Lida Valley was known as a contact point for Shoshones and Northern Paiute Indians and was the site of early prospecting in the 1860's. Prospectors later organized a mining district in 1867 and laid out the town in 1872. Stores, shops, stables, and a Post Office were soon established, and some ore was milled locally, while high grade ore worth 500 dollars to 1,000 dollars per ton was treated at Austin or Belmont. After 1880 mining declined. Lida revived and thrived for three years during the Goldfield boom, but declined again in 1907. Mining efforts resumed a few years later, and a small community existed here until World War I.