SALMON AREA HISTORY

The beautiful and breathtaking Lemhi valley. In 1804 the Lewis and Clark Expedition left St. Louis, Missouri in hopes of finding passage to the Pacific Ocean. On August 12, 1805 four members of the expedition including Lewis advanced the remainder of the expedition and descended the Continental Divide over Lemhi Pass and into the Lemhi valley. At that time, this land was the southern interior of Columbia and was believed to be unknown and unclaimed territory to white men. Near what is known today as Tendoy, Idaho and lying at the bottom of Agency creek, this area turned out to be critical in the success of the Expedition.

Unbeknownst to the advanced party, they were entering the homeland of the Lemhi-Shoshone Indians, and the birthplace of their guide and interpreter, Sacajawea. In 1800, at the age of 11 years, the Hidatsa tribe raided a winter Shoshone camp, near what is now Three Forks, Montana, and Sacajawea was kidnapped. She was taken east to the Hidatsa village, along the banks of the Missouri River, in current day South Dakota. There she was eventually sold to a French trader, Toussaint Charbonneau, who moved her upriver to the Mandan village.

Lewis and Clark arrived at the Mandan village in the fall of 1804 and spent the winter there. Shortly after their arrival, at the age of 16, Sacajawea gave birth to a son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau. In the mean time her husband, Charbonneau, was hired by the expedition to lead the party west and act as an interpreter. At his request, Sacajawea and Jean Baptiste joined the expedition and in April the expedition headed for the Pacific.

When the expedition arrived in the Big Hole valley, the advanced party, the first to cross the Divide and meet the Lemhi-Shoshone, was able to obtain help from the Lemhi-Shoshone. The Indians offered their assistance and their horses in going back to the Big Hole and move the expedition�s supplies across the Divide and to the Salmon River. While Lewis and the expedition were taking their supplies into the Lemhi valley, Clark and a few others went ahead to see if the expedition would be able to navigate the Salmon River. He did not have to travel too far to soon recognize that a passage down the river would be impossible. The party would instead have to travel by land. To make the remainder of their journey possible, they were able to obtain horses from the Lemhi-Shoshone. The Lemhi-Shoshone also offered a guide to get them there and by November 13 th, 1805 they had traveled some 100 miles out of Lemhi county to reach the Lolo Trail.

After the expedition left the Lemhi valley, there were not a lot of white men to be seen until the fur trader�s exploration into the area. The British and American early stages of fur trading bypassed the Lemhi Valley in the latter part of the eighteenth century. One of the first fur traders to enter the Lemhi valley was Michel Bourdon of the Hudson Bay Company. In 1822 Bourdon entered the Pahsimeroi valley with what was known as the Snake brigade and explored much of the territory along the Salmon and Lemhi rivers. The very next year a trapper named Finan MacDonald brought the same Snake expedition back through Lemhi Pass. On this journey the Blackfeet Indians ambushed them. Twenty-nine trappers killed sixty-eight of the 75 Blackfeet warriors. In doing so the trappers of the Snake brigade managed not only to defend their life but also to deter the continual harassment put upon the Lemhi Shoshone by the Blackfeet. In 1824 Alexander Ross led the same brigade of trappers through Lemhi County, along the Salmon River primarily, and by the time he was finished in this area, most of Lemhi County had been explored Ross returned through Bannock Pass and was accompanied by Jedediah Smith and six other American fur traders. Fur trading only continued for another decade in this region primarily due to the impoverished beaver population.

Due to the decline of the beaver population and the resulting declination of fur traders, the Lemhi valley seemingly was unattractive to the white men for some time. There was a retired trapper, Tom Pambrun, of Hudson�s Bay Company who settled among the Lemhi Shoshone. There were a few other retired fur traders who lived near by as well.

Around 1855, a group of 27 Mormon missionaries organized as the Salmon River Indian Mission entered the Lemhi Valley. This convergence soon numbered close to 200 people as they settled among the Shoshones, Bannocks, and Nez Perces along the Lemhi River. Shortly after their arrival, the Mormons separated themselves by building a fort eighty �eight yards square rising nine feet above the ground. Inside there were 25 cabins surrounding a well in the center, which was topped with a flagpole, a blacksmith shop, and a sawmill. The Mormons introduced stock farming and had a corral outside about the same dimension as the fort with two-foot wide walls reaching seven feet high and built out of adobe. A small stream wan dammed and a ditch about 300 yards long was dug and hence irrigation was introduced to the Lemhi Valley.

