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Historic Silver City Idaho
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History of the Idaho Hotel
After rich gold and silver deposits were
discovered in the Owyhee Mountains of southwestern
Idaho, dozens of mining camps sprang into existence; one
being Ruby City, where the Idaho Hotel was originally
established in 1863. In July of 1866 a large three-story
wing was added. However, that same year Ruby City lost
the county seat to its two-year-old rival, Silver City,
a mile up Jordan Creek. Soon, many homes and store
buildings were moved from Ruby City to Silver City in
order to capitalize on the business generated in the new
county seat. Later that year, the hotel's new wing was
dismantled, loaded piece-by-piece onto sleds and skids,
and pulled up the snow and ice covered road by oxen to
its new site in Silver City. It was reassembled, and a
three-story addition was built, the frozen-fingered
carpenters finishing in time for the owners to host a
'first-class' Christmas Eve Ball. Spring water was piped
to the hotel by 1868. A bar room and 'piazza' were added
in 1871.A commodious new kitchen was built in the
basement 'containing all the modern improvements and
conveniences', and a 'new set of bathrooms were built so
that hot or cold baths could be had at all hours
everyday'. The bar room was 'ornamented with
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the costliest and handsomest mirror ever brought to Silver
City' in 1874, all of the interior woodwork was
hand-grained in 1882, and a billiards parlor-gambling
room was added in 1889. In front of the icehouse, 'A
fine stone cellar' for storage of food and drink was
completed in 1890. A five-story addition containing a
new dining room with two stories of bedrooms above was
finished in 1898, and a storage tunnel connecting the
cellar with a mine tunnel beneath the
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street in front of the hotel was excavated in 1901. Numerous
businesses had offices in the hotel through the years:
stagecoach lines, telegraph and telephone companies,
doctors, dentists, lawyers and a jeweler. A 'sample room'
provided display space for the wares of visiting salesmen
called 'drummers'. A great many functions were held in the
hotel, including balls, weddings, funerals, musicals,
literary club meetings, socials and banquets. Functions of
an 'unsocial nature' also occurred, mostly in the form of
verbal altercations, fistfights and shootings, the most
famous of which was the fatal J. Marion Moore - Samuel
Lockhart shooting that occurred in front of the hotel in
1868. The hotel was closed around 1942, then fell into
disrepair. In the spring of 1972, Edward Jagels purchased
the building and the creaking old front doors once more
swung open for business. The Idaho Hotel became Ed's
personal crusade and he dedicated the rest of his life,
nearly 30 years, to restoring this grand hotel and
preserving it's place in history. The hotel was sold again
to its current owners in 2001. Their dream is to continue
Ed's legacy and preserve the old hotel as he had intended
for future generations to enjoy. Many sections are still
closed to the public though, as they have yet to be
restored.
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Mailing address:
P.O.Box 75, Murphy, Idaho 83650
Phone 1-208-583-4104
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