Small mining town west of Driggs rose and fell in 50 years, and is now a forgotten piece of Idaho history

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Published astatine 5:34 pm, July 7, 2024

In its heyday, Sam, Idaho, astir 8 miles westbound of Driggs, was nan location of a ember excavation that employed astir 200 people. See wherever it was located successful nan video above. | Photo courtesy Teton Valley Historical Museum

Editor’s note: This is nan tenth successful a bid highlighting nan stories down section depository artifacts.

DRIGGS – About 8 miles westbound of Driggs astatine nan extremity of Horseshoe Canyon was erstwhile nan location of a thriving ember mining town.

Sam, named for Henry Floyd Samuels — 1 of aggregate investors of nan Brown Bear Mine — was location to astir 200 excavation workers passim nan 1920s and 30s. They brought their families and built homes. There was a school, a station agency and a store.

For astir 30 years, nan excavation played a important domiciled successful nan area’s system earlier it went bankrupt and nan municipality folded.

Today, nan way nan excavation cars followed has been replaced by a paved roadworthy starring done nan canyon. At nan extremity of nan roadworthy is simply a way caput pinch campsites, but location are nary visible signs that nan excavation aliases nan municipality ever existed.

The Teton Valley Historical Museum disconnected ID Highway 33 successful Driggs contains nan only surviving remnants — a excavation car, immoderate devices and a written history of what happened.

Despite nan museum’s efforts to archive this portion of history, knowledge of Sam and nan Brown Bear Mine seems to person faded from memory. Here’s nan communicative of this now forgotten municipality successful a secluded area of eastbound Idaho.

The early days of nan Brown Bear Mine

When nan first settlers of Teton Valley arrived successful 1880, it was nan past unsettled spot successful Idaho. Those who came to carve retired a life successful nan godforsaken scenery discovered an abundance of ember deposits on nan creek beds. It wasn’t agelong earlier attempts were made to unfastened a mining operation.

Henry Flamm opened nan first ember excavation successful 1882, according to The Post Register.

William Hillman revenge nan original declare connected nan Brown Bear Mine. He dug nan first 500-foot passageway into Horseshoe Canyon successful 1901. Eventually, a way starring up to nan excavation was completed. The excavation opened successful 1904.

Investors sewage progressive erstwhile nan excavation was operational. St. Anthony banker G.E. Bowerman, and his partner, Don Driggs, 1 of nan group for whom nan metropolis of Driggs is named, formed Teton Valley Coal Company, which managed nan mine.

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In those early days, nan scope of nan cognition was limited.

“Boys were often hired arsenic trammers, slate aliases stone pickers aliases for different jobs. The trammer pushed nan quiet cars up nan way successful nan water-grade tunnel, and returned to nan opening pinch a afloat car,” a written history says.

When World War I collapsed retired successful 1914, galore of nan area’s young men had been drafted. Finding labor was challenging.

J.W. McDewell and R.S. Talbot, who owned Idaho Coal Mines Company, bought nan excavation from nan erstwhile investors and took over.

The railroad had travel to Driggs successful 1913 and Talbot negotiated pinch Union Pacific to person a obstruction statement put successful that led from nan train position successful Tetonia to nan mine.

“Over $340,000 of authorities costs were utilized to build nan line,” humanities records say. “It was completed by 1918.”

Much of nan ember that was extracted during this clip aided nan warfare effort. In nan autumn of 1917, substance was scarce successful Teton Valley and residents began importing it from elsewhere.

McDewell and Talbot dug different 400-foot shaft and soon, nan beginnings of what became Sam started to popular up. It attracted workers. A boarding location and barn were built. In time, group started coming pinch their families and that led to further cabins, a sawmill and different amenities.

The burgeoning organization was officially named Talbot astatine that point.

By 1920, problems started to arise. About 30,000 tons of ember had been mined and sold to group passim eastbound Idaho. Coal was harder to find, owed to nan changeless overturning of nan soil. Production slowed down.

The Idaho Coal Mine Company went into foreclosure that twelvemonth owed to immoderate ineligible challenges. Gem State Coal Company took complete nan cognition and built a caller passageway adjacent Horseshoe Creek astatine nan guidelines of nan canyon. The 650-foot-long passageway revived nan mine. Two years later, ember was being shipped to “wholesale outlets from Dillon, Montana to Pocatello.”

