History Burke, Idaho

1 history

1.1 establishment , labor wars
1.2 development , further unrest
1.3 decline , abandonment

history
establishment , labor wars

burke, c. 1891, showing railway track running on street through town.

beginning in 1884, miners discovered abundance of lead , silver in burke canyon. first mine there, known tiger mine, discovered in may 1884. end of 1885, on 3,000 tons of ore had been extracted tiger mine. in 1887, tiger mine sold s.s. glidden usd$35,000, , glidden began construction on railway transport ore down canyon burke wallace. in 1887, northern pacific railway improved upon rail after accumulations of mined ore in town had reached on 100,000 pounds (45,000 kg), , town of burke established. first shipment of ore wallace took place on december 12, 1887. town serviced trains northern pacific , oregon railroad , navigation company.

given position within narrow canyon, burke had share boundaries northern pacific rail spur, resulting in railway occupied street running through town. limited space purportedly forced businesses on west side of railway have retract awnings when trains passed through, though according bill dunphy, town resident, exaggeration: narrow, recalled. said when train came through burke, had hoist awnings train through, wasn t right. s story.

on february 4, 1890, first of several avalanches in burke s history caused major damage residences , businesses in town, , killed 3 people. beginning in 1891, tensions between miners , mining companies began rise. in 1892, hard rock miners in shoshone county protested wage cuts strike. 2 large mines, gem mine , frisco mine in burke canyon 1 mile south of burke, operated replacement workers during strike. several lost lives in shooting war provoked discovery of company spy named charles a. siringo. on morning of july 11, 1892, gunfight @ nearby frisco mill inadvertently ignited box of dynamite, causing mill explode, killing 6 people. u.s. army forced end strike.

development , further unrest

the tiger hotel, 150-room hotel railway running through main lobby.

burke continued development construction of tiger hotel, 150-room hotel built in 1896 boarding rooms miners; hotel took namesake tiger mine. grease fire severely damaged hotel in 1897. subsequent widening of railroad in 1906 forced hotel devise unique solution given limited space: hotel, straddled main street , creek, modified railroad run through hotel lobby; featured enclosed walkway constructed above hotel guests move between 2 halves of hotel without worry train or weather.

around 1896, socialist leader eugene v. debs had grown prominent in pacific northwest, , addressed miners in burke in 1897. 2 years later, hostilities erupted once again in 1899. in response bunker hill company firing seventeen men joining union, miners dynamited bunker hill & sullivan mill. lives lost once again, , army intervened. while hecla mine continued prosper, city saw further destruction in february 1910 when avalanche struck town, killing twenty residents. 6 months later, great fire of 1910 caused further damage burke canyon.

in 1913, significant flooding impacted town, sediment , debris building against tiger hotel water cascaded down gulch. town plagued further damage on july 23, 1923, when fire broke out, causing extensive damage numerous buildings in town. notably damaged fire tiger hotel, become increasingly unprofitable in 1940s , torn down in 1954.

decline , abandonment

by mid-twentieth century, mining operations in burke had slowed after closure of several mines. last mine in burke closed in 1991. according u.s. census data, there total of fifteen residents in burke in 1990.

in recent years, hecla mining company has been exploring potential of exploiting additional resource deposits in star mine. of december 31, 2012, hecla invested $7 million in rehabilitation , exploration published estimates suggesting potential recover in excess of 25 million ounces of silver site significant zinc , lead deposits present.