Gold was discovered in 1869 below Shoshone Falls. During the summer of 1870, hundreds of prospectors entered the canyon searching the rocky slopes and sand bars for the very fine particles of gold called flour gold. Three mining camps, Shoshone, Springtown, and Drytown, were established on the south river bank between the present-day Murtaugh Bridge and Shoshone Falls, providing miners with supplies, dry goods, and mining equipment. In 1871, when the gold yields began to diminish, the miners sold their claims to the Chinese, who worked the mines until abandoning them in the early 1880s. The mining camps, though temporary, paved the way for the development of the modern agricultural communities.