HomeMy Public PortalAboutGhost Towns - Silver City and VicinitySILVER AND GHOSTS
By Ellen Wakefield
Yesterday comes alive on a quiet day at Silver City. A long walk through the
dusty streets turns into an imaginary visit to yesteryear. Here stood the
operahouse. There was the Chinese section and the josshouses. The doctor s
office ... War Eagle Hotel ... If you listen hard, you can hear the roar of
the mill, the children playing after school, a horse neighing at the livery
stable. Look hard and you can almost see the ghosts of 19th-century women
walking to market, stopping to visit for a moment. The warm lights come on
in the windows, men coming home from the silver mines. A faraway
freighter shouts at his team as they climb the last grade to the mining town.
You might smell the bread baking in a dozen warm kitchens. Look just a
little harder, the old ghost town comes alive.
The two o'clock sun baked the dusty main street
of Silver City. War Eagle and Florida mountains
hemmed the weatherbeaten town on two sides.
The heat drove us to willow -lined Silver Creek for a
cool wade before investigating a town that can be
century -old tranquility nestled in the mountain
folds, or a wild west town with a drunk staggering
up the street to the noise of an all-night dance.
Silver City is a ghost town waiting for the signal to
show its past to modern visitors.
Silver City bakes in summer's sunand is buried
in the snows of winter. The creeks roar full in
spring, and in the fall the water trickles over the
rocks leaving quiet pools where trout sleep in the
shadows.
Silver City is an outdoor adventure in history
and nature, or an indoor adventure at the museum,
the drugstore, the newspaper and the hotel. Or it is
ghost stories told in the soft light of a kerosene
lamp beside a warm wood -burning stove.
Backdrop for the Silver City ghosts is the
century -old treasures in the museum, operated by
Walt and Mildretta Adams at the schoolhouse. For
years they have collected, cleaned, repaired and
cared for the links with yesterday.
My favorite time in Silver City is an
early -autumn day, when the town is quiet and the
tourist season is nearly over. Then the imagination
can soar. Then the ghost stories told beside the
warming stove begin to merge with reality.
28
IDAHO OUTDOOR GUIDE
je-rd cs . The versions vary, depending upon who tells the
(Vtac,,,y.'story, but there are plenty of ghosts lurking in the
G4 c(P old mining town.
There's the ghost ranch down near the west fork
of Sinker Creek, which was last occupied in the
1890s by a couple with an infant daughter. The
man left for Alaska gold fields. His wife and child
were left at the ranch with no money or means of
support.
Weeks after he left, some people went out to the
ranch. They foundno food, the table set, and two
new graves with no one in them. They believed the
woman and her baby starved to death. Bodies were
never found.
Since then the abandoned woman has been seen -
from time to time between the ranch and Sinker
Creek state station with the child in her arms. She
is said to help travelers.
A freight wagon stopped at Sinker Creek years
ago for a change of team. Everytime the freighter
unfastened harness on one side, the other side of
the team was also unfastened — by the starving
woman, people say.
The abandoned woman apparently has learned
to keep up with the times. She is credited with
helping change a flat tire in recent years along the
road to Silver City. Travelers should remember that
she is always helpful — so far. She apparently
comes out to watch for her husband, and when she
finds someone who needs help she gives the help
no one gave to her.
Pia 9A#L o{ 3 Wipes
The rancher's wife isn't the only helpful ghost
who keeps watch over travelers along the Silver
City road. An Indian woman, married to a white
man, lived north of the Sinker Creek Station. He
vanished, and she froze to death during one of
Owyhee County's severe winters.
The late Vic Ford and another man were driving
from Murphy to Silver City in the mid-30s in an
open car. The car broke down at the start of the
grade a mile from Sinker station crossing. The
other man rode back to Murphy with a freighter
and Vic stayed with the car, gathered some sage
and a little wood. He built a fire at each end of the
car — both for warmth and to keep any other
travelers from running into the car during the
night. He fell asleep, but when he woke up the fires
were still going and the . woodpile had been
replenished.
Vic always said the Indian woman kept those
fires going.
Up in Silver City itself, modern-day residents
and visitors talk about Screaming Alice, who roams
the halls of the Idaho Hotel. Alice was a
chambermaid at the hotel long ago, and she
offended the Chinese cook. The story goes that he
chased her up and down the halls and beheaded her
with a meat cleaver. Nowadays, she is said to roam
the hotel's halls, occasionally screaming.
In Silver City's old mansion, The Stoddard
House, hangs a picture of Mrs. Stoddard. Jim
Continued on next page
IDAHO OUTDOOR GUIDE
29
fctaorG-/;c/C-'- .
J y �•
fal - a { - /gctsPs
ipencer, who stayed at the Stoddard House for a
ime in the 1960s, said he always asked Mrs.
Stoddard what to do when he had trouble. Mrs.
Stoddard died in the 1930s.
Jim would sit in the parlor looking at her picture
and say, "This is your house. How did you fix it?"
And after awhile the answer would come to him.
Spencer credits her with telling him how to adjust
the dampers on the stove and how to stop the
black goo from dripping off the stovepipe onto the
newly -waxed dining room floor.
There are ghosts at the mines, too. Flickering
lights have been spotted at night up by the Blaine,
tunnel, and rumor is that the lights are carried by
the ghost of a miner buried in an accident there.
Then there's the bell at the schoolhouse. A little
girl once wanted to ring the bell, and one day when
everyone was outside or otherwise occupied, she
sneaked in, climbed up to the tower, grabbed the
rope, got tangled and fell. The bell bonged and
they found her — hanged.
Around sunrise about eight years ago, the bell
rang again, three mornings in a row.
Bong — pause — bong — pause — bong. The
schoolhouse was locked and nobody was there. At
the same time furniture in Silver City was shifting
!N MEMORY
4
CHRIS STUDER =!
Killed 6y Indians
June 8th 1878
at
South Mountain
positions and pictures were turning askew,
terrifying everyone.
The explanation was that someone was blasting
with dynamite up near the Afterthought mine.
Maybe, but that's an awfully heavy bell! And it has
rung at other times when no blasting was going on
and when no furniture changed positions in the
nearby houses. And when nobody was in the
schoolhouse to ring the old bell. •
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30
IDAHO OUTDOOR GUIDE
/ za'aho L"1.5-r77q/et'
.4/ of Z. 9P r
Silver City -As It Was in. Days of Mining Glory
SILVER CITY, back in 1906 when this picture was taken, was
much like it was during its hey -day as one of the richest and
wildest mining areas in .the West several decades before.
Spread out between War Eagle Mountain on the east and
Florida Mountain on the west, the city became famous :.11
Silver City Hit
2,000 Residents
(EDITOR'S NOTE In 1898.
