De Lamar (also DeLamar) is a
ghost town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...
in
Owyhee County
Owyhee County ( ) is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,133. The county seat is Murphy, and its largest city is Homedale. In area it is the second-largest county in Ida ...
,
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Its elevation is ,
and it is approximately west of
Silver City. The community lies within an area governed by the
Bureau of Land Management.
The community formed around the De Lamar Mine, which was established in 1888. Named for mining magnate and former
sea captain Joseph Raphael De Lamar
Joseph Raphael De Lamar (September 2, 1843 – December 1, 1918) was a prominent mine owner and operator in the western United States and Canada, as well as a financier and speculator, from the late 1870s until his death in 1918.
Early life
...
, the mine and community quickly boomed and busted, declining after 1890.
Despite the community's decline, it continued to exist as a populated community for several decades; it was the location of a summer-only
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...
from 1917 to 1930.
In 1976, the ghost town was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
as a
historic district. Although the district included an area of approximately , only four of the community's buildings remained in sufficient condition to qualify as
contributing properties
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...
.
References
External links
Ghosttowns.com profile for De Lamar
Populated places established in 1888
Ghost towns in Idaho
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Idaho
Mining communities in Idaho
Geography of Owyhee County, Idaho
1888 establishments in Idaho Territory
National Register of Historic Places in Owyhee County, Idaho
Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places in Idaho
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