| Shoshone County Shoshone
County, Idaho's 6th county, was established on February 4, 1864, with its county
seat at Pierce. In 1885, the county seat was moved to Murray; in 1890 to Osburn;
and finally to Wallace in 1893. It was the first organized unit of government
within Idaho boundaries, created and named for the Shoshoni Indians in 1858 by
the Washington Territorial Legislature as part of Washington, effective in 1861.
County
Statistics
County
seat: Wallace
Population: 12, 827
Interesting
Facts
Shoshone
County borders the state of Montana. It is the 21st largest county by population
and the 8th largest by area. The federal government owns about 75 percent of the
land. While mining is the traditional economic foundation in the county, tourism
and recreation are growing.
The mining
area around Wallace (the Coeur d'Alene Mining District) has produced more silver
than any other mining area in the world. Estimates are than it has produced
more than $4 billion in precious metals since 1884.
Wallace was
originally called Cedar Swamp because it was located in a swamp surrounded by a
heavy stand of cedar trees. In 1884, it was named Placer Center for the amount
of placer mining occurring in the area. It was incorporated four years later in
1888 and re-named for Colonel W.R. Wallace, who was the owner of the site and a
member of the first city council.
Silver
Mountain Ski Resort has the world's longest single-stage gondola.
In 1996,
the movie
Dante's Peak,
starring Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton, about a volcanic eruption, was
filmed in Wallace, even though the surrounding mountains aren't really
volcanoes.
After the
1910 fire in Wallace, Ed Pulaski, a forest ranger, responded to the need for
better firefighting tools by combing a mattock and an axe into one. The result
is used widely in constructing firebreaks and bears Pulaski's name. The Forest
Service began using the Pulaski tool in 1913. Ranger Pulaski is also reponsible
for saving the lives of a crew of firefighters during the wildfires.
What To See And Do
The
Northern Pacific Depot,
located in Wallace, is one of Shoshone
County's treasured landmarks. The depot was constructed between the late 1880s
and early 1890s. It became a hub for passenger and freight trains operating
between Wallace and Missoula, Montana. It is an elegant chateau styled two story
building. It was built with a unique brick transported from China and concrete
panels made from mine tailings.
The depot
has been in the public eye on more than one occasion. In 1903, President
Theodore Roosevelt arrived there on an official visit to the city. In 1979 a
portion of Michael Cimino's movie "Heaven's Gate" was filmed in Wallace and the
movie opened with scenes of the train coming into the station. More recently
however the Northern Pacific Depot has become a popular spot during Depot Day, a
town holiday that celebrates the coming of spring, and America s favorite mode
of transportation, the automobile.
The
Northern Pacific Depot closed on September 2, 1980, and now serves as a museum.
Famous
Shoshone County Natives and Residents
Lana Turner
(1921-1995) became a famous movie actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood.
She was born
Julia Jean Mildred
Frances Turner in Wallace. When she was 16 years old, she was
discovered by the publisher of the Hollywood Reporter at Schwab's Drug Store, a
story which has become Hollywood legend. She signed a movie contract, but was
required to change her name. She chose the name "Lana." Some of her more
well-known movies include: "Johnny Eager" (1942),"Ziegfeld Girl" (1941), "The
Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946), and "The Bad and The Beautiful" (1953).
(Sources
include The Idaho Blue Book, 2005-2006, Insiders' Guide: The Idaho Panhandle;
Idaho Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary; County Profiles of Idaho.) |