Lem A. York, publisher of the
Owyhee Avalanche in Silver City,
wrote a history of the county
which, at the turn of the century,
could be found in many homes of
the area. It was known as "The
Blue Book" not only because of its
bright blue color but also because
it contained biographies of many
of the leading citizens of the time.
Over the years, copies of the book
have dwindled until there are com-
paratively few left. To preserve
this firsthand description of the
early mining days in Owyhee
County, the book has been edited
and condensed into a series of ar-
ticles. This is the fifth.)
By LEM A. YORK
Edited by Walt Schramm
Silver City is a flourishing
mining camp in Southwestern
Idaho containing a population
(1898) of nearly 2,000 people.
It was laid out in 1864 and
through its mining interests is
known in nearly every quar-
ter of the globe.
The town lies in a canyon
on the headwaters of Jordan
Creek, and at an altitude of
about 6.300 feet. War Faoin
over the country for its fabulous deposits of both gold and
silver. It was here that Lem A. York, who wrote this history
of Owyhee County, published the Owyhee Avalanche. (Photo
Courtesy Idaho Historical Society)
Mountain on the east, and
Florida Mountain on the west,
rise to heights of about 8,000
feet, the former being the
higher and the most promi-
nent peak in Southern Idaho.
From the summit of War
Eagle Mountain, on a clear
summer's morning, with the
aid of a telescope one can see
the Teton Range in Wyoming,
the southwestern corner of
Montana, the Wasatch Range
in Utah, a butte in Washing-
ton, 425 miles northwesterly,
and glimpses within the state
lines of Nevada, California
and Oregon.
The climate during the sum-
mer months is nearly perfect,
the days never getting very
warm and the nights so cool
that quite a weight of clothing
is nPcassary for comfort. Mos-
quitoes, gnats or fleas are un-
known. In the winter, the
snow sometimes falls to con-
siderable depth, but the cold
is not severe, and teaming of
any character can be done at
all seasons.
The social life of Silver City
is free from the petty jeal-
ousies and heart-burnings
that are so common in small
places, where the "Upper
Ten" and "Codfish Aristocra-
cy" swell over their inferiors.
Here there is a pleasant,
natural co -mingling between
all classes, and a cordial hos-
pitality rules society.
Church services are con-
ducted at odd intervals, there
being no resident ministers.
The Masonic Order has two
lodges in Silver City — Chap-
ter and Blue Lodge — and the
gyp L Z d 2 2q�S
Odd Fellows, three — En-
campment, Subordinate and
Rebekah. The Knights of
Pythias are also represented
with a strong lodge.
Silver City has six general
merchandise stores, two hard-
ware stores, a tin shop, two
meat markets, two hotels,
four restaurants, eight sa-
loons, bakery, one shoe shop,
a photograph gallery, brew-
ery, soda bottling works, two
livery stables, a feed store,
three drug stores, a jeweler,
three blacksmith shops, a fur-
n i t u r e store, two. lumber
yards, a tailor shop, three
barber shops, a newspaper,
four lawyers, two doctors, etc.
etc. etc. most of whom have
cards in this directory.
Silver City is essentially a
mining town and is wholly de-
pendent upon this industry for
its support and prosperity.
The whistle of hoisting and
mill engines and the sullen
roar of giant powder blasts
are music to her people. She
has four stamp mills carrying
an aggregate of 50 stamps
and two arastras. The mines
are about equally divided be-
tween War Eagle and Florida
Mountains, each being cover-
ed with a network of veins
carrying precious metal.
War Eagle Mountain is of
granite formation. The veins
lie generally north and south
and the mountain is traversed
east and west by numerous
porphyry dykes. Generally
speaking, the bonanza ore
bodies are found in that local-
ity have been where the veins
came in contact with these
dykes.
The ores of this mountain
are free milling and carry a
nice percentage of gold, the
bullion running from $3.50 to
$13 per ounce.
War Eagle has a credited
production record of about $30
million, taken out during the
first 10 years of the camp's
history.
Florida Mountain, until very
lately, was considered to be of
porphyry formation with some
granite upheavals, but the
deep mining now done by the
companies operating thereon
has exploded this idea, and
demonstrated that the rock
masses are of granite, capped
with porphyry. The veins of
this mountain also maintain a
north and south course, but
dykes are not as common as
on War Eagle.
The ores, too, generally
carry more iron, requiring
concentration before amalga-
mation. Some of the largest
and most exclusive gold veins
in the camp are found on
Florida Mountain, which fur-
nished the rich auriferous de-
posits that attracted the atten-
tion of early prospectors.
Florida Mountain is covered
t o considerable depth by
gravel and loam, making it
extremely difficult to pros-
pect, but when access to her
treasure vault is once ob-
tained, powder, steel and
muscle are sure to win.
T h e country surrounding
Silver City abounds in game
of all kinds, and the mountain
streams are plentifully sup-
plied with speckled trout,
making it a grand locality for
camping parties. Grouse, sage
hens and prairie chickens are
numerous. In the high moun-
tains, deer are found in large
numbers and antelope are
frequently seen in isolated
valleys near South Mountain,
and on the lava beds which,
skirt the southern boundary of
the county.
The Trade Dollar Mine at
the present time has more
than three miles of track laid
and more than five miles of
tunnels, drifts, adits etc. The
main tunnel is 3,854 feet in
length and connects with
Black Jack tunnel at its
northern boundary.
T h e Poorman group of
mines embraces some 20
properties, covering one of
the richest mineral belts on
War Eagle Mountain, a belt
which has done much to make
the fame of Silver City world-
wide. The Poorman mine has
a production record of about
$6 million and other proper-
ties of the group — Belle
Peck, Oso, Central, Jackson
and Silver Cord - are hardly
less notorious for richness and
production.
f ciq pS
r`a«i
Visitors to South Mountain in 1875 kept the stagecoaches busy
South Mountain discoveries raised
South Mountain, about 20 miles
south of Silver City and Jordan
Valley, was the scene of mineral
discoveries in the fall of 1868 that
many thought would prove to be
very rich.
Two major veins, one as wide as
30 feet on the surface, and another
4 feet wide, appeared laced with
gold, silver and lead.
Although material from these
veins assayed as high as $248.15 a
ton, development was delayed be-
cause a smelter was needed to ex-
tract the precious metals. Not until
1874 was a small smelter estab-
lished, and despite one of the sev-
erest winters on record, a genuine
rush to South Mountain had begun
Idaho
Yesterdays
By Arthur Hart
by February 1875.
Colorful stories of the booming
little town of South Mountain ap-
peared regularly in letters to the
editor of the Tri-weekly States-
man, effectively contributing to
local interest in the camp.
On February 18, 1875, a letter re-
ported that plenty of money was in
circulation there since the smelter
had paid its hands.
