National Forest

The Lure of Gold

Old Florence in the 1890's, color enhanced J.A. Hanson Collection- State Historical Society

The History of Florence, Idaho This interpretive project was funded and the by the North 1861 Discovery of Gold Resource Advisory Committee under the Secure Rural Schools Act. Gold! What began as not much more than a meek miner's camp swift- ly turned into a thriving town, with two main intersecting town streets named Main and Miner and a third named Pine. ...and her name is Florence Although how this mining town originally received her name remains shrouded in con- troversy, in November of 1861, Florence received her name. By In August of 1861, gold was December the town was laid out discovered in the small creeks and a city government estab- and gulches around the Florence lished. Basin. Miners began trickeling Incredible amounts of gold into the area. What started as a dust were produced in Florence small tent city with 50 residents and in 1862 alone, six to seven grew into a bustling, strategi- million dollars worth of gold had cally placed (in the center of the been extracted. By the summer new gold diggings at the head of 1862 this little miners camp of Baboon Gulch) city of 9,000 had flourished into a boomtown. by the following year. This "boom" ultimately lead to the Winter in the wild, wild west The winter of 1861 & 1862 at establishment of the Summit Creek Mining District. Florence became known as the worst on record. It snowed 113 By late summer this quick days in a row. Snow depths of 10 growing town boasted a saw- feet were reached. Miners were mill, ten butcher shops, seven forced to stop mining when their bakeries, eight lawyers, six rockers froze. Supplies ran short gambling saloons, a few “hole- and miners lived for weeks on a in-the-wall doggeries” (sa- diet of flour and water or "spruce loons), a dance house, Masonic tea" made by melting snow. Hall, and a jail. A few of the log cabins, particularly the saloons, had fancy fronts and glass windows but others let in the light through muslin cover- ings. In preparation for winter the miners began constructing cabins with logs dragged to the site on hand sleds from over John Clark's Hotel, Old Florence. photo courtesy of Idaho County a mile away. Bicentennial Museum Page 1 Although the deep snow kept pack trains from reaching Flor- ence, some supplies did make it --packed in on the backs of men referred to as "Boston Jack- asses." After the long winter, the first pack train did not reach the town until May 16, 1862. In addition to having brutal weath- er, Florence was considered one of the roughest towns in the The riches of Florence attracted West during the winter of 1862- not only men looking to make 1863. Alonzo Brown, a store a fortune in gold, but also the keeper who once lived in Flor- ruffians who followed in their ence, said: “Men had a habit of wake—dishonest gamblers, out- getting drunk at the saloons and laws and thieves. Men referred shooting into stores and tents to as highwaymen held up trav- as they went by. I slept in the elers stealing all their valuables store on the floor, and to protect on the main travel route be- myself from the stray bullets tween Lewiston, Oro Fino and fired by drunken men, I piled up Florence. a stack of flour as wide as my bed and about four feet high and One such highwayman, the made down my bed behind the legendary Henry Plummer, is flour. The town was filled with rumored to also have been in the worst element of the Pacific Florence. In the spring of 1862, Coast, and thieves and gamblers two of Plummer's pals, Cherokee from the East.” Bob Talbotte and Billy Mayfield drifted into Florence. They brought with them a "woman of ill-repute" known as Red-Headed "Not infrequently some drunken Cynthia. Both of the men were ruffian draws his revolver and interested in the fiery redhead begins to shoot in the midst of the and a showdown of sorts seemed vast crowd, often killing or wound- ing some one and creating a fearful inevitable. When confronted by stampede...There is no law here, the two men regarding her alli- or none that sees, abates, retards ance, Cynthia chose Bob, now or punishes crime. Scarcely a day a business man and owner of passes that someone is not the newly acquired Boomerang killed or wounded." Saloon. Billy left town the next day, never to return. -P.W. Gillette (diary) June 15, 1862

