Mining Wars

Shoshone County · dedicated 2025 · SH-4, milepost 5.13

The Coeur d’Alene mining wars started in this canyon on July 11, 1892. After mine owners increased work hours and cut wages, a gunfight erupted between workers and company guards. Miners blew up the Frisco Mill near here. Five men died. Federal troops incarcerated miners. Grievances lingered. On April 29, 1899, miners hijacked a train. Loading it with dynamite here, they destroyed Wardner’s Bunker Hill mill. Two more died. Governor Frank Stuenenberg declared martial law. Federal troops again incarcerated miners. The conflict fostered formation of the Western Federation of Miners union, Idaho’s eight-hour workday, and former Governor Steunenberg’s 1905 assassination.

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Mining Wars

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