Written by Wildcat Dianne on 02 Jun, 2005
Our last stop of our day in Idaho City was to the Pioneer Cemetery. Located outside of town off the road to Placerville, another Idaho mining town, this cemetery has been the final resting place of over 3,000 of Idaho City's residents. The…Read More
Our last stop of our day in Idaho City was to the Pioneer Cemetery. Located outside of town off the road to Placerville, another Idaho mining town, this cemetery has been the final resting place of over 3,000 of Idaho City's residents. The cemetery is so crowded that no more bodies are being accepted for burial even if residents have a family plot there. My friend Dianne was telling us last night that her friend's sister died last year, and they had to get special permission to bury her in Pioneer Cemetery with her family in the plot but after that, no more bodies can be buried there. The cemetery is on a huge plot of land, so Mom, Rita, and I were able to let Loki, Katie, and Malachai run loose through the place. They enjoyed running around the grave stones and getting some well-needed exercise before going home. Mom, Linda, Rita, and I walked around looking at many of graves of Idaho City's colorful residents. We couldn't believe how young people died in the 19th century, and this cemetery is still in use today, so there are many fresh graves in Pioneer Cemetery, too. Linda thought the graves that were fenced in with wooden or iron fences gave the cemetery a charming look, and there were wildflowers galore. Due to it being Memorial Day, there were several people in Pioneer Cemetery putting flowers on their loved ones' graves. While the newer graves were taken care of with new stones and flowers, the older graves were showing signs of wear and tear and neglect. But there was one gravestone that made Linda, Rita, Mom, and I laugh out loud. The woman had died in 2003, and her gravestone was a wooden sign that said, "Faunelle E. Casner 1911-2003. Rest in Peace. You never gave us any."
We spent about a half-hour in the cemetery and were getting ready to go home to Meridian. We rounded up Loki and Malachai, but we couldn't find Katie. "Katie! Where are you!" we yelled as we walked down the cemetery's hill. Rita was ahead of us and said, "Here she is!" Our little tramp Katie was laying at the cemetery's gates, wagging her tail and rolling over on her back for anyone who would pay attention to her. BRAT!!
The Pioneer Cemetery is open from sunrise to sunset year-round and free to visit, but there is a little bucket at the gate asking for donations to maintain the appearance of the cemetery.
Written by Wildcat Dianne on 01 Jun, 2005
"A wagon load of cats and chickens found its way into these diggins' a month or so since and have found an excellent market. Cats brought $10 and chickens $5 each. Chickens have come down to $36 per dozen, but cats maintain the former…Read More
"A wagon load of cats and chickens found its way into these diggins' a month or so since and have found an excellent market. Cats brought $10 and chickens $5 each. Chickens have come down to $36 per dozen, but cats maintain the former rates with an upward trend. Dogs are a drug on the market."--"Idaho World" 1863 report on the Boise Merc.
The Boise Basin Mercantile, or Merc as its known by the locals, is located on the corner of Main and Commercial Streets in Idaho City. The Merc is three separate buildings built during a 3-year period (1867-69) of reconstruction after a devastating fire in 1865. The new building was constructed from brick and iron to prevent another fire from destroying the place. Today, the Boise Basin Merc is the oldest mercantile market in Idaho and still in operation as an antique store during the summer.
During the 19th-century mining heyday of Idaho City, the Merc was the miners' supply and grocery store, then known as the Universal Store. Miners could find almost everything they needed to survive in the mines in the hills outside of Idaho City.
It was very busy at the Merc on our Memorial Day visit, with the antique shop bustling and the little souvenir shop in the Merc hopping, too. Most of the shop owners of Idaho City were working in 19th-century costumes for the tourists' entertainment.
The Merc is open daily and good for buying modern-day supplies or just to looking around to see what life was like in the 19th century.
Written by Wildcat Dianne on 31 May, 2005
When our friend Linda, Mom, and I made plans to go to Idaho City on Memorial Day Monday, I suggested we have a picnic in John Brogan Park in order for us to bring our dogs Loki and Katie and let them have a run…Read More
When our friend Linda, Mom, and I made plans to go to Idaho City on Memorial Day Monday, I suggested we have a picnic in John Brogan Park in order for us to bring our dogs Loki and Katie and let them have a run around the park and us to enjoy the day.
John Brogan Park is located on Montgomery and Commercial Streets and was established by the Idaho City Foundation in 1960. It is an outdoor park and museum with exhibits of old mining equipment and buildings dating from Idaho City's mining heyday in the late 19th century.
