Silver City, Idaho

Silver City, Idaho -- A Historical Mining Town

While returning from a rafting trip in northwestern Colorado, we stumbled upon a small ghost town called Silver City, just 50 miles south of Nampa. Silver City originally had its heydey in the 1880s as a gold and silver mining town, and it is still quite intact. In fact, there are many residents who spend the summers there until the road closes for the winter. Some of them are descendants of the original settlers.

Located in the Owyhee Mountains, the town was established in 1864 soon after silver was discovered at nearby War Eagle Mountain. War Eagle mountain is located to the east, and Florida mountain to the west. Both are about 8,000 feet in elevation. It was said that from the summit of War Eagle mountain, on a clear summer's morning, with the aid of a telescope one could see the Teton range in Wyoming and the Wasatch range in Utah.

The Idaho Bureau of Mines and Geology, estimated that $30,000,000 in silver/gold ore was mined from areas around Silver City between 1865 and 1914. Mining was intensive in the area until the failure of the Bank of California in 1875, which stopped most of the work.  One Poorman Mine ore specimen of  proustite ("Ruby Silver") from War Eagle Mountain was so spectacular, it was displayed in Congress and in the Paris International Exposition, where the exhibit received a special gold medal in 1867.

Poorman Mill on War Eagle Mountain from
"A Historical Descriptive and Commercial Directory of Owyhee 
County, Idaho" January 1898

By 1898, the Silver City population was nearly 2,000 people. The town once had hundreds of buildings including eight saloons, six general stores. Having the first telegraph service and first daily newspaper (The Idaho Avalanche and later The Owyhee Avalanche) in the Idaho Territory, Silver City also had a post office, hospital, and was the County seat until 1935. There are still about 75 buildings that remain.

One of the largest buildings we noticed was the old Idaho Hotel built by J.K. Eastman and Hosea B. Eastman in 1866. The owners enlarged the structure over time, adding a bar and porch in 1871 and a woodshed, kitchen and additional rooms in 1873. The hotel was sold several times between 1889 and 1898. It reopened for business in 1970 when it was purchased by Ed Jaegels.

Idaho Hotel

The Masonic Hall was another distinctive building located on Morning Star Street. It was originally owned by Tom Jones and used as a planing mill used to produce lumber for homes and other structures. It was purchased in the mid-1870s by the Masonic Lodge. 

Masonic Hall

Another distinctive building we noticed was an Odd Fellows Lodge built in the 1870s. Originally an apartment house, one of the early owners was Dave Adams who rented out apartments while operating the adjacent general store. The telephone office was located here from 1901 to 1905. It was eventually purchased by the I.O.O.F. and Knights of Pythias who shared the rooms. The Knights of Pythias turned the lower floor into a dance hall and stage for an orchestra. The I.O.O.F. eventually obtained full ownership of the building.

I.O.O.F  Hall

The Meat Market Shop had several owners, the last known operator being Clyde Stoltz. Supposedly, there are still meat racks, hooks and other fixtures inside. A large walk-in box was constructed to provide refrigeration before the days of electricity. Ice was placed in a compartment above the box and under the shop buried in sawdust. Cattle were driven to town from nearby ranches. In the early days, it was discovered that the local bunch grass and white sage produced excellent cattle, and many local ranches were established. In 1898, it was estimated that there were 60,000 head of cattle in Owyhee County (A Historical, Descriptive, and Commercial Directory of Owyhee County, press of the Owyhee Avalanche 1898).

Butcher Shop

On the north side of town off Morning Star Street is the Idaho Standard School, which opened in 1892 and was used until 1934. It was supposedly built from tax revenue from the saloons. It has been restored and now houses a museum of Owyhee County and Silver City memorabilia.

Idaho Standard School

There are several other buildings to explore in this old town, such as the town's last post office location built around 1868 as a residence and discontinued in 1943 during World War II. There is also a brewery vat built by Will Hawes, who lived in Silver City his entire life. He built the vat and added a miniature bar scene inside, which has since been destroyed. If you visit, keep in mind that the buildings are private property and should not be entered unless they are an operating business open to the public.

Yampa River - Deerlodge Park to Split Mountain

Whitewater Rafting on the Yampa River - Deerlodge Park to Split Mountain

With no major dams and diversions, the Yampa River is considered one of the last wild rivers in the West. It is the longest free-flowing tributary in the Colorado River basin and the largest tributary to the Green River. Its headwaters begin in the White River National Forest of northeastern Garfield County, Colorado. It is joined by the Little Snake River before entering Dinosaur National Monument and ultimately joins the Green River in Echo Park in extreme northwestern Colorado.

