Land of the Yankee Fork

When Sammy Holman first laid out the town site of Custer, Idaho, in 1878, little did he know that 120 years later its ghost town would become the showcase of central Idaho's mining country. This authentic mining town is complete with its original log cabins, the Empire Saloon, an assay office, an abundance of pioneer mining equipment and a museum filled with original artifacts depicting the pioneer lifestyle from 1880-1910.

The ghost town is centrally located in the Land of the Yankee Fork State Park. A self-paced walking tour guides the visitor from building to building, and informative signs at each location point out significant historical highlights.

Custer represents the hard-rock mining era of 1870-1910. While just one mile down the road from Custer, representing placer mining, is the Yankee Fork Gold Dredge, which operated off and on from 1940 to 1952.

Try your hand at gold panning on the Yankee Fork River or follow the trail of ghost freight wagons along the adventurous 35-mile Custer Motorway. Either way, if you are looking for something different, visit Idaho's Land of the Yankee Fork.

The ghost town is open from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend, seven days a week, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more information, call or write Land of the Yankee Fork Visitor Center, PO. Box 1086, Challis, Idaho 83226; (208) 879-5244. TL-CRAIG WOLFORD

Copyright T L Enterprises, Inc. Jun 1999
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