The fort was located approximately two miles North of what is now the small town of Tendoy, at the base of Lemhi Pass. The missionaries named the settlement Fort Limhi, after King Limhi, whom according to Mormon scripture organized an expedition that lasted twenty-two days; the same duration it took the first group of missionaries to reach the Salmon River Country from their Utah settlement. Lemhi, even though the spelling differs slightly from that of Limhi, soon was adopted for the name of the river, the valley, the Native Americans, and eventually the county.

The Mormons had good relations with the Indians in the beginning. However, tensions quickly began to raise for various reasons, a few of which were the construction of the Fort, the Mormons commercializing of the Salmon fishing, and probably most significant is the expectations brought upon the Indians to share a common culture. The Mormons assumed this cultural conformity because of their interpretation of the book of Mormon, and in fact the tribes distrusted each other, especially the Shoshone and Bannock, rivaling with the Nez Perce. Additionally, the mission had refused to engage in conjugal relations with the Indians until Brigham Young told them to do so.

In the winter of 1858, Fort Limhi was attacked by a group of angry Shoshones and Bannocks. These invaders raided the settlement, stole virtually all the settlers� horses and cattle, killed two men, and wounded several others. Apparently this particular attack was influenced by Mormon assistance to a starving band of Nez Perce. After the Nez Perce had eaten they stole a large herd of stock from the Shoshones and Bannocks in revenge from earlier thievery. This raid led not only to abandonment of Fort Limhi, but ultimately led to the retreat of the entire Mormon colony lead by Brigham Young into the southern most portion of Utah.

The next outside interest in this area came in the late 1800�s with the mining explorations. In 1880 an upper Lemhi mining district was organized in the Gilmore area and turned out to be the largest mining operation in the entire Lemhi county history. For some 50 years, this area contained a significant mineral deposit of lead and silver. The area had some hardship in the beginning, primarily due to the financial setbacks associated with moving the ore and the cost of transportation.

Substantial investments from a Colorado Company, critical in developing Gilmore and surrounding lodes came to the area in 1882 (ISHS 209) and at a cost of $135,000.00 a thirty ton smelter was installed at Viola. Until 1888, miners along this part of the valley were dependant upon the Viola smelter facility at Nicholia. That year lead prices fell and a great fire broke out, burning the hoist and shaft timbers. The Colorado Company had to cease operation in 1889, haul the smelter away, indeed giving the area some bad publicity and angering investors.

The mining operation at Gilmore had been sending a small amount of ore to the Viola smelter and was affected by the shutdown and was dormant until 1902. At that point a fellow by the name F.G. Laver discovered for himself and became quite interested in Gilmore. Laver, a prominent investor from Dubois, Pennsylvania collaborated with other Pennsylvania investors and bought a major portion of Gilmore property. Laver saw remarkable resemblances of the Gilmore lode to a mine in Tintic, Utah, which was productive, and he had invested. By 1904, the new Gilmore operative produced 2,000 ton of high-grade lead as well as a decent amount of silver. The next year was even better but transportation of the ore by wagon for eighty-five miles was very limiting. Payments for freighting the ore were $10.00 per load, so it was only feasible to send the highest-grade ore.

In 1906 a large steam traction engine with four ore cars with a capacity of 60 tons came to trial. On the trip to Gilmore from Dubois, Idaho the train hauled and dropped off intermittent loads of coal for fueling stations on the return trip to Dubois. The cars were loaded with ore in Gilmore, and then on the way back to Dubois the cars would stop for coal. This only worked for a handful of trips before the cars wore out. This is when it was decided to stop the shipments and build a railroad. For the duration a small smelter was constructed at Hahn, at the base of Spring Mountain. After just a few weeks this idea was abandoned as well.

In 1910 mining at Gilmore finally became practical. The Gilmore and Pittsburgh railroad, financed through Northern Pacific, became a reality. The route of the rail line began in Armstead, Montana (elevation 5,492 feet), through Horse Prairie, and reaching the Continental Divide at Bannock Pass (elevation 7,672 feet). The railroad path contained numerous switchbacks and a 750-foot tunnel under the Divide. From the summit, the railroad descended Bannock Pass (currently called Railroad Canyon) and entered current day Leadore where it then split. The mail line headed North 55 miles to Salmon and the branch line turned south twenty-two miles for service to Gilmore). The entire line stretched a total of 118 miles. Frank B. Sharkey, a pioneer in the Salmon City business community, drove the golden spike on 25 of April 1910.

