June 19, 2021

Silver City, Idaho

Silver City, Idaho.

boomtown to ghost town


Silver City, founded in 1864, is a historic town in northwestern Owyhee County, Idaho. It's also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. At its height in the 1880s, it was a gold and silver mining town with a population of around 2,500 and approximately 75 businesses. It is only accessible during spring and summer months since the road leading there runs along mountainous cliffs and is incredibly rocky, narrow and treacherous and during the winter is completely hidden by snow. The first daily newspaper and telegraph office in Idaho Territory were established in Silver City. The town was also among the first places in present-day Idaho to receive electric and telephone service

Today, the town has about 70 standing buildings, all of which are privately owned. Many of the owners are third- or fourth-generation descendants of the original miners, majority of those who are buried in the town's ominous hillside grave sight.


All photos © Carrie Hampton