Although rumors of gold had drawn prospectors back and forth across the West for over two decades, it wasn’t until the early 1860s, that miners moved into Idaho Territory, and not until 1866 that five prospectors discovered gold in the mountains above the confluence of the Salmon and Lemhi Rivers. These men, Frank Sharkey, Elijah Mulkey, Ward Girton, Joseph Rapp, and William Smith, tired of competing with the thousands who thronged the Western Montana placers, struck out in search of their own mother lode. In July of1866 they found it. Their new diggings, along a creek the indigenous population called “Napias” because of
the gold flecks in the water, attracted immediate attention despite their best efforts to keep it to themselves. Within a few months, hundreds had moved into the area, and by the spring of 1867,
there were as many as 2,000. Although their numbers waxed and waned over the next few years, additional mineral discoveries ensured that prospectors and those who kept them fed, clothed,
and entertained, would keep coming.

Miners established their initial town near the first placers—in the Salmon River Mountains at an elevation over 6,000 feet. Despite its obvious advantage, Leesburg, so named because of the significant number of Southerners in the group, soon demonstrated its disadvantages. As mines proliferated throughout the mountains, miners sought a more centralized location for obtaining their supplies.
The trail up the Leesburg hill from the Salmon River provided anything but easy access. During the winter and spring, travel to and from the new town ranged from difficult to impossible. That first winter, through January1867, pack trains managed to make the trip with
much needed supplies, but by February, the snow stopped all travel. Low on supplies, including food and medical help, residents
decided to dig their way out through the five- to twenty-foot drifts on the trail to the Salmon River. It took nearly six weeks to clear a
path for the pack trains.

At the foot of the trail, on the west side of the Salmon River, miners and prospective entrepreneurs had established a small camp which offered boat services to cross the river and served as the embarkation point for the mines in the surrounding mountains. As early as
the fall of 1866, its possibilities had been noted:

“A town has been laid off on the opposite side of the Salmon River, just above the mouth of the Lumhi [sic], the name of which I
have not been able to learn. The situation is beautiful, and I am of opinion that ere long it will be a thriving little village.”
(The Montana Post, 24 November 1866)

Right: This unidentified woman lived in Salmon City in the 1890s. The Chinese businesses and homes were located where the city hall, library, and museum are today. Although the 1870 and 1880 U.S. Census Records indicate a Chinese population of just 120 and 202, respectively, there were undoubtedly many more who helped settle the region.

Above: This commemorative stone, carved by Roger Grenier of Salmon, has been placed in the Leesburg cemetery by the Lemhi County Historical Society to honor the memory of these Lemhi County pioneers.