[5] The prospectors were made to leave by soldiers from Fort Bowman[6] or possibly Camp Brown[7] due to the area being a part of a treaty with the Shoshone tribe.

[2][6][7] The town quickly attracted attention after Adams shared news of the find, sparking a rush of prospectors.

[2][6][7] "The town was home to a hotel, a boarding house, two general stores, a sawmill, an assay shop, a headquarters building, a post office, and a number of cabins, stables, and meat storage sheds.

[2][4][6][7] On February 5, 1907, the precarious positioning of Kirwin came to a head when a massive avalanche from Bald Mountain struck the town, destroying several buildings and killing three people, causing a large portion of the town to leave the area, with the rest vacating the area in the following years.

[6][7] In 1992 the land, including Kirwin and the Double D ranch, was purchased by a conservation fund that donated it to the public, at which point, in 1999 restoration and stabilization of the historic buildings and area began.