"The faro games are in full
blast, and new saloons are going
up every week," the letter said,
and mentioned that pioneer cattle-
man Con Shea had started to build
a "large hotel which will be ready
in about six weeks."
A shortage of accommodations
for the crowds that arrived daily
was frequently noted, and by the
middle of March a letter said that
the population had reached 300
men and 25 women.
"Strangers that come here can
hardly find a place to stop over-
night. You ought to see the poor
fellows in James Ryan's saloon at'
night, lying on the floor packed to-
gether like sardines, only a few
blankets to cover themselves and
hopes
4Zah d �.-74a'-71PS'i7 a h -91-70• o f z l/ q yFS
some sawdust which is furnished
gratis to rest on. What a sight!"
Businesses in South Mountain in
March 1875 included three general
merchandise stores. One of them
was owned by Oliver Hazard
Purdy, a Silver City school teacher
who would achieve minor fame
three years later by getting him-
self killed by Indians in the Ban-
nock War.
William H. Dewey also had a
general store at South Mountain.
"The Colonel" would later be fa-
mous as the great promoter of
mining, railroading, real estate
and other enterprises, including
the Dewey Palace hotel at Nampa
and the Boise Nampa and Owyhee
Railroad.
There were 10 saloons in South
Mountain, four hotels with restau-
rants, a barber shop and a dentist.
One druggist and a livery stable
rounded out the roster.
Boise businessmen were quick to
realize that such growth offered
new opportunities for them as
well, and several took the stage-
coach ride to Silver City and on to
South Mountain for a look. John
Lemp, operator of the Boise Brew-
ery and several saloons, was also
the capital city's heaviest investor
in real estate.
He took a trip to South Mountain
to see for himself whether the new
camp could support a brewery and
a billiard hall.
Although Lemp came back to
Boise without committing himself
to an investment in South Moun-
tain, he was impressed with the
stagecoach ride. The Statesman
reported that "John Lemp says his
company over to Silver City was
considerably missed. The stage
load comprised one Chinaman, one
Negro, one German, a preacher
and a gambler. He thinks this was
a practical test of the Civil Rights
bill without the aid of the courts."
The failure of the Bank of Cali-
fornia on August 26, 1875, created a
financial collapse that closed down
the district. In 1906 the mines of
South Mountain were again opened
up, but the bulk of the $1,670,000
eventually produced came be-
tween 1940 and 1945.
Another $120,000 was produced
in the 1950s. Today, nothing re-
mains of the little town of South
Mountain of 1875, although some
later ruins can be seen.
(Mr. Hart is director of the
Idaho Historical Society.)
i
Early p show
queen of Owyhees
Early photographs of Idaho are ex-
tremely rare, and photographs of the
1860s are almost non-existent. For
that reason a set of views of Silver
City, recently acquired by the Idaho
Historical Society, is of great impor-
tance to lovers of Idaho history.
Most of us know Silver City as an
old and decaying mining camp with
less than half its original structures
still standing. We are moved by feel-
ings of nostalgia and sense some of
the flavor of Idaho's mining history
when we walk the picturesque
streets of Silver City today, but it is
impossible to really imagine it as it
looked to the people who lived there
in the 1860s. Too much has changed.
Only the rare good fortune that has
resurrected these early photographic
images of Silver City makes it possi-
ble for us to see what they saw. What
does the May 1866 view reproduced
today tell us about Silver City?
First, we are struck by the naked
and desolate look of the hills around
Jordan Creek at that time. Since the
discovery of gold, less than 3 years
before, almost every tree had been
cut down. Some of the trees were
used for timbering the mines. Others
went for firewood. Probably a few
were made into buildings.
In the foreground can be seen evi-
dence of a lot of road grading, all
done laboriously by men with picks '
and shovels and teams of horses.
Good grades were essential for haul-
ing heavy loads by wagon — loads of
ore, stamp -mill machinery, stone
and timber for mill buildings. Some -
of those wagons are parked in the
center of the photograph, on Wash-
ington Street.
Although evidence of new building
is plain, especially in the roof being
put on the 2 story building in the mid-
dle of the picture, the famous Idaho
Hotel had not yet been started. Later
that year it would occupy the space
on Jordan Street at far left in the
�i:
Silver City in May 1866
Idaho
Yesterdays
By Arthur Hart
photo. The building getting the roof
would serve as a photogrpahy studio
and Wells Fargo & Co. office when
completed.
The small building across the
street also appears to be getting the
final touches on its roof. the work-
men's ladder and a bundle of shingles
show up rather well. At least one
structure in this 1866 picture was
built of logs. Most are of board and
batten construction.
Although one needs the original
print and a strong magnifying glass
to see them, there are at least 10 peo-
ple and a team of oxen in this, the
' oldest view of Silver City we know
about. It is as close as we are ever
likely to come to recapturing the
queen city of the Owyhees in the
spring of 1866.
Idaho Yesterday
Eastman Operated
Early Idaho Hotels
By ARTHUR A. HART
Director, Idaho
Historical Museum
Among the pioneers of Southwest
Idaho, few played a more influential
role than Hosea B. Eastman. Boiseans
are familiar with the Eastman building
at the corner of Eighth and Main, and
of course there is also Eastman Street,
but there are many more familiar
names and enterprises still part of the
local scene associated with his life in
this corner of the world.
H. B. Eastman was born in
Whitefield, New Hampsire, in 1835. He
grew up on a farm in the granite state
during the years when her great Sena-
tor Daniel Webster was putting his im-
print on American history.
He was raised on a farm in that rug-
ged land of hilly fields and stone walls,
where farming was as hard a life as it
is anywhere, and attended the country
school nearby.
Like many New Englanders in that
time, he finally decided to look for bet-
ter_ land and better prospects by head-
ing West. With his brother Ben, he
sailed frog1ew York City on Oct. 21,
1861, for California.
They crossed the Isthmus of Panama
and continued up the Pacific coast to
San Francisco.
In 1862, H. B. and Ben set out for Ida-
ho with a 30-mule pack train, stopping
first at Canyon City, Oregon, for a
short time before moving on to Silver
City, new center of the booming Owy-
hee mining district.
The Eastman brothers owned and op-
erated the famous Idaho Hotel in Silver
City for many years, with such success
that they became well known and re-
spected members of the territory's
business community.
The most famous visitors of the day
stayed at the Idaho, many becoming
lifelong friends of H. B. Eastman. (One
of the most famous was Capt. J. R.
DeLamar, who invited H. B. to come
East as his guest in 1899 to witness the
triumphal return of Adm. George
Dewey from the Philippines.)
Why i they moved to Boise in 1877,
they acquired the famous Overland Ho-
tel at Eighth and Main, where the
Eastman building stands today. This
was Idaho's most famous hostelry, and
Eastman became equally well-known
as an enterprising business man and
good manager.
