Mullan is a city in the
northwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
United States, located in the
Silver Valley mining district of
northern 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 Wyom ...
. The population was 646 at the
2020 census and 692 at the
2010 census, and 840 in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
.
In
Shoshone County at the east end of the Silver Valley,
Mullan is in a sheltered canyon of 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 ...
at an
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
of above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
. The entrance to the
Lucky Friday mine is several hundred yards east of the city center; the active mine (
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
,
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
, &
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
) descends more than below the surface.
Interstate 90
Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...
runs by the city's south side, and the
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
border at
Lookout Pass
Lookout Pass is a mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of the northwestern United States. In the Coeur d'Alene Mountains of the Bitterroot Range, the pass is on the border between Idaho and Montana, traversed by Interstate 90 (formerly U.S. Rout ...
is east at above sea level.
History
Mullan came into existence in 1884 with the discovery of
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
at the Gold Hunter Mine, which turned out to be a lead and silver producer. That same year, George Good made a lead-silver strike with the Morning Mine and Mullan came into existence between the two mines. The site was filed in August 1888, after the village had twenty
log
Log most often refers to:
* Trunk (botany), the stem and main wooden axis of a tree, called logs when cut
** Logging, cutting down trees for logs
** Firewood, logs used for fuel
** Lumber or timber, converted from wood logs
* Logarithm, in mathe ...
and fifteen
frame
A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent.
Frame and FRAME may also refer to:
Physical objects
In building construction
*Framing (con ...
houses, a sawmill, and a population of 150. The
Northern Pacific Railway
The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whic ...
arrived in 1889 and the city was incorporated in 1904.
During the
Coeur d'Alene labor confrontation of 1899, two hundred miners from Mullan joined the
Dynamite Express. In the aftermath of the labor war, many of Mullan's leaders and Populist elected officials including the sheriff were arrested and sent to the
Wallace
Wallace may refer to:
People
* Clan Wallace in Scotland
* Wallace (given name)
* Wallace (surname)
* Wallace (footballer, born 1986), full name Wallace Fernando Pereira, Brazilian football left-back
* Wallace (footballer, born 1987), full name ...
bull pens.
The city was named for
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
graduate
John Mullan who was in charge of selecting a wagon route (commonly called the
Mullan Road
Mullan Road was the first wagon road to cross the Rocky Mountains to the Inland of the Pacific Northwest. It was built by U.S. Army troops under the command of Lt. John Mullan, between the spring of 1859 and summer 1860. It led from Fort Ben ...
) between
Fort Benton (
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
) and
Fort Walla Walla
Fort Walla Walla is a United States Army fort located in Walla Walla, Washington. The first Fort Walla Walla was established July 1856, by Lieutenant Colonel Edward Steptoe, 9th Infantry Regiment. A second Fort Walla Walla was occupied Septemb ...
(
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
). Lieutenant Mullan, a
topographical engineer in the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
, began gathering information in 1854. Delayed by the
Coeur d'Alene War
The Coeur d'Alene War of 1858, also known as the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Pend d'oreille-Paloos War, was the second phase of the Yakima War, involving a series of encounters between the allied Native American tribes of the Skitswish ("Coeur d'Alene ...
of 1858, construction began in 1859 from Fort Walla Walla.
From today's Mullan townsite, the Mullan Road continued southeast up Willow Creek to cross the border at today's St. Regis Pass It was formerly "Sohon Pass," named by Mullan for artist
Gustavus Sohon
Gustav Sohon (1825–1903) was an American artist, interpreter, and topographical assistant.
Born in 1825 in Tilsit, East Prussia, Gustav Sohon immigrated to the United States in 1842 at the age of 17. In the early 1850s, he enlisted in the U.S. ...
, whose explorations found the gap, about a mile west of Lookout Pass. After the strenuous project was completed in 1860, floods wiped out substantial stretches of the road, and the road was re-routed in 1861. Floods again damaged the road, and ultimately, no provision for maintenance was provided.
[*
]
Mullan's population has declined in recent decades, from a peak of 2,291 in
1940.
[Historical Populations by City]
, Idaho Department of Commerce. Accessed 2009-05-30.
Present day
Mullan is significantly smaller than it was in the heyday of the Morning and Lucky Friday mines. The Mullan School District operates the John Mullan Elementary School (K–6) and the Mullan Junior/Senior High School opened in 1927.
Mullan has its own
fire department
A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...
and owns and maintains an
Olympic-size swimming pool
An Olympic-size swimming pool conforms to regulated dimensions that are large enough for international competition. This type of swimming pool is used in the Olympic Games, where the race course is in length, typically referred to as "long cour ...
() for community use. The city is accessed from
Interstate 90
Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...
at exits 67, 68, and 69.
Geography
Mullan is located at ,
at an elevation of above sea level.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , all of it land.
Climate
According to the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, Mullan has a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
Dfb) with four full seasons. Summers are generally warm, with cool nights, while winters are cold and snowy, with annual snowfall averaging 112 inches (284 cm).
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2010, there were 692 people, 326 households, and 193 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was . There were 434 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.8%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 1.0%
Native American, 0.1%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.1%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 0.7% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 2.2% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 2.2% of the population.
There were 326 households, of which 20.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.8% were non-families. 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.72.
The median age in the city was 48.3 years. 17.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.9% were from 25 to 44; 33.8% were from 45 to 64; and 20.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.9% male and 48.1% female.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 840 people, 367 households, and 227 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 456 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.31%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 1.43%
Native American, 0.24%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 1.19% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 0.83% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 2.86% of the population.
There were 367 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.9% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,417, and the median income for a family was $36,917. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $20,833 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $14,943. About 7.8% of families and 12.1% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 19.2% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.
See also
*
List of cities in Idaho
Idaho is a state located in the Western United States. According to the 2020 United States Census, Idaho is the 13th least populous state with inhabitants but the 11th largest by land area spanning of land. Idaho is divided into 44 counties an ...
*
Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area
Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area is a ski area in the western United States. It is at Lookout Pass on Interstate 90, on the border of Idaho and Montana, east of Mullan, Idaho. It has a summit elevation of on Eagle Peak and on Runt Mountain ...
References
Further reading
* Conley, Cort. ''Idaho for the Curious''.
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
: Backeddy, 1982, , 451–53, 493–95.
External links
Mullan School DistrictUniversity of Idaho Library- various images of early Mullan
University of Washington Libraries- various images of early Mullan
Spokane Journal of Commerce- Lucky Friday mine to expand - 13-Sep-2007
- Lucky Friday mine - Mullan
{{authority control
Cities in Idaho
Cities in Shoshone County, Idaho