Fun & Weird
Idaho City in Pictures
One of my most recent trips was a first time jaunt to Idaho which included time in Idaho City.
Idaho City had been described to me as a semi-ghost town so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Whatever I expected, it wasn’t enough. It is inhabited. By quite nice people, actually. Just not a lot of them, and half the town is historic structures. I think the pictures capture it better than my words can, so I’ll try to keep my commentary brief.
Idaho City’s iconic Sluice Box
BUT I do have to talk about the awesome tour I had of the Boise County Offices. Housed in a former saloon, dance hall, and bank, history that would be behind glass on the East Coast are part of the daily routine!
One of the original windows
I loved that some meetings are held behind the original bar of the saloon! No alcohol, but some of the original stuffed game featured in the original photos. That deer in the corner had quite the stink eye.
Photos of the original saloon on the wall
You pay taxes here.
And the best part – I got to go into the vaults where the very old records are kept.
Across the street I got another thrill at the Boise County Courthouse.
I got to sit in the very ornate witness chair (which has you pretty much sitting in the jury’s lap) and at the judge’s desk in Idaho’s oldest operating courthouse.
They still have all the hand written accounts of the various trials through the centuries.
Handwritten account of the Herman St Clair case
If you make it there, be sure to check out the painting in the entry.
“The legend of the hanging of Herman St Clair, as told from the liars’ benches of Idaho City.”
One block over you have the Pest House and County Jail, examples of private housing, and even the Territorial Penitentiary – much smaller than the one I saw in Laramie last year.
Do those doors into nothing, like this one on the oldest Masonic Temple in Idaho, scare anyone else?
On the hill overlooking the town is a beautiful little Catholic church and the Oddfellows Hall, (great name, not sure why I hadn’t heard of them before).
There is more to see in Idaho City, though not a whole lot more. But if you’re driving by definitely make a stop to check out the history. 🙂
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Michael W
July 27, 2016 at 1:05 pm
Looks very cool. I was planning to go there last week but multiple locals in Boise told me not to bother and waste my time…