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All the United States Idaho Stanley Custer Ghost Town
AO Edited

Custer Ghost Town

See just what life was like in a 19th-century prospecting town.

Stanley, Idaho

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The Empire Saloon in Custer.  
Yankee Fork gold dredge.  
On the Custer Motorway.  
A miner’s cabin at Custer.  
The saloon and farm or mine equipment.   Stephen Marks/Public Domain
The Empire Saloon.   shelleylyn/CC BY-SA 2.0
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About

Custer, Idaho is riddled with the hints of its former activity, like iron mining equipment rusted to a halt in overgrown grass and bullet holes in the poker table left after a skirmish.

Custer grew out of the various mineral rushes of the 1870s. After a grass fire destroyed the nearby town of Bonanza, Custer grew even more populous. It was just a one street town, but it was stirring with men, women, and children. However, as the mining industry dried up and gold was more scant, the town was deserted.

But thanks to a 1981 designation as a historic site, the ghost town was saved from obsolescence. Significant portions have been restored and docents are on site during the summer to provide historical information. A few private cabins, the town schoolhouse, and the Empire Saloon have been restored and maintained in their 19th century state. The saloon no longer offers libations, and docents have water for sale but nothing else, so carry food and water if you plan to stay a while. 

Related Tags

Ghost Towns Gold Rush Mines Abandoned

Know Before You Go

Turn of off Highway 75 at Sunbeam (on the route between Stanley and Challis) and follow the gravel road nine miles. Leave time to stop at the Yankee Fork Gold Dredge on the way to Custer, where docents tell the story of how the dredge was built and operated. For a truly "Idaho" experience, take the old Custer Motorway from Challis through the mountains (high-clearance vehicle recommended but not required).

Community Contributors

Edited By

Molly McBride Jacobson, zydeko

  • Molly McBride Jacobson
  • zydeko

Published

September 23, 2016

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Sources
  • https://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/parks/land-yankee-fork
  • http://yankeeforkdredge.com/
  • http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/id/bonanza.html
  • https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Custer_Ghost_Town
Custer Ghost Town
Stanley, Idaho
United States
44.3875, -114.695833
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