Swan Valley Old Timers: Boom towns around the Caribou Mountain Gold Strike

Trappers and mountain men were becoming fewer by the 1860’s, but mining was booming and there were lots of miners trying to find gold in the upper Snake River area. McCoy Creek was a major mining tributary of the upper Snake River during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The ‘Cariboo Mountain Gold Strike' happened in 1870 and the boom towns were up and running by 1871. Gold, silver, and copper were taken from these mining operations around the Caribou Mountain. It is estimated that between $1.6 million-$5 million dollars worth of gold was extracted before the boom was over.

Image from: https://yellowpinetimes.wordpress.com/2019/11/10/idaho-history-nov-10-2019/

There were 3 mining towns in the Caribou National Forest, to the west of Grey's Lake, Idaho and east of present day Palisades reservoir: Keenan City, Caribou City and Herman. Keenan City and Caribou City were both on arms of McCoy Creek. Herman, more of a supply town than an actual mining town, was on the Grey’s Lake side of the Caribou mountains, closer to present day Soda Springs. In the 1870's and 1880's these towns were scattered along the creeks, really just unorganized assemblies of shacks set up by miners looking to squat on a spot long enough to find some gold and improve their living situation. Hundreds of people came and went through these boom towns. Most busted and abandoned their humble abodes. Those who found good amounts of gold and persevered the winters on Caribou mountain, rising to over 9000 feet, made improvements to their mining operations, set up sawmills, lining man made trenches with wood for sluice boxes and creating ditches to haul water to them. Some evidence of this still exists. Below is an image from some 4x4 enthusiasts showing one of the trenches that was used for mining. (Photo courtesy: https://www2.zukiworld.com/feature_cariboumountain/)

Jesse Fairchild, also know as Caribou Jack, was said to be one of the first to find gold and set up shop. He was reported to be a boisterous frontiersman from British Columbia, often bragging about his enterprises which, besides mining included bear hunting, gambling, and swashbuckling. Caribou City is named for him. Billy Clemens, Mark Twain’s cousin, was an important community member of Caribou City (Our Turn Paradise, Wiese, Lynn, pg 57-58). He was the first postmaster and a bar owner, besides reportedly doing very well as a miner. He first took up a claim in 1871 and was raking in as much as $1500 per day for an entire month across his enterprises. By 1897 the town of Caribou City was 'settled' and by 1900 it had tallied 32 saloons, also serving as whorehouses and gambling establishments.

After the gold rush slowed in the early 1900's, more settlers were homesteading and cooperating to farm the land. Settlements, complete with mercantile, schools, and churches were taking the place of boom towns at the turn of the 20th century. The Homestead Act (1862) and the later Desert Lands Act (1877) promoted settlers to move west, especially into the arid countries that were yet to be successfully farmed. The Civil War veterans and freed slaves were being outnumbered by hundreds of thousands of settlers using the Oregon, Mormon and Lander Trails to go find their own manifest destiny in the free lands offered to them in the west.

The last resident miner to leave Caribou City was in 1930. He was 96 years old and was moved to a family home in Star Valley, Wyoming. During the Great Depression, there was an uptick in mining again at Caribou Mountain, but when the 2nd World War began, most men were conscribed to service, so these mining sites were finally abandoned. The mouth of McCoy Creek (and about ½ mile up the creek) was flooded by the rising waters of Palisades reservoir in 1958, but this was long after the gleam of gold had swept over Caribou mountain. There are still a few mining claims on McCoy Creek to this day.

There are many stories to be told about the people who inhabited these boom towns, including that of the 500+ Chinese people, the famous folks like Cariboo Jack and Billy Clemens, and the outlaws and moonshiners of the area. Each of these will get their own post. As always, if you have information to contribute, please email us at svoldtimers@gmail.com. A lot of the information I use if from Lynn Wiese's book, 'Our Turn in Paradise'. Email us to buy your very own hardback second edition.