Page 2 On January 2, 1863, Orlando “Rube” Robbins and Jakey Wil- liams shot and mortally wounded Bob during a gunfight on the street in Florence. He died three days later. The men were hastily tried for the act four days later and cleared of the crime. Rob- bins later became a well-known deputy US Marshall in the Boise area and was often referred to as the “ of the Boise Little did Bob know that with- Basin”. in a few short months he would lie in a grave on “boot hill”, mortally wounded in a gunfight The tombstone at age 29, defending the reputa- of Cherokee Bob as it appeared tion of the red-haired beauty. in 1935. Photo Cherokee Bob had taken over courtesy R.G. the Boomerang Saloon when Bailey Collection he first arrived in Florence by throwing out the owner, and claiming the owner’s deceased partner was in debt to him. It was here Florence's high- waymen would gather in or- der to gain information about the plans of wealthy travelers and shipments of gold dust. It wasn't long before Florence’s Cherokee Bob's grave most notorious resident and marker as outlaw, Cherokee Bob, met his it appears bloody fate. today.

Over time, many of the head stones of souls buried on "Boothill," Florence's cemetery, have degraded and have had to be replaced. Different versions of Cherokee Bob's grave marker Orlando “Rube” Robbins can be seen in these photos. By Charles Ostner Page 3 Although the Civil War was Charles Ostner. A miner and being fought thousands of miles former Heidelberg, Germany art away at the same time Flor- student, Ostner was given the ence was booming, the Florence task to prepare a fitting tribute had an impact on the to the country to be unveiled on national economy during the Independence Day, 1862. Resi- Civil War years. With the South providing the largest export item dents brought in the , cotton, the snow and piled North faced a devastating loss it in the center of revenue. The North turned of Main Street. westward in search of resources Every night to fund the war and aid the fail- the growing ing economy. Gold became the pile of snow answer and Idaho gold mines was drenched were a key producer. Many with water historians believe that Idaho gold Charles Ostner, creating a Idaho State Historical mines directly contributed to the large block of Society photograph victory of the war by the North. ice. Hidden behind a tarp, Ostner went to work and on the 4th of July hostilities were avoided when his work was unveiled: a sculpture of George Washing- ton on horseback; an American symbol that proved satisfying to both factions.

The Civil war also had quite an affect on the residents of Flor- ence. In 1862, Main Street in Florence was referred to as the "Mason-Dixon line" by Southern sympathizers and understood to be the dividing line between the factions. As the 4th of July neared, tensions between the two sides intensified. Fearing a fight, residents came up with a plan to avert bloodshed. Two com- mittees were formed—one of In 1869, Ostner carved the same likeness in yellow pine and southern sympathizers and one presented it to the . of northern— and hired The statue was refurbished and covered in gold leaf, and today is featured in the Idaho State capitol building. Page 4 1

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Old Florence (1896) Contributed by Martin Bardhof Idaho Firsts in Florence Idaho County's 1st County Seat Jaspar Rand served as the Flor- In December 1861 the territo- ence City Justice of the Peace in rial legislature created Idaho 1862. Justice Rand handled cases County and Florence became varying from cattle theft and the first county seat. By 1875, murder to performing wedding Mount Idaho, built largely as a ceremonies. Because of the stop for traffic to the gold fields, frequency of claim jumping and was developing into a prosper- theft, a vigilance committee for ous town, promising to be a Florence was suggested as early more permanent settlement than as February 1862. According to Florence, and in 1875 won a Florence court records, thirty- special election for county seat. two cases were held in No- In 1902 Grangeville was des- vember and December of 1862 ignated as the county seat and and fifty-eight from January to remains so today. August of 1863. PagePage 5 5 First Library in Idaho Sitting wrapped in a blanket by the fire with a good book provided a welcome diversion from the dark, long, and cold wintry evenings in the remote mining camp. In the winter of 1862-1863, one enterprising Florence store owner operated a rental lending library as part School in New Florence, 1898. of his business, offering about Ace Barton Collection 115 books for loan, including First Public School in Idaho novels, drama and poetry, and non-fiction such as history and The first public school in Idaho politics. Sixty-two men and one was located at Florence in 1864. woman borrowed books, pay- At the first session of the territo- ing $3 a month for the privilege. rial legislature the public school In 1868, $150.00 was raised to law of California was adopted finance a library to serve the with minor changes to fit con- continued desire for reading ma- ditions in Idaho. Major Frank terials by Florence’s residents. Fenn’s father, who was a mem- ber of the assembly, returned to Florence that winter and formed a public school district there. A small, 12' x 14' hewn-log build- ing with a whipsawed board floor and shingled roof was erected as a schoolhouse. Mrs. J.H. Robinson from Ohio was the first school teacher and was paid $100 per month for teach- ing six scholars including Major Fenn, two of his siblings, and three other young boys. —Idaho Daily Statesmen 1905. Major Frank Fenn, prominent Idaho legislator, military leader and Forest Service Officer

