Wood River Mines

The Minnie Moore made its first big owner rich before most of its ore was out. Henry E. Miller paid $10,000 for a half interest in 1881 and sold the mine to a London firm in February 1884 for $450,000. It filled with water and sat idle from 1889 to 1900, came back when new owners pumped it out, passed in part to the steel man Charles Schwab in 1904, and was abandoned in 1927. Miller's Victorian house, built on Bellevue's Main Street, was moved to the south edge of town in 1914 and is on the National Register.

What the plaque says

Wood River Mines Rich strikes in 1879 led to a rush in the lead and silver mines of this valley. The famous Minnie Moore Mine alone produced a total of $8.4 million worth of ore. Mining quickly brought a railroad and prosperity. The Ketchum smelter pioneered electric lighting. Hailey soon had Idaho's earliest phone service and three daily newspapers. But lodes ran out and mining declined. Now these hills attract more skiers and actors than miners. In 1984, Clint Eastwood filmed his movie Pale Rider near here. 154 Text prepared by the Idaho Historical Society Marker made & installed by Idaho Transportation Department

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Magic Reservoir — 13 mi
• Ski Lifts — 17 mi
• Magic Dam — 21 mi