“They continued efforts to excavation and by 1923 were supplying nan section wagon waste and acquisition pinch coal,” according to humanities records.

Life successful Sam

Henry Floyd Samuels, who’d precocious mislaid his predetermination bid for governor, had go a multi-millionaire arsenic a miner successful bluish Idaho. He took announcement of nan Brown Bear Mine and came connected committee arsenic an investor.

He bought one-quarter liking successful nan excavation successful 1924.

“Samuels was a tall, gray-haired, distinguished-looking man,” Virginia Paris, who grew up connected a workplace successful Horseshoe Canyon, told nan Post Register years ago. “When he first bought nan mine, nan organization had a creation that lasted each nighttime and festivities that lasted for days.”

Under Samuels’ leadership, nan worth of nan excavation skyrocketed.

It was now 1927 and location were astatine slightest 200 group moving successful nan mine. A school, station agency and different businesses came on and nan municipality was renamed Sam.

Samuels moreover had a compartment there, which he seldom lived in.

Locals callback dances often being held astatine nan school.

Historical records show Evan Floyd delivered message and freight to Sam six days a week. Edna Mikesell, nan postmaster, besides taught school.

Evans’ daughter, DeEtta Floyd Driggs, shares successful her individual history that Mikesell was “a large … ornery woman” who ran a market shop pinch different lady.

“She sold candy that looked for illustration a No. 2 pencil, yellowish pinch a achromatic center. We loved it,” Driggs wrote.

Driggs besides shares her memories of riding on to present nan mail.

“In nan summers, dada would spell to activity for farmers and mother would thrust nan way successful a Model A Ford … pinch america 4 kids fighting and crying,” Driggs recalled. “It was ever stuck successful nan mud aliases (had) a level tyre to fix.”

During nan winter, Driggs said her dada would present nan message successful a horse-drawn sleigh and would screen nan level pinch straw to support their feet warm. He besides had a jump stove successful nan backmost that he kept lit for heat.

There are besides reports of whiskey bootlegging. This was nan era of Prohibition, but someway intoxicant was smuggled in. Dove Piquet says her grandfather had a whiskey still up nan canyon.

Piquet besides remembers helping to navigator nutrient for nan miners.

Though nan Brown Bear Mine thrived and group enjoyed surviving there, moving successful nan excavation was dangerous. Several accidents occurred successful Sam and 1 man was killed.

“Eugene Eddington mislaid his life by a falling rock,” nan written history says. “Denny Dennison fell down a excavation shaft and collapsed his neck, but survived. Ray Raymond and Jack Umphrey were rendered unconscious erstwhile a pouch of state was released successful nan excavation and they were brought retired connected nan ember car.”

Sam’s last years

Though Samuels poured overmuch of his individual luck into nan mine’s development, his occurrence was short-lived. There were respective reasons for this.

The Post Register reported nan excavation went collapsed successful 1929 “when different railroad drove nan value of ember down.” Samuels couldn’t salary his miners and they gradually near to find different work.

Additionally, ember was difficult to excavation because location was muck and ungraded successful nan seams of nan ember beds.

“Water had to beryllium drained retired of nan tunnels perpetually and aerial had to beryllium pumped in,” nan newspaper reported.

The museum’s history says nan tipple, nan car that hauled nan extracted ember to nan railroad cars, burned down. The train discontinue coming to nan excavation aft that and nan way was yet removed.

By 1934, location were only a fewer miners left.

Over nan adjacent decade, Samuels’ sons and others continued to excavation ember for nan locals. Samuels ended up trading nan excavation to R.H. Russell of Spokane, Washington successful 1946. The value was $55,000, a tenth of what he’d bought it for.

By nan early 1960s, nan excavation was nary longer successful operation.

Though astir of nan ember is still successful nan Teton Basin, nan tunnels person since caved successful and buildings and each that was near of nan municipality person been demolished.

In nan span of astir 50 years, Sam, Idaho roseate to prominence and became a thriving organization earlier yet dying retired and fading into history.