He had the distinction of developing
Boise's first water system, building a
reservoir and piping water to the hotel.
He installed the first effective fire pro-
tection system at the old hotel at the
same time, running a perforated pipe
along the ridge pole of the roof which
could efficiently douse the shingles
whenever necessary.
Other hotels in the territory burned
to the ground — the old Overland sur-
vived until it was taken down to make
way for the nPw building which still
stands at the corner.
The water rumta+ny Eastman organ-
ized becan a know,: as the Boise Arte-
sian Hot acid Cold Water Co. after 1891,
when the hot springs east of town were
developed.
The company built the great Natato-
rium starting that year, and Eastman
started his own. mansion on Warm
Springs Avenue. (This, unfortunately,
burned in the 1950's.)
At the time of his death, Hosea B.
Eastman was president of the Pacific
National Bank, the Overland Co., and
general manager of the water com-
pany.
He has been a founder of the Boise
City National Bank, and was a partner
in one of the city's largest hardware
companies.
Lest we forget that Eastman lived in
different times than ours, however,
and that his life was made up of much
more than sitting at an office desk, let
it be recalled that he was in the Battle
of South Mountain in the Bannock War
of 1878, where he received a severe bul-
let wound, and that in 1897 he was one
of the first Idahoans to take passage to
Alaska to investigate for himself the
fabulous Yukon gold rush.
H. B. Eastman achieved his first Idaho fame as owner of Silver City's Idaho Hotel
/ 4‘ Pu 0c
Bachman
—Vivid Reco
It uutittuea ulna rage r L)
we only had a few head. It took us four days to gather
the herd back up. They didn't know where they was
at, and they scattered all over the country.
"Then we run out of grub, that was the bad part.
They sent me down to what was called the Nettleton
place, underneath the bluff. He had a melon farm and
I got a sack of cantaloupe for a dollar. It wasn't
enough."
Bachman said the drive proceeded to a point ap-
proximately where the railroad line to Murphy drop-
ped over the canyon rim. There the drovers camped
for the night, very tired and very hungry. Two nights
later the drive had progressed to a point on Deer
Flat where the Ridenbaugh Canal was under construc-
tion. At that point the men had beenfour days without
eating.
"We finally seen we couldn't make it," Bachman
continued, "so Jim Joyce, the man in charge of our
herd, said `Well let's go and see if we can't find
some place in Nampa where we can get something
to eat.' There was 18 of us.
.. We went to this house that's still standing to-
day. It was about a half mile south of the turn in 12th
Avenue Road in Nampa, a little bit past the high
school on the right side of the road. There was a
woman there. This guy asked her, `Is there any chance
to get you to feed a bunch of starved to death bucka-
roos?'
"She said, `I don't know what I'd feed them.'
"He said `We ain't paticular.'
"She said `Would eggs and hot cakes and ham and
potatoes be enough?'
"When we got through eating he said, `Well, how
much do we owe you?'
" 'Course things were damn cheap in those days.
"She said `Well, would two .bits a meal be too
much?'
"He said, `My God, lady, you can't feed men who
haven't had anything to eat for four days for two bits,'
and he pulled out a $20 bill and handed it to her."
Bachman said that as they came into Nampa, the
only buildings he remembers were the police station
and the Dewey Palace Hotel, which were sitting al-
most by themselves. He indicated that the drive took
place shortly after the Dewey Palace was construct-
ed.
The Oreana resident also can remember a number
of incidents which took place in Silver City before
the turn of the century. Although the community had
been in existence for nearly 40 years, it was far from
tame.
"The first man I ever seen killed was in Silver
City," Bachman said, scratching the family's pet
poodle, which curled up in the easy chair next to him.
"I was nothing but a kid, about 6 years old, I'll tell
you, boy, if I was ever scared in my life, it was then.
"The way it happened was that the fellow who tend-
ed bar in the saloon boarded at the same place we
was at. He would always give us a nickel for all the
flat empty whiskey flasks we could bring him. Any-
how, I was in the saloon and he said he was busy and
I would have to wait until he had time to pay me for
the flask.
"Two fellows at the bar beside where I was stand-
ing were arguing," Bachman continued. "Finally one
guy says to the other, `Well have it your own way!'
The fellow turned and started towards the big stove
that was in the middle of the room. The other guy
pulled out a gun and shot him in the back. He fell
over on his back and the blood gushed out of his
N mouth.
"I got out fast. I could see daylight between legs
nong Bachman's pictures is a photograph of the boarding house in Silver city where
spend his youth. The two boys on the second floor are Bachman and his brother.
A group of Silver City residents pose for the camera in front of the Idaho Note
a Fourth of July celebration in the early 1900s.
Sees First Killing at Age 6
(Continued from Page F3)
and I got out of there in a hurry!"
The only period between his arrival in Owyhee
County and today that Bachman was gone for any
time was during the First World War when he serv-
ed with the U.S. Army. On his return he went back
to the Triangle area and ranching occupied most of
his time up until recently when the property was sold.
Had he ever considered leaving the Owyhee Coun-
try for a more populated area? Bachman shook his
head.
"They all claim it's as healthy as it can possibly
be out here and I believe it. There's a lot of people
around here live to be 98, 99 years old, a lot of
them. They always did say they had to shoot a guy
to start a cemetery here.
"The people has changed though," he observed,
staring out the window toward the distant Owyhee
Mountains. "They ain't like the old people we used
to have. They're getting more and more like town
people.
"In the old days when you'd meet anybody, you'd
just fall off your horse cr off your wagon, get in the
shade and talk for hour& Now days they'll pass you
goin' a million miles a minute, wave their hand and
that's it."
7-'rc, Fr
Bachman, who has lived in Owyhee County since the late 1890s
relaxes in his easy chair with the family pet, a small whit(
poodle.
Rma
le of Bachman's prize possessions is this early typewriter which
r I • r•I r^t... .._LA 4;11 ... 1,ic ThP nrimitiVe m0
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7441,'S
'You Can't Buy a Home Here
For Love Nor Money ...'
By DEAN LOKKEN
Associated Press Writer
SILVER CITY — Most of
the houses are shabby, un-
painted. Water pipes —
where there are any — leak.
Streets are unpaved and dus-
ty.
Regardless, "You can't
buy a home here for love nor
money," says a summer
resident of Silver City, one
of Idaho's busiest ghost
towns.
Once it was a booming
town of 7,000 prospectors,
bankers, shopkeepers, ladies
of the night and assorted
other characters. Today Sil-
ver City has just one perma-
nent resident — a caretaker
who earns $150 a month.
But civilization is return-
ing. And, add ghost town
lovers, threatening it.
By the late 1940s, civil-
ization pretty well had aban-
doned the defunct mining
town. About 50 buildings re-
main and most are passed
from generation to gener-
ation of the town's original
families.
