Imagining Yesteryear in the Gold Mining Ghost Town of Bonanza City, Idaho

Like many boomtowns gone bust, Bonanza City sprang to life almost instantly when gold was discovered, then died just as quickly after the gold ran out. Located along the Yankee Fork, a large tributary of Idaho's upper Salmon River, Bonanza City is well worth a stop when traveling through scenic central Idaho. And while you're here, also explore the nearby gold mining ghost town of Custer, as well as the Yankee Fork Gold Dredge.

Bonanza City
Established in 1876, the town's name represented the optimism felt by early day miners, and luckily their dreams were richly realized for decades. By 1881, the population of Bonanza peaked at 600 and the town boasted a dentist, a tin shop, a watchmaker, hotels, saloons, boarding houses, a post office, and even the first newspaper in Custer County, The Yankee Herald. Bonanza City prospered for over 30 years, until its glory days of gold mining faded around 1910.

From the beginning, Bonanza was a well-planned settlement. Its streets were laid out in a rectangular grid, which was quite unlike most boomtowns that tended to be constructed haphazardly. Bonanza's main thoroughfare was wide and lined with trees, and there was a public well and a water system. Despite the latter, major fires in 1889 and 1897 destroyed much of Bonanza. But by then, the tiny town of Custer had been established two miles south, and most merchants reestablished their business there.

Not much is still intact in Bonanza today. Most of the old buildings succumb to heavy snow and windstorms each year, but they still make for interesting photos and historic reminders. It's tempting to want to treasure hunt amongst the rubble, but posted signs prohibit the removal of artifacts, so stick to just taking pictures.

The historic Bonanza Cemetery, about a mile west, is a peaceful final resting place among the pines. Most of the townsfolk from both Bonanza and Custer were buried here, including some of the more colorful characters of the day. Look for the headstone of Agnes "Lizzie" King who ran Bonanza's Arcade Saloon and Yankee Fork Dance Hall. She is buried between her two husbands. Lizzie and her second husband were mysteriously murdered just a week after their wedding. Following that tragic event, the original founder of Bonanza City, Charles Franklin, was found dead, clutching a gold locket containing Lizzie's photo. Coincidence?!

Yankee Fork Gold Dredge
Brought in by the Snake River Mining Company in 1940 to mechanically recover gold left behind by early prospectors, the massive Yankee Fork Gold Dredge operated for about twelve years. Located between the towns of Bonanza and Custer (nine miles down a gravel/dirt road off State Highway 75, thirteen miles east of Stanley), you can't help notice evidence of the dredging as you drive-huge mounds of gravel and rock alongside the road. The dredge left behind over five miles of these "dredge tailings" as it worked its way upstream. From 1940 until all the company's claims were worked out in1952, the enormous dredge dug out 6,000,000 cubic yards of stream gravel and recovered an estimated $1,200,000 in gold. The deteriorating dredge sat unused for a few decades, and then was donated to the Forest Service.

A dedicated, hardworking group of volunteers eventually restored the Yankee Fork Gold Dredge and it's now open for tours from Memorial Day through Labor Day. You'll definitely want to take a peek inside! Its gigantic dimensions are quite impressive-112 feet long, 54 feet wide, 64 feet high and it weighs 988 tons. There are 71 buckets on one continuous chain and each bucket holds 8 cubic feet of dirt. In its heyday, the dredge was considered very efficient and was powered by two 7-cylinder diesel engines that produced the electricity to operate the dredge. The Yankee Fork Gold Dredge remains the largest self-powered dredge ever to operate in Idaho.

Modern-day travelers might not strike it rich along the Yankee Fork, but you'll certainly gain an abundant appreciation for how precarious the livelihood of mining towns really was-rising and falling solely based on the availability of gleaming gold.

The accuracy of this article is assured by the author's personal visit and information from these sources:

http://www.cultimedia.ch/ghosttowns/htme/bonanza.htm

http://www.parksandrecreation.idaho.gov

Land of the Yankee Fork State Park
Box 1086
Challis, ID 83226
Phone: (208) 879-5244