IDAHO CITY

seat of Boise county, southwestern Idaho, U.S., above the confluence of Elk and Mores creeks, in a mountainous area (elevation 4,400 feet ) of the Boise National Forest, 24 miles (39 km) northeast of Boise. Perhaps the most famous of Idaho's early boomtowns, it was founded as Bannack City in 1862 during the great gold-mining rush into the Boise Basin and in its heyday had a population of 30,00040,000. It became the transportation, commercial, and social hub of central and southwestern Idaho and was named the territorial capital. Placer mining, however, quickly declined, and by 1869 the population had dwindled to 1,000. By 1918 almost all local mining activities had ceased. The town has been disfigured by fires, dredging, and decay. Surviving relics include the Masonic Hall, Gold Hill (once a rich placer ground), St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Boise Basin Museum, and Boot Hill Cemetery. Tourism (sightseeing, fishing, camping, hunting, and skiing) is the economic mainstay of the town's inhabitants. Pop. (1990) 322.