Forest | TIMBER TIGER |
| 21 September 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Lolo National Forest | FLAT IRON LANDING |
| 2 September 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Lolo National Forest | BLUE SLIDE |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Gem Saloon: 3 occurrences, 3 producers, 1 unknown. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Copper, Gold, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deacon Placer | Gold | Occurrence | Placer | |
| Larch-Recco Groups | Copper | Occurrence | ||
| Sullivan Hill Tuff | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | ||
| Unknown | Kaolin | Producer | ||
| Unnamed Bentonite | Clay | Unknown | ||
| Clark Fork Concrete | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Tindall Construction Co. | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Thompson Falls, the town this property stands in, in 13 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 6 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 3 flood, 1 wildfire. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2025 | Flood | Thompson Falls | $100,000 | At approximately 0400MST on December 11, a massive landslide occurred near Eagle View Lane, roughly 2 miles south-southwest of Bull Lake. The debris flow significantly damaged a residential garage, and the residents were unharmed. An Emergency Declaration was issued to address the lowland flooding and debris removal. Highway 56 near Bull Lake was forced to close between mileposts 16.7 and 17.2 after overwhelmed culverts allowed stream overflow to inundate the roadway. The emergency manager reported that over a dozen properties were isolated from Highway 56, either by a foot of water over access bridges or by an approximate 50-yard-wide flow of sediment-laden water separating residences from the main road. |A bridge on Montana Highway 471/Thompson Pass Road, near milepost 15, was washed out by Prospect Creek, resulting in a road closure. Prospect Creek also flooded the Prospect Creek campground at the Wild Coyote, located 7 miles up Prospect from Highway 200. |
| May 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thompson Falls | $50,000 | no account filed |
| May 1993 | Hail | Thompson Falls | $5,000 | no account filed |
| May 1993 | Hail | Thompson Falls | $5,000 | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thompson Falls | $500 | A member of the public reported a strong thunderstorm with heavy rain, lightning gusty winds that moved through between 2 and 3 am MDT. They received 0.75 total rainfall measured. |
| August 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thompson Falls | $500 | A trained spotter reported that the power was out from 0230 to 0645 hrs MDT on August 26th. |
| September 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thompson Falls | - | Widespread power outage in Thompson Falls with up to 4000 thousand customers without power. There was also a downed tree at the bottom of Cherry Creek Road around 7:20pm. |
| May 2018 | Flood | Thompson Falls | - | Low lying areas were flooded by the Clark Fork River between Thompson Falls and Plains. |
| May 2018 | Flood | Thompson Falls | - | The Clark Fork River again reached flood stage and caused flooding of the access road to the sewage lagoons outside of Plains. |
| August 2003 | Wildfire | Thompson Falls | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thompson Falls | - | no account filed |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thompson Falls | - | no account filed |
| August 1999 | Hail | Thompson Falls | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Ward Hotel | under 500 feet | 1986 |
 | Tourist Hotel | under 500 feet | 1986 |
 | Northern Pacific Warehouse | 0.2 miles | 1986 |
 | Weber's Store | 0.2 miles | 1986 |
 | IOOF Lodge | 0.2 miles | 1986 |
 | Sanders County Jail | 0.2 miles | 1986 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 86002767 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Sanders County | All 23 listed properties in this county. |
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