With such a rich mining past, Idaho has seen its fair share of towns come and go over the decades. Many began as thriving gold and silver hubs, home to thousands of prospectors from across the country hoping to strike it rich and make their fortune. But as the ore ran out, these bustling towns would often fall into decay, awaiting for the opportune moment for a revival, or for utter deterioration. Yet, these towns – or the remnants thereof – often house Idaho’s most interesting historical sites. Even more fortunately, there are still a few of Idaho’s over 100 “ghost towns” that are still inhabited by a few stragglers, which makes them all the more unique and worthy of preservation.
Check out these fascinating ghost towns and their stories, and be sure to pay them a visit on your next road trip!
Situated next to the refreshing Wickahoney Springs in the middle of Owyhee's most remote landscape, this former stage stop was also a post office/family home/shelter at one point.
This town sprung to life in 1877 and was almost inseparable from Bonanza, its counterpart. Today, it is slowly being restored as a historical site, complete with original replicas.
This former gold and silver mining town perished in 1915 after the ore ran out. Still standing are a number of ruins and the original standing charcoal kilns. However, due to its unique history, this town is more volatile than most and should only be observed from afar.
Just south of Salmon and nestled against the mountainside, very little remains of this former silver mining town, which lasted until 1929. Today, the BLM is working to preserve what's left of Gilmore, often in partnership with the rafting companies who take travelers downriver.
Nicholia was a unique community even in its heyday, housing a series of lead mines - namely, the Viola Mine - rather than gold or silver. The Birch Creek charcoal kilns here are clay rather than stone, taking visitors back to the camp's glory days. Labor strikes, dropping stocks, and a fire all combined to make the collapse of Viola one of Idaho's most devastating economic losses.
Burke once flourished alongside its neighbor, Gem. The Tiger Hotel, perhaps the most well-known of Burke's structures, once had a creek running under it and a railroad line running through it. Why? Because the town was too narrowly pressed between two canyon walls to develop otherwise. Reportedly, the town was so narrow that store merchants had to crank their storefront awnings up so the trains wouldn't knock them off passing by.
Officially labeled a "semi ghost town," Murray's lifespan as a mining town was blessedly brief, allowing the city to continue after gold placer mining ended. It is the last in the string of mining towns along Burke Canyon. Today, its "must visit" Spragpole Museum attracts thousands of Idaho visitors, and the remaining storefronts are protected as important pieces of history.
This well-preserved gold rush town was notorious for its bar fights and prospecting debates. As one of the wealthiest mining towns in Northern Idaho, immigrants flocked here early on before the collapse of gold prices in 1932.
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