A page from an 1862 Florence store ledger not only shows the In 1862, at the reputed cost of credit sales of groceries to min- $10,000, the first Masonic Hall ers, but also has entries for the of Idaho was built in Florence by circulation of books. Courtesy of Library, Special Masons with help from a few Odd Collections Fellows. Although no Masonic Lodge was ever formed, it served as a Masonic “Club,” and was shared with the Odd Fellows. Page Page 6 6 Page 7 Page 8 Greater Idaho in late 1863 or early 1864. Courtesy of the Special Collections Division, U of W Libraries, n979.5

In 1890 the changes of White Bird Hill and Milner Trail, the high ridge above Florence. originally The Milner Trail between Mount built by Moses Idaho and Florence was autho- E. Milner in rized in 1864 by the territorial 1862, was legislature as a toll trail, with reconstructed charges of $3 per wagon and becoming part horse or mule, $1 per horseman of Idaho's first and 50 cents per loaded pack state wagon animal. Moses E. Milner, 1874. Courtesy of road from Mt. Born in Kentucky, Moses Mil- Kansas State Historical Idaho to near ner was a colorful character (aka Society Payette Lake. "California Joe"), traveled widely, Today much of the road re- trapped in Missouri and Wyoming, mains in its original location. In was a pioneer in Oregon, mined in fact, Forest Service Road #643 California, Idaho and Montana. traveling through the old Flor- He later served as scout in the U.S. ence townsite, was the original Army. He worked with men like Milner Trail and also served as , , Wild Bill the main street of Florence. Hickock and Generals George The Milner Trail ascended Armstrong Custer, Phil Sheridan, from Mount Idaho south along and . the hogback ridge to the Adams Way Station and into Florence, avoiding the great elevation Page 9 Chinese Miners The Treaty of 1855 between the Typical of Idaho mining towns, Nez Perce and the United States the original laws of mining government roughly defined the districts denied Chinese the Nez Perce Reservation as bound- right to own or operate mining ed “by the upper part of the claims. Chinese miners began south fork of the River, coming to Idaho in 1864 as the Alpowa Creek, the Salmon River richest claims were worked out Mountains, and the spurs of the and the passed Bitter Roots”. The Nez Perce an act allowing Chinese to mine were assured that no one would in Idaho if they paid a monthly be permitted on the reservation license fee. White miners and without their consent. the Summit Creek Mining District voted to officially admit Chinese to the mining district in 1869 (when the best deposits had been exhausted). In 1870, Florence had twenty-one male and one female (a prostitute) Chinese residents and by 1874, the Chinese dominated the camp. In 1885, two-hundred Chinese worked in Florence. They remained in the Florence Basin until the late 1890s.

Nez Perce encampment. Photo by Dr. Edward H. Latham, Courtesy of Nez Perce National Historic Park archives The incursion of miners into the territory with the strikes at Oro Fino Creek and Pierce City in 1860 violated the treaty and prompted an informal agreement in the spring of 1861 between the tribe and the U.S. Indian Chinese miners near the mouth of Slate Creek Department opening Nez Perce Idaho State Historical Society photograph land north of the Clearwater River to mining while prohibit- The Nez Perce and the Miners ing agricultural settlement. This The 1861 Florence gold strike new agreement was not rati- was one of several gold discov- fied nor did it amend the 1855 eries made in the Clearwater Treaty. Shortly after the addi- and Salmon mountains during tion of this unofficial proviso to the 1860s. Thousands of miners the 1855 treaty, Lewiston was rushed into central Idaho, the established and gold stikes at first major influx of whites into Elk City and Florence occurred traditionally Nez Perce territory. south of the Clearwater River. Page 10 The encroachment of thou- Under extreme pressure from sands of miners upon the reser- the government, some Nez Perce vation caused hardships for the leaders agreed to a new treaty Nez Perce. Although some Nez in 1863 relinquishing all of the Perce initially benefited from gold bearing regions and more. assisting and trading with the Not only did the treaty reduce gold seekers, many eventually the reservation to a fraction of its became victims of fraud, theft, original size, it led to a split be- and the loss of hunting grounds tween treaty and non-treaty Nez and crucial natural resources. Perce—those who had refused to Tensions ran high between the sign the treaties. miners and many of the Nez In the spring of 1877, Chief Perce including Eagle from the Joseph led a group of non-treaty Light (Tipyele’hne qaa’awpoo) Nez Perce who had resisted and his band who had inhabited Euro American settlement on the region along White Bird their traditional lands in the Wal- Creek and adjacent to the Flor- lowa Valley of northeastern ence mines for generations. Oregon, across the flooding Another agreement was negoti- Snake and Salmon Rivers to the ated on December 31, 1861 at the 1863 reservation in the terri- council of Slate Creek in which tory of Idaho. Ongoing tensions the miners promised to respect between the Nez Perce and Indian rights and the Nez Perce the United States Government permitted another illegal intru- tragically culminated in the Nez sion onto their reservation. Perce War of 1877.

