Custer City

In August 1876, while searching a hillside across the Yankee Fork, James Baxter, Eldon Dodge, and Morgan McKim stumbled upon a rich vein of ore exposed by a snow slide that became the most famous mine on the Yankee Fork. Named after George Armstrong Custer, the General Custer Mine discovery transformed a small mining camp into a lively community and the site of the region's most significant mining activity. Founded in 1879, townsites were laid out by Nordoff & Blick and given to anyone who would erect a building on them. Samuel Holman and "Doc" Adair built the first cabin, and Custer quickly grew from a tent community into a town of more than 100 buildings lining both sides of its long, narrow main street. For 30 years, Custer saw frenzied activity and growth as well as periods of uncertainty and decline until its final bust in 1911. Today, visitors can explore Custer's historic buildings, tour the townsite, and travel the Toll Road, known as the Custer Motorway Adventure Road, through the backcountry between Custer and Challis.

Idaho · United States