Tour Custer Preview

The Custer Schoolhouse was one of three schools that served the children of the Yankee Fork, although they each operated at different times throughout the years. The first school was built near the mouth of Jordan Creek, the second was located between Bonanza and Custer at Puzzler Gulch, and this third school building was built in 1901. Class sizes ranged from as many as 38 students in 1901 to as few as 8 pupils in 1911. Subjects taught included reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, geography, grammar, ancient history, and modern history. Today, the Custer Schoolhouse serves as the town’s museum. In the early 1960s, Tuff and Edna McGown, longtime residents of the Yankee Fork, began collecting artifacts to preserve Custer’s history. They used the old school building to house their museum and laid the foundation for the curated site of Custer that you are able to enjoy today!

Inside the schoolhouse you will find a variety of artifacts collected over the years. Please leave all pets outside as you explore the museum.

• Imagine the sounds of pack animals coming down the road, the pounding of the stamp mill, and the shouts of children running around town as you look at the model of Custer at the front of the room.
• Kids can sit at the desks and pretend they were students at the Custer School – read the student and teacher rules on the board next to the desks. How do they compare to the rules at your school today?
• Add a pin to the map to mark your hometown.
• Read about and look at the items you see around the museum, but please, do not touch any of the artifacts; many are over 100 years old.
• Don’t forget to sign the guestbook!

Winter in the Yankee Fork drainage was a particularly challenging time for communities. Winter snowstorms, including dangerous avalanches, impeded travel and threatened the lives of some citizens.

The three graves at this site are for Josephine, Olga, and Annie Johnson who were killed in an avalanche that swept their home away in winter of 1890. Fortunately, the girls’ parents survived and Mrs. Johnson went on to have two more children. It is believed that the young sisters were buried near this site because the other cemeteries in the area were blocked due to heavy snowfall that winter.

The remnants of Custer’s only stone house can be seen through the vegetation on the hillside. Louise Trealor, affectionately known as “Miss Lou,” came from North Carolina because her brothers worked in Bayhorse, Idaho. In 1898, Lou married Joe Short and they moved to Custer. However, Joe was rarely home so Miss Lou moved into this single-room, cozy stone house. There was a spring nearby and the house was cool in the summer and warm in the winter; she had Custer’s only open fireplace. Eventually Miss Lou ended her marriage to Joe Short and moved to Challis in 1904, where she taught piano lessons.

The assayer’s job was to assess the quality and value of ore that individual miners brought to him. The building now displays tools and material the assayer would have used, like crucibles, a kiln, and ore samples. Miners hoped the assayer was honest and trustworthy when it came to placing value upon their ore.

This building was not the original assay office in Custer, which would have been located close to the Mill, but rather was built during the 1930s when many unemployed men and their families occupied the deserted town and prospected for gold.

Charles A. Pfeiffer purchased this frame structure in 1890 after his marriage to Ellen Olsen. Charles managed the Pfeiffer Store and worked at the General Custer mine. He added a bedroom, kitchen, and shed as his family grew. Residents of the Yankee Fork were quite innovative with limited resources. For example, the roof of this home was constructed from flattened tin cans.

As you walk through the Pfeiffer family home, note the features that did not originate in the late 1800s; the layers of wallpaper represent the layered history of Custer. Can you spot a date on one of the newspapers? This is evidence of the many other people who lived in the town of Custer after its mining heyday.

In 1880, following the opening of the Toll Road, the General Custer Mill opened. A 3,300-foot-long gravity operated tramway brought ore down from the Custer Mountain mines to the mill. The ore was then dumped in an ore bin (the only structure left standing on the old mill site today). From the bin, the ore would be crushed, then go through a drying process. From there, it was further pulverized by the stamps, then sent to the upper part of the mill again to descend through the roasters and be treated in the amalgamating and settling pans. The General Custer was a 20, 25, and 30-stamp mill over the course of its operation. At the basic level, mills needed to crush the ore to varying degrees of fineness before applying the processes to recover the gold, silver, copper, or other precious metal. Mills in the area generally used three processes for precious metal recovery: 1) Physical – amalgamation; 2) Wet – patio, Washoe, chlorination, and cyanide; 3) Dry – smelting and roasting-condensing. The General Custer Mill used a combination of amalgamation and wet processes to recover gold and silver from the General Custer, Lucky Boy, and Black mines.

The General Custer Mill was steam-powered, and burned over 300 cords of wood per month. To keep up with this demand for fuel, there were five sawmills in the Yankee Fork district. Many of the hillsides you see around Custer today were completely deforested during the town’s mining days. Bare hillsides changed the ecology of the valley, leading to increased erosion and probability of avalanches.

The mill operated intermittently from 1880 to 1904, shutting down to overhaul its recovery processes and to update its equipment. The only remaining structure from the General Custer Mill is the ore bin, which you can see from the Motorway. Please respect all signs posted around private property buildings on the old mill site.