Survey of tribal lands; Nez Perce Reservation. Photo by Jane Gay, courtesy of Nez Perce National Historic Park archives

Page 11 Map of the Nez Perce Reservation

1918 photo of heroic Nez Perce woman, "To-Lah," also known as Tolo, who trekked 26 miles from Slate Creek to warn Florence of the 1877 Nez Perce up- rising. Photo by Allen H. Hilton, cour- tesy of Nez Perce National Historic Park archives

Page 12 Old Florence Meets Due to friction between the New Florence new wave of miners and the owners of the original townsite, Florence’s prosperity was a new town was established brief, and by August of 1862 about one-half mile south of many left the area in search of Florence. New Florence was richer claims. In the summer of located where roads leading to 1865, the remaining residents the major mines of the Summit of Florence were burning unoc- Creek mining district converged cupied houses for firewood and with the Milner Trail, by then a much of the ground was placer state wagon road. mined. By that winter only one In 1924, the Submarine man was in residence at Flor- Gold Placer & Quartz Mining ence, a gambler named Billy Company shipped in a large Courtney who was hired to keep steam shovel to work the placer the snow shoveled off the roofs grounds in 1924, literally oblit- of several buildings in town. erating much of what was left Although the big rush was of Old Florence. By 1933, of short-lived, mining activity the original buildings, only one continued in the Florence Ba- remained partially standing--a sin. By 1865 Chinese miners hurdy-gurdy house. had entered the basin, remaining Today, all that remains of Old until the late 1890s. In 1896, Florence are hints of the once promises of renewed quartz and thriving boom town--the cem- placer mining brought hopeful etery, historic photographs, and miners back to the basin for a a treasure trove of tales that read second big boom. like an old novel.

Forlorned Old Florence, 1907. Rodney Glisan photo

Page 13 Residents standing amidst placer piles in the streets of New Florence, 1896. Idaho State Historical Society photo

Resident of New Florence. 1898 Ace Barton Collection

Sheep grazing in New Florence, 1926. K.D. Swan photo

All prehistoric and historic artifacts and structures, either on the ground surface or buried underground, are protected by various laws and regulations. If you find evidence of past use of the area by prehistoric or historic people, please do not disturb or remove the artifacts, sites or features.

Page 14 For More Information

The United States Nez Perce National Forest Department of Agricul- ture (USDA) prohibits 104 Airport Road discrimination in all its Grangeville, Idaho 83530 programs and activities (208) 983-1950 on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where Salmon River Ranger District applicable, sex, marital 304 Slate Creek Road status, familial status, White Bird, ID 83554 parental status, religion, (208) 839-2211 sexual orientation, ge- netic information, political beliefs, and reprisal. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communica- tion of program informa- tion (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Inde- pendence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250- 9410, or call (800) 795- 3272 (voice) or (202) This brochure is a companion 720-6382 (TDD). USDA publication to "Florence Tells Her is an equal employment Secrets," a Self-Guided Tour of the Florence Basin, also available at opportunity provider and Nez Perce Forest offices. Both of employer. these brochures are also located on our website at: http://www.fs.usda. gov/nezperce R1-12-03