1894 Map of Idaho Basin

About this map

Idaho City sits at the heart of the historic Boise Basin gold mining region, where a dense network of mining camps and drainages defined the late nineteenth-century economy. Surveyed just before the turn of the century by W. T. Griswold, the map illustrates a landscape of intense activity along Moore Creek and Grimes Creek, connecting established settlements like Placerville, Centerville, and Pioneerville. Beyond the clustered towns, the map details the transition into the Boise National Forest, following the winding course of the Middle Fork Boise River as it cuts between Thorn Creek Mtn. and Bald Mtn.. To the south, the terrain opens into the Smith Prairie near the Elmore county line. The presence of isolated landmarks like Halfway House and Slaughter House Gulch provides specific geographic anchors for tracing the early transport and supply routes that serviced the high-elevation mining districts of the Payette National Forest.