Picnic tables were all over the park for our dining pleasure, and there is a creek that Loki and Katie discovered right away and dove in to cool off before we got our coolers out of the car. Mom and I were dreading the idea of having to bathe the two Pig Pens since the water was muddy and colored rust from the pipes that went into the creek. But that didn't phase Loki and Katie, who would lay down in the water and enjoy their mud bath before getting tied to a couple of trees so that we could eat dinner.
Dogs tied up and looking like urchins, Mom, Linda, Rita, and I dug into our picnic lunch of homemade BBQ chicken, coleslaw, pasta salad, avocados, and cookies. Several times, Loki and Katie broke off their leashes and went and growled at Rita's dog Malachai or went to check out the big family of picnickers at the other tables. "Yogi Bear wouldn't be able to get in here without these guys around," I quipped after one of Loki's escapes.
The first time I came to John Brogan Park, it was wintertime, and snow prevented me from exploring the Miner's Cabin and old mining equipment more in depth. Now, in late spring, I was able to explore the Miner's Cabin and equipment. The Miner's Cabin and other equipment have been moved to John Brogan Park from other parts of town after they became obsolete.
"People must have been shorter in the 19th century," Mom said as she got a closer look at the miner's cabin. "It looks claustrophobic without windows," I said, but Mom saw that there were two tiny windows on a closer look at the place. Inside the cabin (you can only see it through the window on the side) was a bed, a table, and a wood stove in rough shape, but it gave us an idea of how rough the miners had it in the 19th century.
The Idaho City Firehouse is a very tiny building that used to be located on the hill above Idaho City. The old location gave the firemen a running start to fires with their hose truck.
John Brogan Park is open every day, sunrise to sunset, and is free of charge to picnic and relax in or to see the sights within.
Written by tiffanyrooprai on 06 Jul, 2005
Stopping in Idaho City is like stopping in a Wild West Museum. Doing this near a holiday or any weekend in summer is akin to being in the museum, when the exhibits come to life. Every resident of Idaho City has done their part to…Read More
Stopping in Idaho City is like stopping in a Wild West Museum. Doing this near a holiday or any weekend in summer is akin to being in the museum, when the exhibits come to life. Every resident of Idaho City has done their part to make summer weekends a wonderful experience for families - dressing the part, singing, and acting as if you've stepped back to the days of the Gold Rush. Idaho City was once the state capital as well as a Gold Rush city.
The town has done well to keep up the historical facade, and during the summer months, visitors can engage in traditional Western BBQ, outdoor concerts, rodeos, and mini-plays acted out along the two main thoroughfares in town. Walking the mile-long loop around Main Street and its neighboring streets is like stepping back in time - the buildings all retain their original character and many of them have been converted into museums celebrating the region's unique history - Chinese workers, moveable type and letterpress, Idaho's Gold Rush, and the great fishing found in along the tributaries to the Middle Fork and Salmon Rivers.
This particular 4th of July weekend we saw a town transformed with locals dressed in 1800s couture and fake shootouts with the real sheriff! The town was ablaze with fun and tourists but no smoke - it's the height of the dry season, so campfires and fireworks are off-limits in this forested land. All entertainment was free - including the 20-minute play production in an empty lot between hundred year old buildings. There was music along Main Street and a picnic in the park ($1 hot dogs). The aroma of BBQ was everywhere, and the museums were free and open to the public. In all, it made for a wonderful stop before the short hike along Crooked River.
There are two other buildings near the Idaho City Jail and Pest House that deserve recognition in this journal, The Blacksmith's House and the Galbreaith House, which are the oldest buildings in Idaho City. The Blacksmith's House and the Galbreaith House are located on Montgomery Street…Read More
There are two other buildings near the Idaho City Jail and Pest House that deserve recognition in this journal, The Blacksmith's House and the Galbreaith House, which are the oldest buildings in Idaho City. The Blacksmith's House and the Galbreaith House are located on Montgomery Street in Idaho City. Originally located in other parts of the town, these two buildings were moved to its present locations and restored by the people of Idaho City.
