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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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).
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| 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.
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| 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.
