Miners Head Lamp
In the late 1890s, the mining boom struck closer to home and with valuable minerals other than gold. Newspaper accounts of silver, lead, zinc, copper, limestone, and other valuable substances drew widespread attention to areas near Hope, Garfield Bay, Clark Fork, and Priest Lake. And there was always the hope, if not the reality, of gold.
Chloride Gulch near Lakeview, a potential source of “noble” metals, led to the construction of a $250,000 smelter. The Talache Silver Mine operated from 1917 into the 1960s. This mine had a modern electric mine train and over the years extracted more than two million ounces of silver. Records show that 5,671 claims were made in Bonner County over the years. Today, these have diminished to just 284 active claims.
During mining’s heyday a number of prospectors fell victim to shady schemes. Scam artists were known to sell shares of bogus mines and made minimum improvements to show progress. One such scam was perpetrated by the Midas Galena Mining Company in Garfield Bay. James McNicholas bought up some minor claims in Garfield Bay, built a small concentrator, and opened the Midas Inn to house mining employees and potential investors from back east. Unfortunately the Midas turned out to be little more than a Ponzi scheme.
Donor: Unknown
Adopted by
In the late 1890s, the mining boom struck closer to home and with valuable minerals other than gold. Newspaper accounts of silver, lead, zinc, copper, limestone, and other valuable substances drew widespread attention to areas near Hope, Garfield Bay, Clark Fork, and Priest Lake. And there was always the hope, if not the reality, of gold.
Chloride Gulch near Lakeview, a potential source of “noble” metals, led to the construction of a $250,000 smelter. The Talache Silver Mine operated from 1917 into the 1960s. This mine had a modern electric mine train and over the years extracted more than two million ounces of silver. Records show that 5,671 claims were made in Bonner County over the years. Today, these have diminished to just 284 active claims.
During mining’s heyday a number of prospectors fell victim to shady schemes. Scam artists were known to sell shares of bogus mines and made minimum improvements to show progress. One such scam was perpetrated by the Midas Galena Mining Company in Garfield Bay. James McNicholas bought up some minor claims in Garfield Bay, built a small concentrator, and opened the Midas Inn to house mining employees and potential investors from back east. Unfortunately the Midas turned out to be little more than a Ponzi scheme.
Donor: Unknown
Adopted by