Custer Ghost Town
Free guided and self-guided walking tours are available Memorial Day - Labor Day during business hours. The School house is the museum with gifts and refreshments available at the Empire Saloon during the summer season. Custer was founded in early 1879 by gold speculators. Economically supported by the operations of the Lucky Boy and Black mines, Custer reached its peak population of 600 in 1896.
Nearby Bonanza was a sister city and the business and social center until fires in 1889 and 1897 destroyed much of the town. Many merchants reestablished their businesses in Custer, gradually making it the new business and social center for Yankee Fork area. Custer sported a new school house, jail, Miner's Union Hall, post office, and baseball team.
By 1903, the glory days of mining were slipping away as the mines played out one by one. Business slumped and by 1910 Custer had become a ghost town. The Challis National Forest took ownership of the area in 1966, and in 1981, Custer was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Through the efforts of the Friends of Custer Museum, the site was kept open for public enjoyment. In 1990, the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation joined the Forest Service in managing Custer. This led to the establishment of the Land of the Yankee Fork Historic Area.
Camping is available throughout the valley and lodging is available approximately 21 miles away in Stanley.
A self-guided walking tour is generally open from June through September during business hours. The School house is now the museum and gifts and refreshments are available at the Empire Saloon. The information presented here is reprinted from the Custer Walking Tour guide which is available for free at the site, compliments of the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation.
School House
The walking tour starts here. J.F. Davis began construction on September 4, 1900. In 1990 it was restored and continues as the Custer Museum that was established in 1960 by Tuff and Edna McGown.Image
Image
- Johnson Graves
On February 2, 1890, an avalanche swept the Nels Johnson home across the Yankee Fork killing Olga, Anne and Josephine. The children were buried close to their friends - the people of Custer. Avalanches occurred often in Custer during heavy snows. From the pages of The Challis Messenger; CUSTER IDAHO FEB. 4, 1890 --At about 8 0'clock on the night of Feb. 2, 1890, the alarm of danger was given at the Custer mill, by the blowing of the steam whistle. The people knew to well what was the matter, and when they started to go to the scene of disaster they took their shovels with them. Two snow slides had come from the top of old "Baldy Mountain," crashing through Neils Johnson and H. Levinson houses...Olga, 10 years old, Annie Johnson, 6 years old, and Josephine, 4 years old died after an avalanche stuck their home. Stone Cabin Ruins
Louise Treolor Short, "Miss Lou", lived in the only known stone structure. The one room building was constructed of native stone.
Image
Asay Office
This building was built during the 1930's when many unemployed men and their families occupied the deserted town and prospected for gold. Originally a store house, it now displays assay items.
Image
Pfeiffer House
Charles A. Pfeiffer managed the Pfeiffer store and purchased this handsome frame structure in 1890 after his marriage to Ellen Olson. He added a bedroom, kitchen and shed as his family grew.
Image
Transportation Building
Used as a garage and shop, this building was built during the 1930's. Now it houses different transportation items used at Custer.
Image
Image
- Blacksmith Shop (Site)
Blacksmiths made and repaired mining equipment, wagons and carriages, and shod horses and mules. This building was destroyed by fire in 1964. - Jail (Site)
Using 2" x 6" lumber, the construction of this building was similar to a log building. The jail was destroyed by fire in 1964. Custer Empire Saloon
Guster's last doctor, Dr. Charles Kirtley, moved and converted the saloon into an office and home. He later married Josie Malm. They lived here until 1910. This building was restored in 1998. The building is now a gift shop and refreshments are available as well.Image
- Ice House
Ice was harvested during winter, covered and layered with sawdust and stored in ice houses for use during warmer months. The cool interior of the building also stored meats, vegetables and other perishables. - McKenzie House
Kenneth McKenzie began construction of this large house in 1880. Billed as one of Custer's finest homes, the original cabin was enlarged until it became a rambling, ranch style home. An astute business man , Mr. McKenzie owned McKenzie's Saloon, McKenzie's Feed and Livery Stable, and McKenzie's Buggy Shed. This building was later converted into a garage until it was restored. Frank Tully Cabin
This one-room, frame cabin was originally an addition to a much larger log cabin that has since rotted away. Frank Tully, a bachelor miner, lived in the cabin for many years. During the 1930's it was converted into a garage/shop.Image
- Flagpole Grave
A young man competing in a 4th of July climbing contest was killed when he fell. Although his name has been lost in history, he will always be remembered, for in commemoration, his friends buried him near the town flagpole. - McKenzie's Feed and Livery Stable (Site)
A large, two-story frame structure, with horse stalls on the lower floor and a hay loft upstairs boarded animals for $1.50 per day. One could also rent, sell, or buy horses, mules, wagons and buggies. - Bawdy House (site)
Shunned by most respected women, these working ladies provided companionship to lonely men. They were well known for their care in times of sickness and donations to the poor. - Deardon and McGown Store (site)
George Deardon and Arthur McGown, Sr., constructed a large two-story frame mercantile store about 1879. Stock items included everything from foodstuffs to hardware. Fresh meat and produce were stored in an icehouse in back. They also had a butcher shop 150 feet to the south of the store. - Burton Rooming House (site)
In 1895, after the death of her husband, Estella Burton operated a small, false front, one-story, rooming house and the adjacent restaurant. - Thompson Furniture Store (site)
George and Belle Thompson constructed one of the first businesses in Custer in 1879. The large, two-story frame building had a furniture " store on the first floor, while single men lodged in the upstairs. An elevated walkway led from the second story to the family home on the hillside behind. Later, the store was converted into a social center and was known as "Thompson" dance hall. - J.F. Davis Carpenter Shop (site)
J.F. Davis served as Justice of the Peace and was popularly known as "Judge" Davis. He also operated a small, false front, log carpenter shop. A carpenter and cabinet maker by trade, Mr. Davis made most of the coffins used in Custer and Bonanza. - Casto and McGee Saloon (site)
Bill Casto and "Red" McGee established a single-story saloon that boasted a pool table and specialized in stud poker. Prize fighting between the Custer champion and other mining camps were often staged here. - Charlie Raines Cabin
Charlie Raines owned a mine on Custer Mountain that he worked mainly by himself. He was the typical small mine owner who never struck it rich, but was a respected member of the community. - Brockman Cabin
Abandoned before being completed, this small log cabin was moved to a mining claim near Boot Hill cemetery in 1958. The remains of the structure were donated to the Friends of Custer Museum and moved back to its original location and restored. - Sammy Holman (1835-1910)
A native of Saratoga, NY, and graduate of Harvard Law School, Samuel A. Holman had a promising career that he discarded after his fiancee died. He headed west, eventually reaching the newly discovered mining district on the Yankee Fork. Sammy was elected as the first justice of the peace for Bonanza and acted as judge when needed. He gained a reputation for being fair and honest and could have gone far in politics except for two things; gold fever and drinking. After staking claims along the Yankee Fork, Sammy built a log cabin and sold lots for a new community called Custer. He was not very tall, of medium build, and by nature, generous to a fault. He imposed a rather striking figure in a homespun sort of way-with his full whiskers washed and combed and his natty manner of dress. At age 59, Sammy prospected for silver near Clayton and later sold his discovery for $27,000. By this time, gone was the debonair young lawyer from Saratoga, instead was a small grizzled man with haphazard dotting, mended brogans and scraggly white whiskers. Sammy spent the remainder of his life in a cabin by the side of a small stream-now called Holman Creek.