"It took me a year and a
half to find a house here,"
says Martin L. Peterson, di-
* * *
rector of Idaho's Depart-
ment of Human Resources.
"The Bureau of Land Man-
agement (BLM) owns most
of the land. Building owners
are squatters on government
soil, much like the miners
who started the town in 1864.
Peterson spends weekends
nailing down loose boards at
his old house, staining the
outside walls and renovating
the inside. Pipes of the 90-
year-old water system, he
claims, "have more rust
than metal."
Residents of Silver (only
tourists say "Silver City")
are unanimous on only two
points — they want to save
the town and they need the
caretaker. So far, they've
agreed only on what to do
about the caretaker.
One resident lamented:
"We've got 50 buildings up
here and 55 factions."
How to save the town has
caused in -fighting. One side
urges development into a
restored version of the Old
West. Another pushes for
preservation of what's left.
"I'd like to see a living
city exactly as it was years
ago in the Old West," says
Jim Spencer, owner of the
* * *
JIM SPENCER is publisher of the newspaper in a ghost
town. The paper, "The Avalanche," has a circulation of
LOAM ana puonsnes vccnsivnauy.
"Owyhee Avalanche," an
historic weekly newspaper.
Spencer has 2,000 sub-
scribers and publishes "oc-
casionally."
Spencer and Pete Hack -
worth, a Caldwell newsman,
have formed the Owyhee
Foundation of Idaho, Inc., in
an attempt to fulfill dreams
of a restored town.
Hackworth wants to re-
construct an old railroad so
it can bring visitors to town.
His plans envisions camping
sites outside town and livery
stables for horses that would
offer trail riding and pack
trips.
Winter, he says, would at-
tract skiers, skaters and
sleigh riders. Silver City is
about 6,000 feet above sea
level and snowbound in the
winter.
"We'll never be able to
restore it to the original
glory," he says, "but we
want it to be pure to start
with."
He wants a new water and
sewer system and electricity
lines, all buried underground
to preserve the 1800s flavor.
The foundation vision in-
cludes new buildings erected
as duplicates of structures
long ago vanished.
Others interested in Silver
City argue the foundation's
plans would kill the town —
turn it into a Disneyland.
"I don't want to see it
commercialized, although
there's bound to be some
commercialization up here,"
says Walt Adams. He's
lived there off and on
since 1900. He was born
there, owns a home and
drug store and runs a mu-
seum in the old schoolhouse.
"Something should be
done but I don't know which
way to go. It takes quite a
little money and I just don't
know where that kind of
money would come from."
One of the main concerns
of the semi -permanent resi-
dents is growing tourist
pressure. Hackworth esti-
mates more than 30,000
people visited Silver City last
year.
There's no local govern-
ment to designate or enforce
parking areas.
Peterson wants a parking
area outside town, not to at-
tract more tourists but to re-
duce traffic congestion in
narrow streets.
Each summer the Owyhee
Cattlemen's Association
holds a convention there.
This year it drew about 1,000
people and hundreds of
campers, cattle trucks, cars
and motorcycles.
The Silver City Taxpayers
Association has discussed
many proposals for preserv-
ing or restoring "Silver."
But, laments one resident,
the last meeting turned into
a shouting match. Several
left in disgust.
The BLM is putting togeth-
er a plan to manage the
town and has named a com-
mittee to dredge up ideas.
The plan won't be finished
before mid-1974, though.
"Basically, the committee
is trying to decide what Sil-
ver City should look like,"
says Bob Krumm, Boise Dis-
trict BLM manager. "How
should visitors be handled?
Should their vehicles be
allowed in town? Should con-
ventions be allowed?"
Some BLM officials rec-
ommend that all vehicles ex-
cept horse-drawn ones
should be banned. Building
owners protested. A few said
they had to use snowmobiles
in the winter to get there.
Lydia Thompson of Glenns
Ferry and her family try to
spend every summer week-
end in Silver City. It's a
long, hot drive but worth it,
she says.
"Mom and dad always
came up here," she said.
"Dad was raised in Caldwell
and played hooky so he
could come up and ride
horseback."
The Thompsons bought an
old stone powder house,
measuring 16 by 20 feet, on
the edge of town. They fixed
it up with a bedroom and
kitchen.
Why go to Silver City?
"Just to unwind," says Mrs.
Thompson. "Nothing has to
be done. I just like to sit
here and watch the people
because they're so stupid —
in such a hurry."
She says she doesn't like
her children, ages 6 and 10,
out on the ghost town's
streets anymore — because
of the traffic.
-eve ,( Peve.
Silver City: Gem State's
Busiest Ghost Town
***
•
r
The Cumberland mill on War Eagle Mountain was an impressive sight at the turn of the century
* * Idaho Yesterday C-umberland Mill Bows
By ARTHUR A. HART
Director,
Idaho Historical Mum
Idahoans interested" in His-
toric preservation of the
state's buildings need to be
reminded from time to time
that our architectural heri-
tage includes much more
than fine old Victorian man-
sions, important as these
are.
A rather shocking remind-
er of this fact was brought
home to a group of archi-
tectural historians and pres-
ervationists only a few days
ago when they went to visit
* * *
to Nature's Elements
the superb old Cumberland
mill on the side of War
Eagle Mountain near Silver
City in Owyhee County.
The huge wooden mill
building, familiar to thou-
sands of sightseers and Ida-
ho history buffs, had col-
lapsed in nearly total ruin.
Evidently strong winds asso-
ciated with a mountain
storm had proved too much
for the old building to with-
stand.
Ironically, the building fell
just as efforts were being
made to shore it up and pre-
serve it as a means of telling
* * *
the Owyhee mining story to
future generations.
Boise architect and pho-
tographer Ernest Lombard,
who has exhibited his highly
artistic and evocative pic-
tures of the old mill and oth-
er Idaho mining structures
in the past year, had discov-
ered earlier this summer
that the snows of another
winter had seriously dam-
aged the old building.
It had begun to tilt dan-
gerously on its granite foun-
dation. Ernie at once en-
listed the aid of friends in
the architectural and engi-
* * *
neering professions to see
what action could be taken
to shore up the Cumberland
mill. Joe Nettleton, the own-
er, had agreed to donate the
building to a responsible
group who would see that it
was preserved.
All of these promising de-
velopments came to naught
when the badly weakened
old structure gave up the
ghost.
The Cumberland mill was
a fine remaining example of
the late period of quartz
mining in the Owyhees — a
period when tremendous
* * *
Std fie s innd �+
9 7 `t
P - e or 2-
capital investment in heavy
machinery and building was
necessary to get the gold
and silver out of the rock.
Although it never pro-
duced anything, the Cumber-
land was built with high
hopes that its historic loca-
tion on War Eagle mountain
would bring back the glory
days of the Oro Fino, a very
rich mine on the same vein
that had produced fabulously
in the 1860s.
