Idaho City, Idaho – Queen of the Boise Basin
Nestled in the heart of the Boise Basin, Idaho City stands as a testament to the captivating allure of the American West’s gold rush era. Once a vibrant hub teeming with miners, prospectors, and entrepreneurs, Idaho City holds a prominent place in the history of the Pacific Northwest. This article delves into the rich tapestry of its past, exploring its rise from a humble mining camp to the bustling metropolis it once was, and its eventual transition into the charming historical town it remains today.
The story of Idaho City begins with the whispers of gold, carried on the wind and igniting the dreams of fortune seekers. In the summer of 1862, George Grimes and Moses Splawn, leading a small band of prospectors, ventured into the uncharted territories of southern Idaho. Guided by a year-old tale from a Native American about easily accessible gold, Splawn traced placer deposits in the Boise River to the creeks of the Boise Basin. These creeks, later christened Mores Creek and Grimes Creek, would soon become synonymous with the promise of untold riches.
The discovery of gold transformed the landscape and destiny of the Boise Basin. Tragically, Grimes’ life was cut short just days after the discovery, with accounts varying between a treacherous partner and a confrontation with Native Americans. His comrades laid him to rest in a mountain pass, now known as Grimes Pass, forever etching his name into the region’s history.
Undeterred, the prospectors returned to Walla Walla, Washington, bearing $5,000 in gold and tales of their discovery. This news set off a frenzy. By fall, they returned to the Boise Basin with 50 men. The area, previously a wilderness sparsely populated by Native Americans, was about to undergo a dramatic transformation. The gold rush was on. Eager prospectors flooded into the area, traveling by steamer up the Columbia River to Umatilla, Oregon, then continuing by stage lines and pack-trains to the Boise Basin.
The Boise Basin gold rush quickly became the largest since the California Gold Rush a dozen years prior. In a productive location, a miner could amass $2000 per week, attracting thousands to the area. Within eight months, the Boise Basin became the most populated area in the Pacific Northwest.
As the lure of gold drew increasing numbers of miners, boomtowns emerged, each vying for prominence. Placerville, Centerville, and Pioneerville rose from the wilderness, but it was Idaho City that would ascend to become the queen of the Boise Basin.
Founded on October 7, 1862, by J. Marion More of the Splawn-Grimes party, the town was initially named Bannock City. The name was changed to West Bannock in March 1863. However, to avoid confusion with Bannack, Montana, the Idaho Territorial Legislature rechristened it Idaho City in December 1863.
J. Marion More, the town’s founder, amassed significant wealth through prospecting and mining ventures. He later expanded his operations to the Silver City area, where his involvement in the Owyhee Mine War led to violence and ultimately, his own assassination in 1868.
While Placerville had an early advantage due to its location at the entrance of the gold rush into the Boise Basin, Idaho City soon eclipsed it in growth and prosperity. Its superior water supply allowed for more extensive mining operations and spurred development. Readily available timber facilitated the construction of permanent structures, transforming the tent city into a burgeoning metropolis.
At the time, Idaho was part of the Washington Territory. On January 29, 1863, the Washington Legislature established Boise County. William Noble, Frank More, and John C. Smith were assigned as commissioners and instructed to establish the County seat at Idaho City. The first county officers were Sheriff Sumner Pinkham, Probate Judge Daniel McLaughlin, Auditor W. R. Underwood, Treasurer Charles Vajin, and Assessor George Goodman.
When Congress created Idaho Territory on March 4, 1863, Boise County was the largest in area and population. Those in office retained their positions until the new territorial government was organized. In August 1863 Sheriff Sumner Pinkham appointed Orlando “Rube” Robbins as his deputy. Robbins would later be known as one of Idaho’s greatest lawmen.
Within a year, Idaho City boasted 250 businesses, including express offices, livery stables, sawmills, blacksmith shops, bakeries, restaurants, bowling alleys, pool halls, drugstores, breweries, and saloons. Professionals included doctors, attorneys, and a photographer. The town also had two schools, a library, a newspaper called the Boise News, several churches, a hospital, and five theaters. Building lots sold for $500 to $2000 each.
By the end of 1863, the population of the surrounding hills was estimated at 25,000, with 6,200 residing in Idaho City.
