THE COEUR D'ALENE MINING DISTRICT (THE SILVER VALLEY)

In north Idaho's Coeur d'Alene district the roots of most of the communities here are directly linked to mining. For more than a century mining sustained the growth of what is now called the Silver Valley.

A few cities such as Kellogg and Wallace have weathered the ups and downs of the industry pretty well. While other towns like Burke and Murray are only shadows of what they once were. And still others like Eagle City are gone altogether.

Eagle City was the first mining camp in the area. It sprung up in 1881 after Andrew Prichard discovered gold in a creek that flows into the north fork of the Coeur D'Alene River. Well-known gunfighter Wyatt Earp was one of the characters of this boisterous town. Wyatt and his brothers opened a tent saloon in Eagle City just three years after their famous shootout at the O.K. Corral.

A more permanent town developed at a better location just up the creek from Eagle City. In fact the town of Murray became so popular and prosperous that in 1885 it became the Shoshone County seat. Though the towns population has dropped from the thousands to less than sixty it still celebrates its gold rush heritage. The annual "Molly B. Damn Days" recalls the life and times of a famous resident of the red light district.

The gold strikes near Murray were only the beginning for this area. A few miles away along the South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River, incredibly rich veins of silver mixed with lead were found. These discoveries would ultimately make this region's reputation and give it the name "The Silver Valley"

By the mid 1880s the Tiger-Poorman, Hecla, Gold Hunter, Morning and Galena mines were going strong and over the next several decades that list would grow to nearly 100 working mines in the valley.

One famous mine was supposedly discovered by a donkey that belonged to prospector Noah Kellogg. The prevailing story is that the animal wandered off one morning and hours later Kellogg finally found it standing right on top of what became one of Idaho's richest mines. That mine, the Bunker Hill, gave birth to the town of Kellogg. A humorous sign in town proclaims: "This is the town founded by a Jackass and inhabited by his descendents"

In nearby Burke Canyon more discoveries led to the development of other mines and towns. But the canyon was so narrow fitting everything into the town of Burke was a challenge. The four-story Tiger Hotel had to be built with a tunnel in it to allow trains to pass through. Today the main thing left in Burke are the remnants of Hecla's million-dollar plant.

Nearby Wallace has fared better, though it too is not the town it once was. Wallace's location near the center of the prosperous silver mining district propelled it to prominence. By 1898 it had enough clout to wrestle the county seat from Murray. Around the turn of the century Wallace was the third largest city in the state of Idaho. And mining in the area continued pretty strong for many decades. In fact there was a big resurgence in mining here in the 1970s when the price of silver skyrocketed.

Though mining here has again fallen on hard times residents will still regale you with stories of those glory years when the Silver Valley produced more silver than any place else in the world. The hard working miners of the valley have produced over 4 billion dollars worth of metals.

History professor Dr. Katherine Aiken comments: "Well it was certainly the longest lasting mining district in United States history. It produced much more than, I think, some mining districts that are more famous like the Comstock Load of Nevada."