The Cumberland was also
on a parallel vein to that
from which the Golden Char-
iot had produced millions.
The prospects, from which .
the cwners sought to attract
investment capital in the
late Nineties, were described
as follows: "The ore is
quartz, occasionally stained
by a small percentage of
copper, and carrying nothing
else but silver and gold, in
proportion of one ounce of
gold to ten of silver ... (it;
will yield to ordinary mill
methods a return sufficient
to reward the investors
heavily and encourage oth-
ers to investigate, develop
and reopen the long neg-
lected veins of War Eagle
mountain."
The long -neglected mining
architecture of the mountain
is now lost, but could yet
show a profit if Idahoans are
reminded from the disaster
to the Cumberland mill that
action is necessary now if
we are to save any of the old
mining structures rapidly
decaying in our mountains.
There surely ought to be
just one of the big timber -
framed stamp mills of the
19th century left in a state as
rich in mining history as
Idaho where future gener-
ations could see how the pio-
neers got out the precious
metals from the solid rock.
The remains of the Cumberland mill, photographed 'last year by Ernest Lombard
`The /cz h o - 5/6' 4e-5ke'l a ki - 7/i y
Historic DeLamar rooming house
By RICK RIPLEY
The Idaho Statesman
DELAMAR — Fire on Sunday
destroyed an 80-year-old rooming
house that was the showpiece of the
historic silver -mining town of DeLa-
mar.
The house, where tired miners once
slept after long days of clawing pre-
cious metal out of the rugged Owyhee
Mountains, was put on the National
Register of Historic Places last au-
tumn after a years -long effort to save
authorities said the fire appar-
ly was started by a cigarette that
• dropped inside the building by a
. u-ist.
"That -really makes me sick,"
Idaho Historic Preservation Council
President Ernest J. Lombard said.
"We've worked on that thing for a
long time."
"A ,year ago someone had gone
through it and cut the studs out to
use for firewood," he said. Lombard
said he had shored up the walls after-
ward. -
Hopes that the rooming , house
would be restored were raised when it
was put on the National Register of
Historic Places, Lombard said.
"I've been working on getting
funding," he said. "The mining com-
pany was going to help with some
money. It's another piece of Idaho
history that's gone forever."
A light well sat atop the, gabled
roof of the old building. Resembling a
small tower, it had windows on four
sides and was designed to allow light
to enter the attic, Lombard said.
The blaze was controlled at 4 p.m.
after water pumped from Jordan
Creek was poured on the hot ashes
for 21 hours, Diggs said.
Flames fed by a steady wind razed
the weathered two-story wooden
building within an hour after the fire
was reported to the Owyhee County
Sheriffs Department at 12:06 p.m.
"It burned plumb to the ground,"
said Wayne Diggs, foreman .of a
Bureau of Land Management fire-
fighting crew that flew to the scene
by helicopter from Boise.
Diggs and his two -man crew ar-
rived at 1:15 p.m., minutes after five
BLM firefighters from Silver City
and Jordan Valley, Ore., reached
DeLamar.
But all that remained of the build-
ing by that time was a pile of hot
coals, Diggs said.
"The wind was blowing pretty
hard up there," he said. "That old
dry wood burned pretty fast. That
was really too bad."
Owyhee County Sheriff Tim Nett-
leton, who investigated the fire Sun-
day night, said a ,young boy saw a
man drop his cigarette inside the
building and then leave;,with a girl-
friend on a motorcycle„ Nettleton
said a search for the man will con-
tinue today.
DeLamar building lost
This photograph of the DeLamar rooming house
was taken by Ernest J. Lombard, president of
the Idaho Historic Preservation Council, during
Worts to renovate the structure. Authorities are
The sheriff said he does not believe
the fire was intentionally set.
The BLM also plans an investiga-
tion, fire dispatcher Pat Shanafelt
said.
Charlie Du Vall, safety and secu-
rity director at the nearby Earth Re-
sources Co. silver mine, reported the
fire to the sheriffs office.
"It was reported to me by the
mine," Du Vail said.
The structure was built in the
1890s, and had suffered at the hands
of vandals despite signs asking people
to keep off the premises, Lombard
said.
investigating the cause of a fire that destroyed
the historic building where miners once slept.
The blaze negated ,years of work to restore the
structure to its hey -day condition.
Time 60-foot-tall cottonwoods
near the building caught fire and had
to be felled, but no other spot fires
were found, he said.
"We are lucky that it was still
green up there," Diggs said.,"We had
sparks and embers all over, and the
wind was pushing them quite a
ways."
Firefighters from the BLM station
in Silver City, seven miles east of
DeLamar, are to patrol the area
again today, Diggs said.
rj716, /a. a k-1 <7.2p/.,5'25
Wrge e
T 2 (f tyres
Lippincott Bldg.,
Telephone Office
and County Offices
Rodgers Boardinghouse
.R
Grete 1
Boardinghouse
Hotel Rooms
in
4/ 1.0.0.F.11111111 ))
Hall Avalanche St. Masonic
■ O L—J 4 Temple
Getchell Drugstore General Store
and Silver Slipper and'
Owyhee Avalanche
urniture
0 Store
Butcher Shop
a0
Souvenir Shop V
[—Li
) °' Hawes Bazaar
and Barber Shop and Bath
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1983
Q
Catholic
Church
`rlJ
Old
Schoolhouse
(Museum)
C]
Q
Stoddard
House
1 *Silver City ••
Jordan Grandview
Valley
Silver Cif;
Statesman map by Grady Myers
Map shows location of Silver City buildings
'
/age7r2- vf ages
Silver City recreation plans
scaled down to limit tourists
By LARRY SWISHER
The Idaho Statesman
Silver City has survived for nearly 120 years,
partly because the 19th-century mining town is
isolated — and residents and the government plan
to keep it that way.
Boise BLM District officials this week announced
plans aimed at preventing the number of tourists
and campers in the Owyhee Mountains area from
growing.
The BLM scaled down earlier, preliminary plans
to develop campsites, visitor centers and scenic
drives, Oscar Anderson, BLM Bruneau Resource
Area manager, said Wednesday.
"Basically, we've stated we don't want the area
changed," said Clarence Orton, Boise, spokesman
for the Silver City Taxpayers Association and
owner of a Silver City building. "We don't want any-
body to put in a gas station down the road or a big
resort."
Orton served on an Owyhee County citizens' com-
mittee that advised the BLM.
The town was born in 1864 during a gold and silver
rush about 50 miles south of Boise. Silver City is de-
scribed as a "skeleton of its former self." About 70
buildings still stand in a postcard setting that at-
tracts an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people a year.
