Burke, Idaho
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Burke is a
ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...
in Shoshone County,
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
, United States, established in 1887. Once a thriving
silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
,
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
and
zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It 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 periodic tabl ...
mining community, the town saw significant decline in the mid-twentieth century after the closure of several mines. In its early years, Burke was home to the
Hercules silver mine The Hercules Mine was one of the richest lead/silver mines in the Coeur d'Alene Mountains in Burke, Idaho. 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 Mi ...
, the owners of which were implicated in the Idaho mining wars of 1899. Both the Hecla and Star mines also operated out of Burke, and the town was a significant site during the
1892 Coeur d'Alene labor strike The 1892 Coeur d'Alene labor strike erupted in violence when labor union miners discovered they had been infiltrated by a Pinkerton agent who had routinely provided union information to the mine owners. The response to the labor violence, disastr ...
. Burke's location within the narrow
Burke Canyon Burke Canyon is the canyon of the Burke-Canyon Creek, which runs through the northernmost part of Shoshone County, Idaho, U.S., within the northeastern Silver Valley. A hotbed for mining in the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Burke ...
resulted in unique architectural features, such as a hotel built above the railway and Canyon Creek, with the train track running through a portion of the hotel lobby. After several natural disasters and years of decline in the mid-twentieth century, Burke mining operations finally ceased in 1991 with the closing of the Star mine. In 2002, about 300 people lived in or nearby Burke Canyon, though Burke itself had no residents. Burke is located about northeast of
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 Wa ...
, at an
elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''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 equipotenti ...
of
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...
. It is accessed from Wallace on Burke-Canyon Creek Road (
State Highway 4 Route 4, or Highway 4, may refer to several highways in the following countries: International * AH4, Asian Highway 4 * European route E04 * European route E004 * Cairo – Cape Town Highway Albania * SH-4 road in Albania from Durrës to Ka ...
). The town is located approximately south of the Canadian province of
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, and roughly west of the bordering U.S. state of
Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
.


History


Establishment and labor wars

In 1884, miners discovered an abundance of
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
and
silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
in the
Burke Canyon Burke Canyon is the canyon of the Burke-Canyon Creek, which runs through the northernmost part of Shoshone County, Idaho, U.S., within the northeastern Silver Valley. A hotbed for mining in the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Burke ...
. The first mine in Burke, the Tiger Mine, was discovered in May 1884. That same year, the Tiger Mine was sold to S.S. Glidden for $35,000. By the end of 1885, over 3,000 tons of ore had been extracted from the Tiger Mine. The high volume of ore being extracted from the mountains led Glidden to begin construction on a railroad from the mine to
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 Wa ...
. On July 6, 1887, Glidden incorporated the
Canyon Creek Railroad A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to ...
, a -wide narrow-gauge railway which operated from Wallace to the Tiger Mine. Additional investors on the
Canyon Creek Railroad A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to ...
were Harry M. Glidden, Frank R. Culbertson, Alexander H. Tarbet, and Charles W. O'Neil. By September 1887, little work had been accomplished on the railway; accumulations of mined ore in the area had reached over , pressuring Glidden to sell the line to D.C. Corbin. Under Corbin's overseeing, by November 1887, of tracks had been laid, and it was then that the town of Burke was formally established. The railway was completed in December 1887, and the first shipment of ore to Wallace took place on December 12. In 1888, the town was serviced by trains from the
Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...
and the
Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company The Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (OR&N) was a rail and steamboat transport company that operated a rail network of running east from Portland, Oregon, United States, to northeastern Oregon, northeastern Washington, and northern Id ...
. Given its position within the narrow canyon, Burke had to share its boundaries with the Northern Pacific rail spur, resulting in a railway that occupied the street running through town. According to some sources (such as the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice), the limited space forced businesses on the west side of the railway to have to retract their awnings when trains passed through. However, according to Bill Dunphy, a town resident, this was an exaggeration: "It was narrow", he recalled. "They always said that when a train came through Burke, you had to hoist the awnings to get the train through, which wasn't right. But, it's a good story." On February 4, 1890, the first of several avalanches in Burke's history caused major damage to the residences and businesses in the town, and killed three people. In 1891, tensions between miners and the mining companies began to rise. In 1892, hard rock miners in Shoshone County protested wage cuts with a strike. Two large mines, the Gem mine and the Frisco mine in Burke Canyon south of Burke, operated with replacement workers during the strike. Several lost their lives in a shooting war provoked by the discovery of a company spy named Charles A. Siringo. On the morning of July 11, 1892, gunfight at the nearby Frisco Mill inadvertently ignited a box of dynamite, causing the mill to explode, killing six people. 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 onetime union member Harry Orchard, who was also a paid informant for the Cripple ...
declared
martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
and sent the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
and
National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...
into the canyon to keep the peace.