Within the first 12 months the shipments of ore leaving Gilmore equaled the total of all the previous years combined. A production of 5,472,000 pounds of lead and 115,000 ounces of silver were mined that first year. Between 1911 and 1912 the little mining camp of Gilmore, hosting some forty-three miners, began to grow considerably. Some 500 miners and their families eventually moved in and soon there was a bank, a mercantile, a hotel, a livery barn, a hotel and restaurant combination, another restaurant, a building contractor, a meat market, a barber, �a lady barber�, a pool hall, numerous homes, and a Gilmore commercial Club. Life was not so bad for a time as noted in a order to a grocery store in Butte, Montana requesting fresh tomatoes, chili peppers, imported Scotch, sardines, shrimp, and lobster.

Within a year or two, another one hundred miners had moved in and the production of Gilmore continued to be increasingly important to the economy of Lemhi Valley. Gilmore began building tunnels to extend their mining efforts and to further explore and develop their land. By 1916 this effort had resulted in a tunnel reaching 6,000 feet in length and 1,000 feet in width and also providing another 10 years of work. It was during this time period when Gilmore established it�s historical and economical significance, and stature as a thriving community. The mines brought the railroad, which brought trade, commerce, and transportation to and from the city of Salmon and outlying areas as well transportation for the farming and ranching communities.

The financial ramifications brought upon by World War II had unsurprisingly limited the mines production until 1924. At that point, the rail line had been extended to the portal of the tunnel, and with 20,000 feet of tunnels and shafts, they were ready to resume full-scale operation. High wartime prices had led to profitable operation for lead and silver mining. Up until 1929 Gilmore was Idaho�s largest mine outside the Coeur d�Alene area. There was an explosion at the power plant in Gilmore ceasing large-scale operations. Gilmore was unable to recover and resume operations during the Great Depression. Together with the Viola mine, more than sixteen million dollars worth of lead and silver were mined.

The Gilmore and Pittsburgh railroad continued to provide service for logging and commercial agriculture to Salmon up until the 1940�s at which point highways and automobiles provided transportation. Today Gilmore is one of Idaho�s favorite ghost towns exemplifying the good old days when it was a thriving mining community.

CULTURAL AND HERITAGE SITES

Visitor Center

Sacajawea Interpretive, Cultural & Education Center, 1 mile E. of Hwy. 93 & 28 intersection on Hwy. 28. Phone: (208) 756-1188. Angie Hurley, Administrator.

Architecture and Historic Buildings

The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, 204 Courthouse Dr., Salmon, (208) 756-3720.

The Socrates A. Myers house, contact SVCC (208) 756-2100.

Salmon I.O.O.F. Lodge, Main St., Salmon, contact SVCC (208) 756-2100

Salmon Historical Society has put out a brochure for a walking tour of 18 historical buildings. Available @ Salmon Valley Chamber of Commerce, 200 Main St., (208) 756-2100.

Historical Markers, Many Historical Markers are found along the Hwy 93 corridor, the Salmon River Canyon (below North Fork), and along Hwy. 28. Contact the SVCC (208) 756-2100.

Indian Sites

Shoshone Encampment - near Kenny Creek (Tendoy area on the Lemhi River) where the Lewis & Clark expedition met with the Shoshones on August 13, 1805.

Nez Perce encampment - near present day Leadore on their flight from the Big Hole Battle to the Bear

Paw Mountains -(where they were defeated in their flight to Canada), August 13, 1877.

Chief Tendoy�s Grave, near Tendoy, Contact Viola Anglin at Tendoy Store (208) 756-2263.

Mines - There are numerous old mining towns in the valley. Contact Salmon-Challis National Forest (208) 756-5100 or the SVCC (208) 756-2100.

Museums

Lemhi County Historical Museum, 210 Main St., Salmon, (208) 756-3342.

Elmer Keith Museum - at the Ponderosa Gallery on Main Street (208) 756 8610

Old Trails

Lewis & Clark Trail

A significant portion of the Lewis & Clark Trail crosses Lemhi County. It was here that the expedition crossed the Continental Divide searching for a water route to the Pacific. Sacajawea, the Shoshone Indian woman on the expedition, was born here and recognized her brother when Lewis & Clark were negotiating for trade for horses . Contact the Salmon Bureau of Land management (208) 756-5400, the Salmon-Challis National Forest (208) 756-5100, or the SVCC (208) 756-2100.

A part of the Southern Nez Perce Trail is in Lemhi County. Contact the Salmon-Challis National Forest at (208) 756-5100.

A portion of the Nez Perce National Historic Trail enters Lemhi County near the town of Leadore, (& East & South of Leadore). Contact the Salmon-Challis National Forest at (208) 756-5100 or the SVCC (208) 756-2100.

Pioneer Settlement

Fort Lemhi, 17 miles South of Salmon, off Hwy 28. Contact SVCC (208) 756-2100.

 
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