We took an afternoon drive over to Idaho City, 50 miles northeast from our house. Idaho City was once the largest Pacific Northwest town in the late 1800s, now there's a population of around 500. The first half of the pictures below are of our drive on Hwy 21 from Boise, past Lucky Peak State Park, to Idaho City.
Per Idaho City's Chamber of Commerce website:
"In its heyday the city boasted more than 250 businesses, including such amenities as opera and theater houses, music stores, tailors, breweries, bowling alleys, barber shops and bakeries, pool halls and drug stores. And, of course, numerous saloons.
It was a bawdy, lusty town where whiskey was cheaper than water. Life was cheap, too. Men went armed at all times and were quick to defend themselves. Winners in disputes often spent time in the stout log jail. Losers were carted off to Pioneer Cemetery.
Despite the atmosphere of lawlessness, Idaho City flourished. Within three years of its founding, the city had surpassed Portland, Oregon, as the most populous in the Northwest. And no wonder: during the gold rush more than $250,000,000.00 worth of the precious yellow metal was taken from the Boise Basin. Within a few years of the strike, the gold had become harder to find and more difficult to mine. With fortunes no longer to be made, the prospectors left in droves.
Fires also ravaged the community. The first, in 1865, wiped out eighty percent of the buildings in town. Others, in 1867,1868, and 1871, were similarly destructive. Luckily, due to the extraordinary wealth of the gold strike, the town was speedily rebuilt each time. Today some of the best examples of early brick work and wooden architecture still exit in Idaho City. Many structures erected in the 1860's remain standing and represent some of Idaho's most important historical buildings." |
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