Silver City

Silver City, ghost town, Owyhee county, southwestern Idaho, U.S., 37 miles (60 km) southwest of Boise. Founded March 10, 1863, it quickly displaced Ruby City as the centre of the Owyhee mines and was county seat from 1866 to 1935. Rich silver lodes in the nearby War Eagle and Florida mountains were the subject of great excitement and bitter rivalry for control. A 500-pound (225-kg) silver crystal from the Poorman Mine won a gold medal at the Paris Exposition (1867). Silver City survived the collapse of the silver market that accompanied the failure of the Bank of California in 1875 because of its mines’ advanced technology, extensive British investments, and improved railway transportation. Mining activity, however, gradually declined, leading to a complete loss of population. Silver City reached its peak population of some 2,500 about the turn of the 20th century, but it began a steady decline thereafter. In 1943 the U.S. post office was closed.