Ghost Towns of the Mountain West: Your Guide to the Hidden History and Old West Haunts of Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Nevada by Philip Varney

Author:Philip Varney
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780760333587
Publisher: Voyageur Press
Published: 2010-07-04T00:00:00+00:00

One of the most graceful churches in the Mountain West, Silver City’s Our Lady of Tears Catholic Church has undergone extensive restoration.

The Silver Slipper Saloon and the next-door Getchell Drug Store and Post Office in Silver City are privately owned and closed to the public. Be sure to peer through the drugstore windows to see the memorabilia within.

The rear section of the Getchell Drug Store features a fully equipped dentist’s office.

Beyond the furniture store are the Hoffer and Miller Meat Market (now a private residence), the former Hawes Bazaar (a general store), and a one-time barbershop and bathhouse.

Across the street from these structures is a unique sight: a large beer vat turned into a tiny building with a miniature saloon scene inside it. Will Hawes, a lifelong Silver City resident who died in 1968 at ninety-one years of age, crafted the unusual piece.

On the north side of town off of Morning Star Street are three more of Silver City’s best buildings: the 1892 Idaho Standard School, the 1898 Our Lady of Tears Catholic Church (which served as St. James Episcopal Church until it was sold to the Catholic Diocese of Boise in 1928), and the 1870 Stoddard Mansion, which features an almost stupefying amount of gingerbread trim.

The two Silver City cemeteries, one public and the other for Masons and Odd Fellows, stand west of town on a steep hill. The route is quite rough and definitely requires a high-clearance vehicle, but the distance is only .2 of a mile, so you can easily walk there from town, starting three buildings west from the former county building. A sign points the way.

An elaborate cut stone wall in the Masonic and Odd Fellows cemetery surrounds two graves for the children of W. F. and Mary Sommercamp (the one-time owners of the Sommercamp Saloon on Washington Street). Son Frederick died in 1870 at five months; daughter Annie lived only fourteen months and died in 1874.

WHEN YOU GO

Silver City is 67 miles southwest of Boise. From Idaho City, proceed 36 miles southwest to Boise via Idaho Highway 21. From Boise, take Interstate 84 west 16 miles to Nampa. Follow Idaho Highway 45, which joins Idaho Highway 78, south from Nampa for 27 miles to Murphy. Southeast of Murphy 4.5 miles is Silver City Road, which in 18.8 miles takes you to a junction only .5 of a mile from Silver City. Turn left (a right takes you to Jordan Valley, Oregon) and proceed into town, passing two stone powderhouses on your left.

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