Ragdump
Ragdump (or Ragtown) was one of three communities that emerged on the outskirts of McGill (the others being Smelterville and Steptoe City). While McGill grew as a well-regulated company town, these 'fringe' towns contained saloons, gambling halls, and other forms of entertainment for workers. Ragdump, two miles north of town, was the largest with four dance halls and free transportation for miners. In 1909, law enforcement cracked down on activities at Ragdump and found that zero gambling licenses had been issued to businesses there and at least one saloon too was operating without a license. Ragdump briefly cleaned up, with the worst offenders going into hiding, but by 1912 again found negative attention, first for violence and then for the arrests of several men involved with white slavery. In 1914, Ragdump was finally shut down when the county cancelled several licenses after youths from McGill were found doing business there. It was briefly the scene of bootleggers at the start of prohibition, but in 1923 an incendiary put the final nail in the coffin.
