The Hercules Mine was one of the richest lead/silver mines in the

Coeur d'Alene Mountains The Coeur d'Alene Mountains are the northwesternmost portion of the Bitterroot Range, part of the Rocky Mountains, located in northern Idaho and westernmost Montana in the Western United States. The mountain range spans an area of and its two ...

Burke, Idaho Burke is a ghost town in Shoshone County, Idaho, United States, established in 1887. Once a thriving silver, lead and zinc mining community, the town saw significant decline in the mid-twentieth century after the closure of several mines. In its ...

. It was discovered by Harry L. Day, a bookkeeper and clerk, and Fred Harper, a local prospector. In 1923 the mine owners founded the Day Mines, Inc. company. Other investors in the mine include

August Paulsen August Paulsen (July 29, 1871 – March 11, 1927) was a Danish-American businessman noted for his philanthropy in the states of Washington (state), Washington and Idaho. Background August Paulsen was a Danes, Danish immigrant, who arrived in ...

, Levi Hutton, and

May Arkwright Hutton May Arkwright Hutton (July 21, 1860 – October 6, 1915) was a suffrage leader and labor rights advocate in the early history of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Biography May Arkwright Hutton, who has been described as an orphan by ...

. It eventually became the primary mine of the Hecla Mining Corporation. Day and partners found silver-lead ore on 2 June 1901. The mine closed in 1924. The original owners of this mine all shared a unique history together, all started out as pro union or involved with the 1899 explosion at the Bunker and Sullivan. Levi "Al" Hutton was the engineer on the train used to move explosive from the frisco mine, to the concentrator. He claimed at gun point.

wrote a book about the horrible treatment of the miners at the hands of the mine owners, and the treatment of her husband at the hands of the sheriff/mine owners in her book. ''The coeur d' alenes: or, A Tale of the Modern Inquisition in Idaho''. After the bonanza at the Hercules she spent the rest of her life buying all of the copies back that she could.schwantes, carlos (1996). ""The Pacific Northwest: An Interpretive history"". University of Nebraska Press

Ed Boyce Edward "Ed" Boyce (November 8, 1862 – December 24, 1941) was president of the Western Federation of Miners, a radical American labor organizer, socialist and hard rock mine owner. Early life Edward Boyce was born in County Donegal, Irelan ...

, also an early investor, was president of the

Western Federation of Miners The Western Federation of Miners (WFM) was a trade union, labor union that gained a reputation for militancy in the mining#Human Rights, mines of the western United States and British Columbia. Its efforts to organize both hard rock miners and ...

in 1899. Boyce later hit it rich with the bonanza at the Hercules silver mine. He quit his post with the labor union and opened a fancy hotel.

Harry Orchard as owner

One of the early owners of the Hercules Mine was

Harry Orchard Albert Edward Horsley (March 18, 1866 – April 13, 1954), best known by the pseudonym Harry Orchard, was a miner convicted of the 1905 political assassination of former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg. The case was one of the most sensational an ...

, who would later become a convicted assassin. Famed defense attorney

Clarence Darrow Clarence Seward Darrow (; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the early 20th century for his involvement in the Leopold and Loeb murder trial and the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. He was a leading member of t ...

argued during the

Bill Haywood William Dudley "Big Bill" Haywood (February 4, 1869 – May 18, 1928) was an American labor organizer and founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and a member of the executive committee of the Socialist Party of A ...

trial that Orchard was bitter about losing his one-sixteenth share of the Hercules Mine due to a declaration of martial law during a labor dispute. Darrow argued that this bitterness motivated Orchard to assassinate former Idaho Governor

Frank Steunenberg Frank Steunenberg (August 8, 1861December 30, 1905) was the fourth governor of the State of Idaho, serving from 1897 until 1901. He was assassinated in 1905 by one-time union member Harry Orchard, who was also a paid informant for the Cripple C ...

. Orchard denied the charge, claiming that leaders of the

hired him to commit the murder, but the defense produced witnesses who testified that Orchard had vowed to commit the murder out of personal revenge. Haywood and other WFM leaders were found innocent; Orchard was found guilty and received the death penalty, although his sentence was commuted to life in prison.

References

Buildings and structures in Shoshone County, Idaho Silver mines in the United States Underground mines in the United States Mines in Idaho {{ShoshoneCountyID-geo-stub

Harry Orchard as owner

See also

References