Old Mines High above Silver City By Ray Brooks I knew the rough road was public, so I ignored a “Private” sign and opened a sheepherder gate in a fence to drive into the remains of the once-bustling
No Country for Codgers By Ray Brooks I had been warned about the road from Orogrande Summit southwest of Elk City to the old mining towns of Buffalo Hump. It was OK for about a quarter-mile after the
Dan, Grace, and Gold By Robin McRae Photos Courtesy of Robin McRae When my grandfather, Daniel Carrus McRae, arrived in Idaho at the age of sixteen, his lifelong quest for gold began. He died in 1954, when I
Detective Work in the Mountains Story and Photos by Ray Brooks I rose early and arrived by 11 a.m. at the southern gate to Nicholia, which had been a mining and smelting town in the 1880s. It’s now
Idaho’s Charcoal Kilns By Tom Straka Contemporary photos by Dick Ringelstetter The charcoal kilns of central Idaho’s early mining days described here are accompanied by another story in this issue about the mines, smelters, and charcoal pits connected
Hopping a Freight Train to Idaho By Max Jenkins Photos Courtesy of Max Jenkins My dad, Wes Jenkins, loved farming. But to find his first paying job, he had to live through the Midwest Dust Bowl, overcome the
Boom! And Then Poof Story and Photos by Ray Brooks As a feet-on-the-ground amateur historian, I not only like to research the stories of Idaho mines and ore mills but to explore the sites, which often are deep
The Forgotten Lodes Story and photos by Ray Brooks “Rush for Boyle Mountain!” never became a slogan in big-city newspapers in the 1880s. The one-time mining area never enjoyed a post office, and it suffers from going almost
A Summer at the Blackbird Mine By Russell Steele In the rear view mirror I could see my new hard hat, just a shiny reflection in the damp dust on the narrow haul road. It was the first
A Mountain and Its Mines By Ray Brooks In August 1969, I found myself on steep and crumbling cliffs high above Boulder Creek, leading other novice climbers and childhood friends into unknown territory with an old hemp rope,
