Exploring the Gold Dredge on Idaho’s Yankee Fork River
In the 1960s, U.S. Senator Frank Church proposed that the Sawtooth Mountains of central Idaho be made into a national park. His reasoning was that the region needed protection for preservation for future generations, and he wanted more tourists to visit Idaho. The Sawtooths are gorgeous mountains, replete with beautiful lakes and rivers, wildlife, and hot springs in which people can simply pull off the road and relax in hot springs.
It seems, however, that the locals did not want to share their little slice of paradise. They were afraid that national park status would restrict their activities, such as ranching, mining, and hunting. Hence, a compromise was struck in which the region was designated as a National Recreation Area, with less stringent limitations on local interests.
The author first visited the Sawtooth area in the mid-1980s, and enjoyed some of the most beautiful country in the U.S.! In addition to the aforementioned attractions, he stumbled on to a 112–foot ship setting in the Yankee Fork River. This ship, and it attached dredge line, were built in 1940, with the intent to extract gold from the riverbed.
Note: In the picture above, the dredge is reversed from its operating direction. The debris elevator should be facing to the left, i.e., downstream. This occurred because when it ceased operation, it was removed from the river, and later returned as a historic relic. It was placed facing downstream upon that return.
The dredge operated by driving a 17-ton spike into the river bottom to anchor the ship. Then, once secured, a dragline of 72 buckets, each over one ton in weight, dug the river bottom down to bedrock, as much as 35 feet below. The dredge could swivel side-to-side, so the actual trench was ~70 feet wide.
Note that the dredge historical society offers tours of the machine. It is worth the nominal charge to see the inside workings.
The material dredged was mixed with mercury (quicksilver), which bonds with gold. The impurities could then be dumped back into the riverbed. When the author first visited the dredge in the mid-80s, he met a young man who was panning mercury from the river. The panner said that he had made enough money over the summer (selling mercury) to pay for the upcoming year’s college tuition.
The dredge was operable between 1940 and 1953, but it only operated for five years, having been shut-down during WW II. In that five years of operation, it dredged just over five miles of the Yankee Fork. The residue of its operation is visible in the tailings, just rocks dropped out the back. In over 80 years, hardly any plant life grows on the tailings.
All told, the dredge extracted just over $1 million in gold. Converting the $35/oz price to todays $2300/oz, that gold would be worth about $67 million.
Other Area Attractions:
Stanley is about 130 miles from Boise, but depending on the route taken, it can take 3–4 hours. Most of the trip is scenic, with interesting places to stop. Some of the areas have open (free) camping. There are several public hot springs between Lowman and Stanley.
Stanley is a little over an hour from Sun Valley, through beautiful country. The Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness area, the largest designated wilderness in the lower 48 states, is not far from Stanley. And, although it is wilderness, there is a gravel road through it, with wilderness rules in effect a short distance from the road. The Hells Canyon National Recreation Area is a few hours north of Boise. There are countless hiking trails in the Sawtooths. White-water rafting is very popular on the Salmon and Middle-Fork of the Salmon River. The large open areas around Stanley are filled with wildflowers. There is truly something for everyone in this area.
Hot water runs naturally to the river. People arrange rocks to control the amount of cool river water entering to achieve a comfortable soaking temperature.
