Featured City Philipsburg

Photo by James Pendleton, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Phillipsburg was named in 1867 after the famous mining engineer Philip Deidesheimer, who designed and supervised the construction of the ore smelter around which the town originally formed. Phillipsburg is the county seat of Granite County

With the closure of local mines and sawmills in the 1980s, the town's future became uncertain. The surrounding county is home to more than 24 ghost towns of former mining and timber towns. The 1990s saw a wave of newcomers purchasing and restoring numerous buildings in the town's historic district. The popularity of sapphire hunting in gravel from the nearby Sapphire Mountain range has expanded and the region has become a tourist destination. In 2003 the historic Broadway Hotel was reopened by filmmaker Jim Jenner and numerous other lodging operations followed. Jenner's award-winning 2017 film, "Saving the Burg" captured the story of the town's rebirth and aired on PBS more than a dozen times.

In 2007 the Ranch at Rock Creek opened, a luxury ranch catering to celebrities and the wealthy, and is Granite County's largest private employer.

Other major employers are Discovery Basin Ski Area, Granite County Medical Center and Rest Home and the Philipsburg School District.