1894 Map of Rocky Bar

About this map

The mountain mining camps of the Boise Basin are preserved here as they stood in the early 1890s, when the rugged Idaho backcountry was defined by isolated settlements and a complex web of river forks. Rocky Bar and Atlanta serve as the primary hubs of activity, situated deep within the drainages that would eventually be designated as the Boise National Forest and Sawtooth National Forest. The map documents a landscape before modern roads, where travel relied on following the courses of the South Fork Boise River and its numerous tributaries like Feather Creek and Steel Creek. Notable landmarks such as Steel Mt. and Trinity Mt. overlook the high-altitude terrain, providing essential orientation for prospectors and settlers. The placement of Junction Bar and the remote outpost of Graham illustrates the precarious nature of these mountain communities during the peak of Idaho's 19th-century mineral exploration.