Bayhorse, Idaho

Bayhorse
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Custer County, Idaho
Nearest city	Challis, Idaho
Coordinates	44°23′52″N 114°18′42″W
Built	1877
NRHP reference No.	76000671
Added to NRHP	March 15, 1976

Bayhorse is a ghost town in Custer County, Idaho, United States, founded in 1877, though active development of the town did not begin until 1880. Bayhorse was once a thriving mining town, largely supported by large silver deposit. In 1882, the town increased its smelting capabilities, producing $300,000 ($9.47 million in 2023) worth of silver over the course of the year. By 1885, the town had grown to 300 residents, supported by a mill, three stores, a hotel, a restaurant, a meat market, a lodging house, and five saloons. The same year, the town built a refinery, allowing the mining industry to issue silver bars and by 1900, the town had extracted over $10 million ($366 million in 2023) in total ores, including silver, lead, and copper.

In 1976, the entire community was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The town property was purchased by the state in 2006 and opened to the public in 2009 as part of the Land of the Yankee Fork State Park.

Remains

You can walk along the main dirt street and see several preserved ruins of houses and mining equipment. Also intact are charcoal kilns used to make charcoal to smelt the ore from the mines.

External links

Media related to Bayhorse, Idaho at Wikimedia Commons

• Land of the Yankee Fork State Park
• Bay Horse and Clayton, Idaho State Historical Society Reference Series