Elk City

For forty years after the rush Elk City could be reached only by trail; the first road, 58 miles from the railroad at Stites by way of Newsome, was finished in 1904. Hard-rock mines that opened in the 1890s kept the town going until gold mining was halted during the Second World War. Timber carried it after that, and the census line tells the rest: 150 people in 1940, 670 in 1980, 170 in 2020. The town has burned more than once and been rebuilt each time.

What the plaque says

Elk City Twenty-two prospectors from Pierce discovered the Elk City mines in May, 1861 and a gold rush followed that summer. Through July the houses were "nice and airy, being constructed of brush," "with bars for doors" to keep out the cayuse horses." Permanent log buildings were begun August 6, and within a month about 40 stores, saloons, and cabins were ready for winter use. Most of the miners rushed off to other new bonanzas that fall, but Elk City still became one of the important Idaho gold camps. 168 Text prepared by the Idaho Historical Society Marker made & installed by Idaho Transportation Department

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Nez Perce Trail — steps away
• Buffalo Pit — 2.0 mi