Silver City residents say they don't want more
visitors. As part of the plans, two Owyhee County
gravel -and -dirt roads to the town would stay unim-
proved in order to "discourage overuse of the
area." The rough roads have protected Silver City
and preserved its back -country atmosphere, Orton
said.
About 60 individuals and families, some of them
descended from original residents, own the town's
buildings and have preserved them. Only a few fam-
ilies live there year-round. The owners operate an-
tique stores, a museum and other services. The
original appearance of the buildings is protected by
a county ordinance.
Anderson said earlier plans were changed be-
cause residents opposed increased recreation. Also,
he said, the BLM lacks funds to develop recrea-
tional facilities. The new plans include one already -
developed campground and one or two small park-
ing lots near Silver City.
If funding is approved, the BLM would spend
about $145,000 on outhouses, signs, a Silver City
water system to fight fires, and other small proj-
ects. Earlier plans would have
cost $371,000.
"The key idea is to protect the
historic districts and the town and
still allow the public to see them
in, so to speak, their natural
state," Anderson said. He said
residents did not want "a phonied-
up mining atmosphere."
The BLM's plan, a draft "recre-
ation management plan," covers
12,980 acres, including the Silver
City Historic District and the De -
Lamar Historic District. About
two-thirds of the area is federal
land. The BLM plan would not af-
fect private or state lands. Public
comments can be made until
April 15, after which a final plan
will be developed.
Orton said the plan has been mi-
sunderstood by ranchers. It does
not create a "recreation area,"
but only manages recreation use.
The Owyhee Cattlemen's Asso-
ciation recently called for limiting
the recreation plan tb a 523-acre
area, including Silver City.
/ ve Ai4/ of 2 PQ1e5
Death of DeLamar mine ends
Bit of Idaho's history will disappear
along with about 150 people's jobs
By Tim Woodward
The Idaho Statesman
DeLAMAR — Mike Baltzor
is losing his job, as are most of
his co-workers.
Good jobs: average wage,
$13 an hour. Jobs some have
had most of their lives.
When the DeLamar
mine in Owyhee Coun-
ty closes in January,
about 150 workers like
Baltzor will face un-
certain futures.
And a chapter in
Idaho history will
close.
"It's quite a shock," Baltzor
said, looking out a window at
the Pleasant Valley ranch he
rents on the Idaho side of the
state line near Jordan Valley,
Ore. "... I'll do whatever I can to
Destination
Idaho
► Stories
from around
the state
keep my family here. We don't
want to live down there in the
cities with all those people."
The DeLamar mine helped
build a number of cities in the
region.
Nampa pioneer W.H.
Dewey made a fortune
in silver and gold from
the DeLamar area. So
did Boise tycoons
Hosea Eastman, Tim-
othy Regan and C.W.
Moore, the founder of
Idaho First National
Bank, later West One.
"A lot of those man-
sions you see along
Warm Springs Avenue ..."
miner Mike Conro said. "They
were built with DeLamar and
Silver City money."
The 112-year-old DeLamar
mine is the state's largest silver
producer outside of the Coeur
d'Alene area in North Idaho.
It's also Idaho's second-
largest gold mine. Its owner,
the Kinross Gold Corp. of
Toronto, Canada, is closing it
because of falling gold and sil-
ver prices.
The pattern is familiar in
boom -and -bust mining com-
munities. At DeLamar, the cy-
cle is completing itself for the
third time.
The first was from 1888 un-
til the early 1900s. Capt.
Joseph DeLamar came to
Owyhee County broke and
parlayed a group of mining
claims into a fortune. He built a
mansion on Madison Avenue
across from J.P. Morgan's and,
at his death in 1918, left an es-
tate valued at $30 million.
Boisean Wilma Statham
grew up in Silver City, six
miles from DeLamar, in the
twilight of the boom. She knew
— from a respectful distance
— some of the people who be-
came household words in
era
Boise.
"The Eastman, the Moores,
the Regan, they all made their
money at DeLamar," she said.
"Mr. Regan was said to have
bought some property for $750
and sold it for $75,000.
"... They were the doers of
the era. I guess I was in awe of
them. The Regans were the
ones they named Regan Street
for in Boise. They had a car
with a chauffeur. It was so ex-
citing to see them go down the
street. They were much re-
spected, but they never forgot
their ties to Owyhee County."
Dr. Merle Wells, Idaho's
historian emeritus and the au-
thor of a book on Idaho mining
camps, says there is "no ques-
tion those people made a good
deal of their early wealth up
there.
Kim Hughes / The Idaho Statesman
Wondering what to do: Mike Baltzor's job at the DeLamar mine is the only one he's had. And
he's about to lose it. Baltzor, who has been employed at the mine since he graduated from high
school, is determined to stay in the Pleasant Valley area with his wife and two children despite
the uncertainty of his future.
��e I d a ��7 ��
1 9 C Z ( 7 2 , o r Z f ����q ��" ��
" T h e y w e r e n ' t o u t t h e r e w i t h b l a s t -
n g c a p s , b u t t h e i r i n v e s t m e n t s d i d
e e r y w e l l . T h e y m a y h a v e p i c k e d u p
l o m e o f t h e i r m o n e y o t h e r p l a c e s , b u t
h e r e ' s n o d o u b t t h e i r e a r l y b a s e
; a m e f r o m t h a t a r e a . "
A m o d e s t r e v i v a l r e o p e n e d t h e
n i n e d u r i n g t h e 1 9 3 0 s . W o r l d W a r I I
; l o s e d i t a g a i n . T h e l a s t a n d b i g g e s t
l o o m c a m e w h e n t h e m i n e o p e n e d
' o r t h e t h i r d t i m e , i n 1 9 7 5 .
" M o d e r n m e t h o d s p i c k u p a w h o l e
o f o f l o w e r - g r a d e o r e , " W e l l s s a i d .
` T h e y e n d u p w i t h g r e a t e r t o t a l p r o -
d u c t i o n t h a n a n y o n e c o u l d h a v e
i m a g i n e d i n t h e e a r l y d a y s . "
S t a t h a m , w h o s e f a t h e r a n d g r a n d -
' a t h e r w e r e O w y h e e C o u n t y m i n e r s ,
w a s d e l i g h t e d w h e n K i n r o s s b o u g h t
h e m i n e .
" I r e m e m b e r t i m e s w h e n f l y - b y -
l i g h t c o m p a n i e s w o r k e d t h e m i n e
t n d d i d n ' t p a y t h e m i n e r s a n d t h e
; h i l d r e n w e r e h u n g r y . T h a t ' s w h y I
w a s s o h a p p y w h e n t h i s c o m p a n y - a
; a m e i n a n d i t w a s r e p u t a b l e . I t ' s s a d . ��
o s e e i t g o .