The Blacksmith's House was built around the mid-1860s and served many of the residents in Idaho City for its metal works. It wasn't until the 1870s and a few fires that the blacksmith's business really got going due to many buildings being reconstructed from brick and iron and not wood. The Galbreaith House is the oldest house in Idaho City. Built in the early 1860s, this tiny house was the residence of the Galbreaith family for many years until it was given to Idaho City as a historical treasure. Both the Blacksmith's House and the Galbreaith House are open during the summer for public viewing, but iron gates or locks prevent one from touring the interiors, so you have to just look in the windows or through the gate bars to see the interiors. The Blacksmith's House was old and dusty and full of blacksmith tools and projects. The Galbreaith House was painted white, and its interior was remodeled to its 19th-century style and furnishings. The living and dining area was one tiny area with a wood stove, while the tiny bedroom is located off of this area in the back.
Both of these houses are open only during the summer tourist season and are well worth less than a half an hour of your time to see.
Mom and I had lost our friends Linda and Rita after splitting up to go to the restroom, so Linda put word around the town that she was looking for two ladies with two dogs, one of them shorn (Katie). As we were looking…Read More
Mom and I had lost our friends Linda and Rita after splitting up to go to the restroom, so Linda put word around the town that she was looking for two ladies with two dogs, one of them shorn (Katie). As we were looking for Linda and Rita on Main Street, one of the costumed residents of Idaho City asked us if we were Dianne and Ann. We said yes, and we were told that Linda and Rita were looking for us. Katie, who is usually shy, greeted the lady, and then she told us that there was a show in a few minutes. We told her that Katie had just run off after one of the cast members shot off his gun, and she warned us that the skits had gunfire. So, Mom and I had to pass on the play and decided to go and see the buildings on Montgomery Street.
The first building Mom, the dogs, and I came across on Montgomery Street was the Idaho City Jail and Pest House. This building was built in the 1860s and first used as a Pest House to house people with contagious diseases. The Pest House and jail was open for us to see the remodeled interior of the place that contained an old metal tub and other medical tools and instruments used to treat infected miners and residents of Idaho City in the 19th century. By the early 20th century, the Pest House was no more and the building became the Idaho City Jail, housing drunks and other lawbreakers until the 1930s. Isn't that another form of pest control?
Before Mom, Loki, Katie, and I went to see St. Joseph's Catholic Church and The Odd Fellows Lodge of Idaho City, we stopped at the information center for a bathroom break. While I was in the restroom, Mom waited outside with our restless brood.…Read More
Before Mom, Loki, Katie, and I went to see St. Joseph's Catholic Church and The Odd Fellows Lodge of Idaho City, we stopped at the information center for a bathroom break. While I was in the restroom, Mom waited outside with our restless brood. There were some costumed residents of Idaho City hanging around outside the information center and talking with the tourists. One of the cowboys had a cap gun looking like a six shooter. He fired it for the tourists. This scared the crap out of Katie, who broke out of Mom's hold to points unknown. The gun-slinging cowboy caught Katie by her leash as we caught up with him. He apologized for scaring Katie, and we were on our way.
We had lost Linda and Rita by this time, so we decided to go up to St. Joseph's Church and the Odd Fellows Lodge on our own to get away from the tourists and "Wild Bill" and his gun for a while.
St. Joseph's Church and the Odd Fellows Lodge are located next to each other at the top of the hill on Luwalla Street in Idaho City. Seeing that we had to climb up another hill to see another church (Silver City last year), Mom said, "Why did they build their churches on the hill?" I think it was because it was closer to heaven, but I am not sure. St. Joseph's Church was originally founded in 1864 by the Catholics. It was established in Idaho City to serve the many Irish Catholic miners who had come to America to find fame and fortune. The original church building was destroyed in the fire of 1865 and rebuilt in 1867. Like Silver City's Our Lady of Tears Church, St. Joseph's Church is a tiny white building with a bell tower and stained-glass windows. Due to the holiday, it was closed for tours. Mom was bummed out because she wanted to go inside for a minute to get a picture of the interior for her brother in Rhode Island. I told her she could have a copy of an exterior shot for him. After touring the outside of the church, we walked over to the Odd Fellows Lodge. The current Odd Fellows Lodge, or I.O.O.F. Hall, was built in 1875, 10 years after the fire of 1865 destroyed the original building. The new building was built on the hilltop over Idaho City to prevent future fires from destroying it. Question: If they were preventing fires, why did they build the new lodge with weather-beaten wood, wood pegs, and square nails? The upper floor of the Odd Fellows Lodge was used for lodge meetings, while the lower floor was used for social gatherings. The lodge went under a complete interior overhaul in 1941, but the exterior still remains the same.
St. Joseph's Church is still used for Mass on Sundays and is open for touring daily, except on holidays.