A substantial county jail was built in the winter of 1863-64, under the supervision of Sheriff Sumner Pinkham. Completed before the first term of the District Court in March 1864, the hand-hewn prison had fourteen cells, chains, and window irons. The facility cost $8080 in gold dust. The same year, the Territorial Legislature designated the city jail as a territorial prison, a role it served for eight years. In the early 1900s, much of the jail fell into Elk Creek due to gold digging. The remaining buildings were moved into Idaho City, where they remain today.
The Idaho Territorial Legislature officially re-established Boise County on February 4, 1864, with Idaho City remaining as the county seat. The Boise News announced the appointed county officers on February 27, 1864, and stated they would hold their positions until an election was held in the Fall.
Idaho City‘s first post office was established on Main Street on June 22, 1864. The Boise News changed its name to the Idaho World, wagon roads were built to the community, and the sawmill ran continuously.
During these early years, Idaho City gained a reputation as the best mining camp in the Basin, a hub for miners, speculators, and gamblers, and the center of territorial commerce. The town also attracted families, offering homes, schools, and a library.
However, Idaho City was also known as the bawdiest town in the Boise Basin. Bar fights and murders were prevalent. Stealing horses, robbing stages, and killings were common.
With the Civil War raging in the East, the miners of the Boise Basin polarized around the Union and Confederate causes. Fueled by whiskey, Northern and Southern sympathizers engaged in violent conflicts. Sheriff Sumner Pinkham and his deputy Rube Robbins often had to arrest drunken loudmouths who threatened violence to demonstrate their political beliefs.
The Idaho World reported: “Several parties were found in the streets on Tuesday morning. Some with fractured skulls; some with bunged eyes and swollen faces… Blood was freely sprinkled about the town…”
Sheriff Sumner Pinkham did his best to tame the lawless town.
With his staunch Unionist views, Republican politics, and tough law enforcement, Pinkham made enemies in the Democratic Boise County. However, his enemies and friends alike agreed that he was a man not to be trifled with when enforcing the law. One of his most fervent enemies was a Southern gunfighter named Ferdinand “Ferd” Patterson.
In the Autumn of 1864, Pinkham was running for re-election as Boise County Sheriff. In a bitterly contested election, Pinkham was defeated by A.O. Bowen.
As the last of the ballots were being counted, Ferd Patterson encountered Sumner Pinkham, who was enraged. Pinkham struck Patterson, knocking him into the gutter, and then walked away. Locals expected retaliation from Patterson but it did not occur.
After losing the election, Sumner left Idaho City to visit his dying mother in Illinois.
By the end of the year, Idaho City‘s population of 7,000 surpassed Portland, Oregon, making it the largest community in the Pacific Northwest.
The winter of 1864-65 was severe. The roads were impassable and pack trains could not get through. The early Spring of 1865 saw a large immigration into the Boise Basin before supplies were brought in. The increased population and scarcity of provisions precipitated a food riot. Flour sold for $1 a pound.
A mob of 60 men seized supplies from stores in Idaho City. Deputy Sheriff Jack Gorman arrested and disarmed the leader, restoring order. The merchants reduced the price of flour, and soon, with the incoming pack trains, there was an abundance of all necessities.
On the night of May 18, 1865, disaster struck Idaho City. A fire erupted near the center of town, believed to have started in the upper story of a dance hall. Since all of the buildings were made of pine, the fire moved swiftly. Looters took what they could carry from stores before they were engulfed in flames. The fire lasted about three hours, destroying most of the businesses and better residence parts of the town.
Of the public buildings, only the Catholic Church, the Jenny Lind Theater, the office of the Idaho World, and the I.O.O.F. Hall remained standing. The homeless were housed in homes that escaped the flames, and the Catholic Church was converted into a hospital. The loss was estimated at $900,000. An indictment of arson was found against one man, but the matter was later dropped.
The townspeople immediately began rebuilding, and a few weeks later, business activities were being carried on as before.
One of the new structures built that year was the Masonic Temple, known as Lodge #1 of Idaho’s Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Completed in October 1865, it is the oldest Masonic Temple this side of the Mississippi River still in use today.
Ex-sheriff Sumner Pinkham had returned to Idaho City, and locals speculated that Pinkham and Ferd Patterson were going to have it out.
