Brownlee Ferry

The ferry suited packers and walkers better than wagons; no decent wagon road reached it, and wagon traffic stayed away. In the winter of 1864-65 John Brownlee sank his own boat on purpose and went to work his mining claims. Ike Powell later rowed passengers across in a skiff, and by 1875 William West and Orange Gaylord held the site and graded a road from the Weiser mines to bring trade back. By 1920 sheepmen had moved the old Olds Ferry boat here, and a private ferry still crossed in 1952. Brownlee Dam's reservoir has since filled the canyon.

What the plaque says

Brownlee Ferry Guiding Oregon Trail emigrants and a party of prospectors who had discovered gold in Boise Basin, Tim Goodale opened a new miners' trail through here in August 1862. A gold rush followed that fall, and John Brownlee operated a ferry here from 1862 to 1864, before leaving to work his own Boise Basin mine. A new ferry commenced here a year after James Ruth and T. J. Heath discovered silver mines on Brownlee Creek in 1874, with service continuing until after 1920. 185 Text prepared by the Idaho Historical Society Marker made & installed by Idaho Transportation Department

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Seven Devils Mines — steps away