" . . . I d o n ' t k n o w w h a t w i l l h a p p e n
: o J o r d a n V a l l e y n o w . I g u e s s i t w i l l T h e K i m H u g h e s / T h e I d a h o S t a t e s m a n
D e L a m a r m i n e , w h i c h h a s b e e n o p e n u n d e r a n u m b e r o f d i f f e r e n t o w n e r s s i n c e 1 9 7 5 , w i l l c l o s e i n J a n u a r y ,
u s t g o b a c k t o b e i n g a c o w t o w n a n d a b o u t 1 5 0 w o r k e r s w i l l b e w i t h o u t j o b s .
a g a i n . > '
S l i g h t l y f e w e r t h a n 4 0 0 p e o p l e l i v e
n J o r d a n V a l l e y , i n s o u t h e a s t e r n C o n r o , a p i t s u p e r v i s o r , h a s
O r e g o n , j u s t o v e r t h e I d a h o l i n e . A w o r k e d a t t h e m i n e f o r 1 6 y e a r s . H e i s
: b i r d t o a h a l f a r e e x p e c t e d t o l e a v e . t h i n k i n g o f r e t r a i n i n g , u s i n g b e n e f i t s
E n r o l l m e n t i s p r e d i c t e d t o f a l l b y a a v a i l a b l e t h r o u g h t h e I d a h o D e p a r t -
: h i r d a t t h e g r a d e s c h o o l a n d c o m - m e n t o f L a b o r . A f o r m e r d e p u t y s h e r -
) i n e d m i d d l e s c h o o l - h i g h s c h o o l . t f f , h e a l s o i s c o n s i d e r i n g a r e t u r n t o
3 e n e M i l l s , p r i n c i p a l o f b o t h , s a y s , l a w e n f o r c e m e n t .
` W e ' l l p r o b a b l y h a v e t o l o s e a P e o p l e a r e s c a r e d , h e s a i d .
t e a c h e r a t e a c h s c h o o l . " " T h e y ' r e l o o k i n g f o r a n y t h i n g t h e y
B a l t z o r , a h e a v y e q u i p m e n t o p e r a -
c a n f i n d . I t ' s g o i n g t o b e a r e a l b u r d e n
: o r , h a s w o r k e d a t t h e m i n e s i n c e o n t h e e c o n o m y . "
g r a d u a t i n g f r o m h i g h s c h o o l . F o r m e r m i n e r J e s s M o r g a n q u i t h i s
" I s t a r t e d i n J u n e o f 1 9 7 9 , " h e s a i d . j o b a n d b o u g h t t h e t r a d i n g p o s t i n
" I e c a u s e , " I
k n o w h o w t o o p e r a t e e v e r y p i e c e o f J o r d a n
n e w ��t h e m i n e w o u l d e a r n t l a s t f o r e v e r
e q u i p m e n t t h e r e . . . . M a y b e I c a n g e t a a n d w a n t e d t o s t a y h e r e . T h e s t o r e ' s
c o m m e r c i a l d r i v e r s l i c e n s e a n d d r i v e b e e n h e r e s i n c e 1 9 3 6 . I f i g u r e d I ' d b e
I t r u c k . I ' d h a t e t o t h i n k t h i s w a s t h e
o n l y t h i n g I c o u l d d o i n l i f e . " a b l e t o m a k e i t w i t h t h e t o u r i s t t r a d e . "
A c r o s s t h e s t r e e t a t T e l l e r i a ' s M a r -
k e t , c l e r k T e r r y W h i t e f i g u r e s t h e c l o -
s u r e " c a n ' t h e l p b u t h u r t b u s i n e s s .
B u t w e ' l l p r o b a b l y m a n a g e t o h a n g
o n . I t w i l l b e l i k e i t w a s b e f o r e t h e
m i n e o p e n e d , w h e n y o u s a w p e o p l e
o n t h e s t r e e t a n d r e a l l y k n e w t h e m . "
" I t ' l l a f f e c t e v e r y b o d y , " r a n c h e r
D e n n i s S t a n f o r d s a i d , w a r m i n g h i s
h a n d s o v e r a n a n c i e n t o i l s t o v e i n t h e
R a n c h H a n d T r a d i n g P o s t . " I t ' s s u p -
p l e m e n t a l i n c o m e f o r a l o t o f t h e
r a n c h e r s h e r e . I h a v e a w i f e a n d t w o
d a u g h t e r s w h o h a v e w o r k e d a t t h e
m i n e . "
E d S a f o r a w o n ' t b e a r o u n d t o n o -
t i c e t h e d i f f e r e n c e . A t r u c k d r i v e r a t
t h e m i n e , h e ' s s e n d i n g r e s u m e s t o
o t h e r m i n e s .
" W h a t e l s e a m I g o i n g t o d o ? " h e
a s k e d . " I h a v e t o w o r k . I h a v e a w i f e
a n d a l i t t l e g i r l . "
L a b t e c h n i c i a n J a n G r e e n s e e s h e r -
s e l f m o v i n g t o B o i s e o r C a n y o n
C o u n t y .
" W e ' l l p r o b a b l y j u s t c o m e h e r e o n
w e e k e n d s , " s h e s a i d .
S e v e r a n c e p a c k a g e s w i l l a l l o w
s o m e m i n e r s t o r i d e o u t t h e w i n t e r
w i t h o u t j o b s . O t h e r s a l r e a d y h a v e
l e f t . A t h i r d o f t h e p e r m a n e n t s p a c e s
a t t h e S u n n y R i d g e M o b i l e H o m e a n d
R V P a r k h a v e b e e n v a c a t e d i n t h e
p a s t t w o w e e k s .
" I t h i t s u s a l l , " o w n e r F r e d G o l l a -
d a y s a i d . " I ' l l p r o b a b l y b e g o i n g o n
w e l f a r e n e x t w e e k . "
N o t e v e n i t i n e r a n t s a l e s m e n a r e
i m m u n e .
" T h e S w a n s o n m a n w a s i n h e r e t h e
o t h e r d a y , " M o r g a n s a i d . " H e s a i d
p e o p l e a r e c a n c e l i n g t h e i r i c e - c r e a m
o r d e r s . "
F o r s o m e , l i k e w a i t r e s s R o b i n H e n -
r y a t t h e O l d B a s q u e I n n , h a v i n g f e w -
e r r e s i d e n t s i s n ' t a l l b a d .
" J o r d a n V a l l e y w a s 1 5 0 p e o p l e
w h e n I w a s a k i d , " s h e s a i d . " T h e n
t h e m i n e o p e n e d a n d i t g r e w a l o t a n d
n o w m o s t o f t h o s e p e o p l e w i l l b e l e a v -
i n g . I t h i n k J o r d a n V a l l e y a f t e r t h e
m i n e w i l l g o b a c k t o w h a t i t w a s , a
q u a i n t l i t t l e t o w n a n d a n i c e p l a c e t o
l i v e . " ,