After the Civil War’s end, Sumner Pinkham staged a Fourth of July party. The crowds were mostly in a festive mood. The celebration included a brass band, speeches, patriotic songs, a picnic, and Sumner Pinkham leading the parade. For the victorious Yankees, it was a proud day. But, for the sullen Confederate sympathizers, it was not so much. For Ferd Patterson, seeing Pinkham leading the parade, was a further stab at his southern loyalties.
Pinkham was singing “Oh, we’ll hang Jeff Davis to a sour apple tree!” Ferd Patterson yelled out to Pinkham that if he didn’t shut his mouth he’d shut it for him. Pinkham invited him to try, and he did. A brief scuffle between the two men resulted in the flag falling into the dust of the street. Some witnesses swore they saw Ferd Patterson spit on it, and others swore they heard Pinkham swear he would kill Patterson for that.
Several weeks later on Sunday, July 23rd, Ferd Patterson shot and killed Sumner Pinkham at the Warm Springs Resort. Witnesses reported they heard Patterson say the word “draw” and then taunted Pinkham by calling him an “Abolitionist son-of-a-bitch.”
Patterson quickly fled but was captured, returned to Idaho City, and tried for the murder. However, he was quickly acquitted, prompting the Oregon newspaper to report:
“This ruffian has gone through the farce of a trial by a jury of fellow “Democrats” at Idaho City, and of course, has been acquitted.”
After the killing of Pinkham, a meeting was called by C.S. Kingley, the Methodist preacher, and the businessmen of Idaho City. A local blacksmith was chosen as the captain, and the organization soon had several hundred members.
Two years after Idaho City’s first fire, the town was again the victim of an equally devastating fire in May 1867. All the hotels, the post office, express office, and many of the principal business places were consumed. The Jenny Lind Theater and the office of the Idaho World were saved, but the St. Joseph Catholic Church and its nearby convent were destroyed.
The Boise Basin Mercantile suffered damage in the fire. In its rebuilding, every effort was employed to guard against future fire damage. Today these three separate buildings serve as the Boise Basin Mercantile, the oldest mercantile in Idaho.
Postmaster James Pinney built the Montgomery Street post office after the fire destroyed the first one. Today it serves as the Boise Basin Museum.
Another building established in 1867 was the Pon Yam House. From this building, Pon Yam sold herbs and other Chinese products until 1885. It is the only remaining building from Idaho City’s large Chinese population, today serving as a Chinese Museum and Cultural Center.
A famous political battle occurred in Idaho City on June 17, 1870. Congressman E. D. Holbrook and a gambler named Charles Douglass met one evening. After Holbrook called Douglass “a liar, a coward, and an assassin,” both men drew their guns. Holbrook was taken to his law office with several bullet holes in his abdomen and died the next morning. Douglass escaped and was never heard from again.
In the early 1870s, miners shifted their attention to washing down higher bench placers with hydraulic equipment. Extensive systems of flumes and ditches were built.
Many of the placer mining claims were sold to Chinese miners.
In 1875, I.O.O.F. Hall, Pioneer Lodge N. 1 was rebuilt since the original one had burned in the fire of 1867.
Mining in the Boise Basin lasted for several decades, with Idaho City as the center of a major gold-producing region. It is estimated that more than $250,000,000 was taken from this area in the two decades following its discovery.
In about 1900, economic diversification led to the use of Boise Basin timberlands.
From 1919 until 1926, mining was limited largely to lode properties. Idaho City’s population fell to 104 by 1920.
Dredge mining which began in 1898 continued until 1952.
Today, the once bustling mining camp relies mainly on tourism, though many of the old mines are active once again. The town’s current population is about 460 residents.
Visitors can enjoy a number of historic buildings and sites. Some of these include the 1867 St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, the 1865 Masonic Temple, the 1867 Pon Yam House, the Idaho City Hotel built in 1929, the 1867 Idaho World Newspaper building, and many others.
One of the most interesting buildings in Idaho City is the Boise County Courthouse. Construction on this building was completed in October 1873. The brick structure was built as a general store operated by the Reverend C.S. Kingsley. In 1909, Boise County bought the building and changed it into a courthouse, a function it still serves today.
Another interesting stop is the Old Pioneer Cemetery, established in 1863. The Cemetery is located just northeast of town.
Historic Idaho City is located 45 miles northeast of Boise on Highway 21.