Other milling equipment you will see includes:

• a rock arrastra, which is a simple milling mechanism that was used at the Charles Dickens Mine at the confluence of Jordan Creek and the Yankee Fork
• steel rings from a Chilean mill, which required electricity (wired up from the Sunbeam dam on the Main Salmon River) to run and was used at the Sunbeam mine up Jordan Creek
• boilers used to generate steam power to run the General Custer Mill

Blacksmith shops were crucial for making and repairing the tools and equipment needed for the mines and mills in the valley. Blacksmiths also repaired wagons and carriages, and shod horses and mules. There were at least two blacksmith shops in Custer. Outside of the shed you will see a forge, among other equipment, and a 1929 Chevrolet engine that was converted into a buzz saw.

Using 2" x 6" lumber, the construction of this building was similar to a log building. This meant the jail was sturdy and secure, but also warm in the winter months, which is one of the reasons it was later converted into a house in the mid-twentieth century. Despite some accounts that there was little crime in the Yankee Fork area, historical records show a crime wave from 1896-98 with 14 major crimes documented, as well as an attempted arson.

The jail was destroyed by fire in 1964.

Originally located closer to the General Custer Mill, Custer's last doctor, Dr. Charles Kirtley, moved and converted the Empire Saloon into an office and home. He later married Josie Malm and they lived here until 1910. Tuff and Edna McGown and their family also lived in the saloon for many years. This building was restored in 1998 and now functions as Custer’s gift shop, providing visitors with souvenirs and refreshments from 10 am – 5 pm Memorial Day through Labor Day.

This building and the nearby outbuildings currently contain artifacts that show the history of transportation in the region. From using mules and horses to traverse the mountainous trails to the use of motor vehicles, tools and equipment needed for multiple forms of travel are collected in these buildings.

However, the original purpose of this building, constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, was as an ice house. Ice was harvested during winter, covered and layered with sawdust, and then stored in ice houses for use during warmer months. The cool interior of the building also stored meats, vegetables, and other perishables.

Kenneth McKenzie began construction of this large log 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, as well as other businesses in neighboring mining communities. Miners in the Yankee Fork were not striking it rich individually; rather, it was the businessmen who catered to the miners, like Kenneth McKenzie and toll road operator Alexander Toponce, who made the money in the valley.

This building was later converted into a garage until it was restored.

This one-room, frame cabin was originally an addition to a much larger log cabin that has since rotted away. A unique fact about this cabin is that it was a prefabricated building; you will notice the walls are single pieces of wood rather than individual logs like most of the other residences in Custer. This is one of the last remaining structures of its kind in Idaho.

Frank Tully, a bachelor miner, lived in the cabin for many years. Frank was known for his fiddle-playing and he often performed at dances held in town at the Miners’ Union Hall. He made $3 a day working at the General Custer Mill.

During the 1930s this building was converted into a garage and shop.

Charles “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. His cabin reflects that of a single miner, with space for sleeping, working, and eating. Charlie Raines, like many of the other men in the valley, was an immigrant from Europe.

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 (today, the Land of the Yankee Fork Historical Association) and moved back to its original location and restored. Imagine a family of four (or more!) living in a single-room cabin like this. Today, Forest Service and Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation staff show slideshows of the history of Custer and mining in the area inside Brockman cabin.

Additional site markers found along the trail through Custer include:

Flagpole Grave

A man who died climbing a flagpole is thought to be buried among the aspens in this spot.

McKenzie Feed and Livery Stable

This structure, owned by Kenneth McKenzie, was where animals were boarded for $1.50 per day. You could also rent, sell, or buy horses, mules, wagons, and buggies here.

Nevada House

The Nevada House Hotel and Chophouse (Restaurant) was operated by William Dunn and his wife. It cost 50 cents to eat in the dining room, and $1 for a night of lodging.

Chinese Businesses

Remnants of stone wells from Chinese laundries can be seen here. Chinese goods such as silk handkerchiefs, coconut, rice, and molasses candies with orange were popular during Chinese New Year celebrations. Custer’s only house of worship, a Chinese Joss house, was located in the back of a store in Chinatown.

Miners’ Union Hall

Many community events were held in this building, including dances, traveling minstrel shows, animal talent shows, and boxing matches.

W. Burton/Deardon and McGowan General Store

General stores stocked a variety of goods such as fresh meat, produce, canned food items, hardware, and clothing; however, the price of goods reflected their availability, which is why a dozen eggs could cost as much as $16!

Thompson Furniture Store

George and Belle Thompson opened this shop as one of Custer’s first businesses. The store was in the lower level of the two-story building, while lodging for single men was available on the second level. The Thompson residence was connected via an elevated walkway to the hillside behind the store.

J.F Davis Carpenter Shop, Casto and McGee Saloon, and Deardon/McGowan Saloon and Rooms

This site marks the variety of businesses found in the valley, from a carpenter shop that specialized in cabinets and coffins, to saloons that hosted poker tournaments and prize fights between boxers, and boarding houses that provided transients a place to stay.

Stage Stop and Post Office

Nettie Thomas and Julius Cross were the postmasters in Custer. The stage stop was where passengers would unload or wait to board for their stage ride over the toll road to Challis.