YELLOW JACKET

There was a rush to Yellow Jacket in 1869 after Nathan Smith and his party located what they thought was a rich gold strike. But apparently one of the prospectors of the party had "salted" the area with some California gold and the site wasn't as rich at first believed.

But just as most of the disappointed prospectors were leaving, a rich quartz lode was found that would eventually yield millions of dollars in gold. Despite the remote location a thirty stamp mill was packed into the area. A few years later, additional investment
doubled it's size and made it one of Idaho's largest stamp mills.

The investors also decided to build an aerial tramway to ease production costs.
But packing in eight thousand feet of cable on the backs of twenty mules turned out to be a huge undertaking. According to G. L. Sheldon the cable was laid out in the streets of Challis and "nearly all the inhabitants of the country were on hand to see the pack train start." He added, "In a hollow the rope would lift the center mule of its feet."
Despite the difficulties the mules and the cable eventually made it to Yellow Jacket.

One family has been involved with much of the history of the Yellow Jacket. In 1888
John G. Morrison and his nephews the Steen brothers acquired a controlling interest in the mine. In four years they extracted about 4800 ounces of gold. Though they sold the property in 1892 the Steen family eventually reacquired the Yellow Jacket decades later.
And though members of the family spent many frustrating years trying to make the mine profitable again, it finally did yield yet another round of mineral wealth.

Today the Steen family says mining is over at the Yellow Jacket and that they are now focusing on preserving the historic remnants of the 19th century gold camp.