The trip began at Deerlodge Park. From this point, we floated on the Yampa for 46 miles to Echo Park where it joins the Green River. The notable rapids included Teepee Rapid (III), Big Joe Rapid (III) and Warm Springs Rapid (IV).

The Yampa meanders through the Yampa Canyon, with spectacular tilted beds of sandstone. Smooth canyon walls overhang the river in some places towering up to 1,000 feet above the water. We had some rainy weather the first day with a 20 mile float to the first campsite, Big Joe. The weather cleared the next morning giving us the opportunity to explore the area. There were some beautiful rock formations near this campsite a short distance up a small gorge.

Big Joe Campsite

Rock Formations near Big Joe Campsite

The name Yampa is derived from the Snake Indians word for the Perideridia plant --  a tall, grass-like plant in the Parsley family. Yampah was a major food plant of the Native Americans, who would collect its root, dry it, and pound it into a white meal. John C. Frémont recorded the name 'Yampah' in entries of his journal from 1843 (Report of the exploring expedition to the Rocky Mountains in the year 1842 : and to Oregon and north California in the years 1843-44 by Frémont, John Charles, 1813-1890; Torrey, John, 1796-1873; Hall, James, 1811-1898; United States Army Corps of Engineers, Published 1845):

"It grows more abundantly, and in greater luxuriance, on one of the neighboring tributaries of the Colorado than in any other part of this region; and on that stream, to which the Snakes are accustomed to resort every year to procure a supply of their favorite plant, they have bestowed the name of Yampah river."

The second day was a bit rainy again, but short. We stopped to check out a cave known as Signature Cave. There was a lot of graffiti inside the cave made by river runners from the 1930s and 1940s.

Traveling between Big Joe and Mathers Hole Campsites

View from inside Signature Cave

Mathers Hole campsite was beneath a large overhung cliff that is about 500 feet tall. The area beneath the overhang was sheltered from rain and very sandy -- perfect for horseshoes.

A game of horseshoes beneath Mathers Hole overhang

There were additional opportunities for hiking at Mathers Hole. One of the trails led to the top of the canyon for an incredible view of the river below.

View of Yampa River near Mathers Hole campsite

We spotted several types of birds and signs of beavers. The Yampa River is important spawning habitat for the endangered Razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) and Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius), the largest minnow in North America, which historically reached lengths of 6 feet. Today they typcially reach lengths of 2-3 feet. Other endangered species in the Yampa River include humpback chub (Gila cypha) and bonytail (Gila elegans)  Eighteen non-native fish species have been introduced some of which include channel catfish, common carp, green sunfish, northern pike, red shiner.

The weather cleared on day three from Mathers Hole campsite to Laddie Park campsite. While it was another short day, the scenery was amazing. Photographs do not come close to capturing the spectacular canyon walls, such as the Grand Overhang and Tiger Wall (actually on day 4 between Laddie Park and Sea Cliff Beach campsites).

Grand Overhang

Tiger Wall

En route to Sea Cliff Beach campsite, we arrived at Warm Springs Rapid, the only class IV on this trip. Apparently the rapid was created in 1965 by a flash flood that washed a debris flow down Warm springs Draw. There is a 1,500 foot cliff here, the tallest on the trip, but most folks were focused on the rapid. The main hazard here is Maytag Hole which can flip boats. Not being a fan of class IVs, I was the only person who chose to walk, but all bodies and boats made it through with no trouble.

A film was released by Friends of the Yampa in November 2014 about the Yampa River and formation of the Warm Springs Rapid. Check it out ONLINE.

Shortly before reaching Sea Cliff Beach, we reached the confluence of the Yampa and Green Rivers.

Confluence of the Yampa and Green Rivers

Christi enjoying the scenery with "Wilson"

The next day, we traveled between Sea Cliff Beach campsite and Jones Hole campsite. Near Jones Hole Creek, there were several trails to hike, one of which led to some 1,000 year-old pictographs created by the Fremont people.

Pictographs by the Fremont People

Checking out the pictographs

There was also a waterfall, which we all found to be entertaining (and refreshing after camping for several days)... and bunnies too!

Karen's turn!

A bunny on the trail

Our last night of camping was at Island Park, near "Bug Island".... eh em... I mean Big Island. There were soooo many mosquitos! Everyone dealt with it in good spirits.

Overall it was an amazing trip and a wonderful group. I didn't take many photos on the water, but I'll end with a small clip taken towards the end of the trip. The flow during the trip was between 7,500 and 8,000 cfs, which seemed just great. Because its natural flooding process is essentially undisturbed, this is definitely a precious natural resource to be protected. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to have this experience.