Roosevelt Idaho the mining town that drowned

I've always wanted to get up there with a detector and poke around during a dry year They left in a hurry figure there might be something interesting left behind.

Named for Teddy Roosevelt, the town was born in 1902 and died May 31, 1909. Strange but true, the town was buried in a mudslide. It all happened when a huge mudslide let loose and started flowing down Mule Creek. Thirty-six hours later, the slide had effectively dammed the neighboring Monumental Creek along which the town was built creating what is now Roosevelt Lake. Today, the lower shore of the lake is covered with logs that have floated up from the old cabins, and when the water is calm one can see the shapes and outlines of buildings that once was the town of Roosevelt. Undamaged are the tram towers that supported the mile-and-a-half-long cables that brought the ore down to the mill from the mines on Thunder Mountain.

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http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,18100.msg116860.html#msg116860

Yes Hardluck, this was near the Thunder Mountain area in Valley county in central Idaho, where much gold mining was done.

Stibnite, Thunder Mountain City and Yellow Jacket are nearby ghost towns. This area of mountains stretching across the state starts above Boise and contains many fascinating old gold towns, some dead some vacation tourist areas now.

To the south east are Bonanza, Custer and Bayhorse. Just south are Atlanta and Featherville, and a little farther south Idaho City, Placerville, Pioneerville, and Centerville in the foothills. To the northwest lie Warren, and Burgdorf. And those are just the most prolific of the gold camps that sprung up.

The mountains there are aggressive and rocky with amazing vistas and high mountain lakes. This site had some good pictures of the area. No motorized vehicles are allowed in the wilderness area, not even bicycles. You walk or ride a horse.

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I forgot to add that the story I always heard from my Aunt was that it was a dynamite explosion that dammed up Roosevelt Creek accidentally. No idea myself so probably the mudslide is correct. 

My Aunt and Uncle were caretakers of the Cabin Creek location back in the 70s. They did trail mainenance for the forest service and stayed there year round for about 10 years. There is a D-8 Cat he buried on the property under order from the forest service. They didn't want to drive it out and leave marks. It dug the hole and he shoveled the rest. They had some great stories as they lived in many remote properties over the years. Wish I could spend more time there myself


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http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,18100.msg117954.html#msg117954

Hello Idaho Jones

Loved the photographs. You seem have many interesting places up where you are. Is the town on private land?



Hardluck

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