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The Coeur d'Alene Mining District already has an excellent array of historical venues. Below, very briefly, is a list of existing resources, links (when avaliable), and cameo descriptions. 219 6th Street,
Wallace. Greg
Marsh's web site
on Wallace says the following about the NPR Depot Museum:
The
elegant chateau
styled
depot, which houses the two story museum, was built at the turn of the
century with unique brick transported from China and concrete panels
made from mine tailings. Railroads have been an integral part of the
mining district since 1887. In 1976, while still in business as a
railroad station, the depot was listed on the National Register of
Historic Places. A decade later, after the station closed, it was moved
200 feet to make way for the completion of Interstate 90. The
celebrated move, rehabilitation and conversion to a museum cost nearly
two-thirds of a million dollars. Each year in early May, the town
celebrates Depot
Day in conjunction with a Classic
Car Show that draws entrants from
the entire Inland Northwest.
Lookout Pass, I-90 at border
of Idaho and Montana. From their web site:
Winding through 10 tunnels and 7 high trestles, this 15-mile route crosses the rugged Bitterroot Mountains between Idaho and Montana. The Route of the Hiawatha is best known for the long, dark St. Paul Pass, or "Taft" Tunnel, which burrows for 1.66 miles under the Idaho/Montana state line. With an incredible history beginning in 1906 of construction, hardships and calamities, unprecedented electrification, and of carrying passengers and freight from the Northwest to the Midwest, generations of railroaders kept the Milwaukee Road running until it finally went bankrupt in 1977. The last train west of Butte, Montana passed through in 1980. After that the line was abandoned. With government funding and private donations, the rails were removed, and the construction of this spectacular wilderness bicycle and hiking trail was undertaken in 1997. The Idaho portion of the trail first opened for public use on May 29, 1998. The St. Paul Pass, or "Taft" Tunnel, was completed in May of 2001, and is now open for bike riding. 509 Bank Street,
Wallace): Marsh's
Wallace web site offers:
The
museum
captures
the impact of mining history with artifacts and exhibits depicting the
hardships, toils and home life of the period. An exhibit of photographs
and commissioned paintings helps bring the reality of those early days
to light. A selection of video programs are shown daily in the thirty
seat theater on a four by six foot projection TV system.
605 Cedar Street,
Wallace. Marsh
offers:
When
the final occupants of the
Oasis Rooms left in January 1988 (the last recorded date in the "hotel"
registry), they seemed to have left in a hurry. Clothing, makeup,
toiletries, food and personal items were all left behind. An accurate
and tastefully-presented twenty-minute tour of the upper rooms explains
the mystery of the ladies' hasty departure and gives a glimpse into the
town's bawdy past with details that range from poignant to hilarious.
The main floor is an unusual gift shop adorned with Robert Thomas
murals that depict the realities of mining in an earlier era. The
two-story brick building began its existence in 1895 as a hotel and
saloon, and is one of the few structures in Wallace to survive the
famous 1910 fire. At that time, Wallace men outnumbered women by nearly
200 to 1. The Oasis was one of FIVE brothels operating without
hinderance on Wallace's main street until 1973.
Office at 420 Fifth Street,
Wallace. The tour's web site offers:
An experienced miner is your guide as you as you walk through the main drift of an actual underground silver mine. Using exhibits and demonstrations of operating mining equipment, you will learn the historical and modern-day techniques used to mine silver, gold, lead, zinc, and copper. The 120-year history of mining in the Coeur d'Alenes has created a unique and colorful mining culture. Your guide will share his personal experiences as a hard-rock miner in the Coeur d'Alene district. The stories, demonstrations, and exhibits included in the Sierra Silver Mine Tour will appeal to people of all ages and interests.
Moon Pass Road, one mile
south of Wallace.
This two-mile
trail takes the
hiker along the escape route "Big Ed" Pulaski and his surviving crew
used to return to Wallace the morning after the hurricane-scale
flare-up of the Great 1910 Fire. The trail's destination is the
"Pulaski Tunnel," where Pulaski secured his men overnight and during
the fire's worst hours. A dozen porcelain historical signs
acquaint the hiker with the trail's fateful history.
820 McKinley Ave.,
Kellogg. From the museum's web page:
The Shoshone County Mining & Smelting Museum, Inc. has a historic collection from the Bunker Hill Mining and Smelting Company and the surrounding Silver Valley. Bunker Hill was one of the oldest and largest mining companies in the Coeur d' Alene area of North Idaho. Rock and mineral displays, mining history and equipment displays, and local history exhibits.
Traverses Coeur d'Alene
Minding District. From the Coeur
d'Alene Visitor's Bureau:
More
than 72 miles of paved path
through the historic Silver Valley, into the Chain Lake Region, along
the shore of Lake Coeur d'Alene, through Heyburn State Park, and the
Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation.
This gold mine
was hidden and
lost for 100 years. A retired miner bought it in 1996 and opened it up
in the spring of 1998 as a year-around tourist attraction. This is a
Star Attraction! Photographed for an 'A & E' production, and
recommended in Horizon Air Magazine.
229 Earl Street,
Mullan. From a web source:
Established in the old Liberty Theater, this museum illustrates the history of Mullan. Exhibits include historical furnishings, vintage clothing, photographs, newspapers, mining relics as well as local school, sports, firemen, and drug store memorabilia. Exit 54 off I-90 near
Kellogg, Idaho. From a U.S. Department of Labor web site:
The
statue stands at the mouth of
the Big Creek Canyon in the hills of Northern Idaho. The metal-sculpted
hard rock miner eternally beams his cap lamp toward the site of one of
America's worst mining disasters. On a late Spring day in 1972 at the
Sunshine Mine, ninety-one miners were killed by a large underground
fire.
Walt Almquist purchased the building in 1933 and later remodeled the structure and opened the Sprag Pole Inn, named after the supporting poles once needed to help hold up the wooden walls in hard winters. A friend gave him an old whiskey jug to display behind the bar, and the collection began, or better phrased, exploded. This wasn't hard in an area with such a colorful and important history. With help from brother Harry Almquist, the collectibles needed new space after new space, and the expansions still continue to this day. The operation and ownership of the people-built museum was turned over to a private, non-profit corporation in 1982. Grants and donations fund the museum today.
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