The story
Gilmore sat high on the western flank of the Lemhi Range, working lead and silver first found in the area in 1879. The camp grew slowly, held back for years by the cost of hauling ore out by wagon, and reached perhaps 600 people once the Gilmore and Pittsburgh Railroad finally arrived in 1910 to carry its bullion to market.
The good years were short. Silver prices sagged, and in 1929 an explosion at the mine's power plant abruptly ended large-scale operations. The town coasted downhill from there and was mostly abandoned by the 1950s. Lead contamination from the old workings later made the site a state environmental cleanup.
Today the Lemhi County Historical Society looks after the townsite, where a good number of weathered frame and log buildings still stand out on the open sagebrush bench. It is quieter and less visited than Idaho's park-run ghost towns — a real ruin rather than a managed exhibit.
What remains today
A scatter of standing frame and log buildings, foundations, and mine works on the open bench, with some stabilization and interpretation.
Questions from the field
- How did Gilmore, Idaho die?
- Falling silver prices weakened it, and a 1929 explosion at the mine's power plant ended major operations. The town dwindled away over the following decades.
From the field
The most valuable part of this record is the part only visitors can write.
Stamp your passport
Check in at Gilmore — GPS-verified visits earn an inked stamp.
File a field report
Road conditions, what's still standing, what's gone — your report joins the record.
Add photographs
Credited, dated, and preserved as part of Gilmore's permanent record.
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Primary sources for this record
- — USGS GNIS feature 396550
- — Idaho State Historical Society — Gilmore mining district
- — Idaho Department of Environmental Quality — Gilmore townsite records