Development and further unrest

Burke continued development with the construction of the Tiger Hotel, a 150-room hotel originally built in 1896 as boarding rooms for miners; the hotel took its namesake from the Tiger Mine. A grease fire severely damaged the hotel shortly after its opening in 1896, killing three people. Subsequent widening of the railroad in 1906 forced the hotel to accommodate. The hotel, which straddled the main street and Canyon Creek, was modified to allow the railroad to run through its lobby. An enclosed walkway was constructed above the railroad for hotel guests to move between the two halves of the hotel without worry about the train or the weather. Around 1896,
Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
leader
Eugene V. Debs Eugene Victor Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American socialist, political activist, trade unionist, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and five-time candidate of the Socialist Party o ...
had grown prominent in the Pacific Northwest, and addressed miners in Burke in early 1897. Two years later, hostilities erupted once again in 1899. In response to the Bunker Hill company firing seventeen men for joining the union, the miners dynamited the Bunker Hill & Sullivan mill. Lives were lost once again, and the army intervened. While the Hecla mine continued to prosper, the city saw further destruction in February 1910 when another avalanche struck the town, killing twenty residents. Six months later, the
Great Fire of 1910 The Great Fire of 1910 (also commonly referred to as the Big Blowup, the Big Burn, or the Devil's Broom fire) was a wildfire in the Inland Northwest region of the United States that in the summer of 1910 burned three million acres (4,700 sq mi ...
caused further damage to the Burke Canyon. In 1913, significant flooding impacted the town, with sediment and debris building up against the Tiger Hotel as water cascaded down the gulch. The town was impacted by further damage on July 23, 1923, when another fire broke out, causing extensive damage to numerous buildings in the town. Most notably damaged by the fire was the Tiger Hotel, which became increasingly unprofitable in the 1940s and was torn down in 1954.


Decline and abandonment

By the mid-twentieth century, mining operations in Burke had slowed after the closure of several mines. The last mine in Burke closed in 1991. According to U.S. census data, there were a total of fifteen residents in Burke in 1990. As of 2012, the Hecla Mining Company explored the potential of exploiting additional resource deposits in the Star mine. As of December 31, 2012, Hecla invested $7 million in rehabilitation and exploration with published estimates suggesting the potential to recover in excess of 25 million ounces (11.3 million kg) of silver from the site with significant zinc and lead deposits also present.


Climate

Burke is marked by warm summers and cold, snowy winters. The town is classified as having a
continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...
by the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
. Due to its positioning deep within the narrow Burke Canyon, winters in Burke have been noted for being particularly harsh, with the town only receiving 3 hours of complete sunlight per day.


Notable people

*
Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman in the American West, including Dodge City, Kansas, Dodge City, Wichita, Kansas, Wichita, and Tombstone, Arizona, Tombstone. Earp was involved in the gunfight ...
(1848–1929), lawman, lived in a camp adjacent to Burke, known as Eagle City, circa 1885 *
Lana Turner Julia Jean "Lana" Turner ( ; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over a career spanning nearly five decades, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized personal life. ...
(1921–1995), actress, lived in Burke in her early childhood


Gallery

File:1904BurkeIdaho Tiger-Poorman Hecla Mine shafts.png, 1904 image of Burke, Idaho, including the Tiger-Poorman (left) and Hecla (right) mine shafts File:BurkeIdaho1890.JPG, The Poorman, Burke, Idaho 1890 File:Hecla-Mine idaho-2016.jpg, Hecla Mine Co. building File:Northern Pacific Railroad map circa 1900.jpg, Map of Northern Pacific's route, circa 1900 File:Skywalks (15187659219).jpg, Skyway bridge connecting buildings File:Burke mine shaft.JPG, An abandoned mine shaft in Burke File:Star mine headframe (15371158381).jpg, The Star mine shaft


See also

*
List of ghost towns in Idaho A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
*
Burke Canyon Burke Canyon is the canyon of the Burke-Canyon Creek, which runs through the northernmost part of Shoshone County, Idaho, U.S., within the northeastern Silver Valley. A hotbed for mining in the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Burke ...
*
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor strike of 1892 The 1892 Coeur d'Alene labor strike erupted in violence when labor union miners discovered they had been infiltrated by a Pinkerton agent who had routinely provided union information to the mine owners. The response to the labor violence, disastr ...


Notes


References


Works cited

* * * * * *


External links


History of the Idaho mining wars
via Idaho State University
Photo collection
of Burke and Frisco Mill via the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
{{authority control 1887 establishments in Idaho Territory Geography of Shoshone County, Idaho Ghost towns in Idaho History of Idaho Mining communities in Idaho Railway towns in Idaho