The Prospector and Thunder Mountain News
“The significant feature of 1904 was the establishment of a newspaper at Roosevelt, the Prospector and Thunder Mountain News. Established in September of that year, it was another venture of the Prospector Poet, Clarence E. Eddy, in partnership with Samuel Hunt. Before Thunder Mountain, this pair and their printing press had been the newspaper at Custer City. In retrospect the News’ largest contribution would be history, rather than journalism. It provides a glimpse into Thunder Mountain’s commercial life, through its advertisers.”
excerpted from page 62 “Valley County Idaho, Prehistory to 1920” by Valley County History Project. Available at the Valley County Museum and Bookstore, Roseberry, Idaho
1907 – Mr. Miller has been running the Thunder Mountain News at Roosevelt for the past two years but has closed it down for the present. He reports the camp very quiet just now, but says there are some very valuable properties there and he has faith that the camp has a great future.
excerpted from Long Valley Advocate., February 14, 1907, Page 1
Link: November 5, 1904
Link: November 12, 1904
Link: February 4, 1905
Link February 18, 1905
Link: March 18, 1905
Link: March 25, 1905
Link: April 1, 1905
Link: April 8, 1905
Link: April 15, 1905
Link: April 22, 1905
Link: April 29, 1905
Link: May 6, 1905
Link: May 13, 1905
Link: May 20, 1905
Link: June 3, 1905
Link: June 24, 1905
Link: July 1, 1905
Link: July 15, 1905
Link: August 19, 1905
Link: Public folder with images of the old newspapers
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page updated January 7, 2024
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Table of Contents:
Link to Thunder Mountain Rush (part 1) Mining
Link to Thunder Mountain Rush (part 2) Routes
Link to Thunder Mountain Rush (part 3) Travel, accommodations, recreation
Link to Thunder Mountain and Roosevelt (part 4) Its Ghosts Walk Under Water
Link to Thunder Mountain and Roosevelt (part 5) ISHS #20
Link to Thunder Mountain and Roosevelt (part 6) Salmon City Route
Link to Thunder Mountain and Roosevelt (part 7) Newspaper clippings
Link to Thunder Mountain Gold Mining Prospectus 1902 (part 8)
Link to Letter from Resort on Thunder Mountain Trail 1902
Link to A Tenderfoot on Thunder Mountain (part 1)
Link to A Tenderfoot on Thunder Mountain (part 2)
Link to A Tenderfoot on Thunder Mountain (part 3)
Link to A Tenderfoot on Thunder Mountain (part 4)
Link to Roosevelt History and photos
Link to Roosevelt Idaho’s Pompeii
Link to Women in Thunder Mountain
Link to Thunder Mountain “Tome Up”
Link to Thunder Mountain – Big Creek Mining Area
Link to Thunder Mountain City
Link to Colonel William H. Dewey (part 2)
Link to Back Country Post Offices
Link to Back County Mail Carriers
Link to Roosevelt School
Link to Roosevelt Post Office
Link to Roosevelt Cemetery
Link to Curley Brewer
Link to “Sheepherder” Bill Borden
Link to Packing In
Link to Jesus Urquides – Idaho’s Premier Muleteer
Link to Fern Creek Cinnabar District
Link to Knox, Idaho
Link to McRae Family
Link to On Thunder Mountain – Dan, Grace, and Gold
Link to Grace Carrie Turner McRae
Link to Story of Marge McRae and James Collord
Link to Simonds
Link to Valley County Murders – part 3 – The Murder Cabin
Link to Idaho Hunting Stories
Link to Central Idaho Volcanoes
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Roosevelt
Founded late in the fall before the big rush to Thunder Mountain in the beginning of 1902, Roosevelt soon became the leading camp in the new mining district. Thousands of men, having heard that Thunder Mountain was destined to be the biggest gold producer in the country, poured into Roosevelt and the Monumental Creek area.
link: Idaho State Historical Society Reference Series Number 21 February 1964
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How Roosevelt Got Its Name
… Named for Alice Roosevelt The name of the town Roosevelt was in honor of and on account of a natural monument on the west side of Monumental creek which was a perfect natural statue of a lady face with the bust, small waist and long skirts all showing clearly some 50 feet or more above its base. This statue was named after President Teddy Roosevelt’s daughter, Alice Roosevelt, by some of the early pioneers of this district. Later the town also was named Roosevelt.
by Paul Swayne from Idaho Statesman May 20, 1951
source: City of McCall (page 22)
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Great Thunder Mountain Gold Fields
Idaho Co. Idaho
Compiled by Wm M. Wantland, Salt Lake City, Utah
Date: 1905
Blueprint. Inset: Map showing routes to Thunder Mountain. Scale [1:1,647,360]. “Thunder Mountain gold fields are reached only via Boise, Ketchum, Mackay, Red Rock or Weiser, all good outfitting points on the Oregon Short Line R.R.”
(go to source link below and zoom way in to read claim names.)
source: Copyright Idaho State Historical Society
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William Allen White, the “Sage of Emporia,” chased a former governor of Kansas into Idaho, locating him in Roosevelt with a companion known as “Hot Foot.” The famous editor is said to have described the gold camp as “a log town with one street and no society.”
source: “The Ghosts Walk Under the Water” by Faith Turner courtesy AHGP – [h/t SMc]
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“Some women of Roosevelt who persist in wearing pants would look more symmetrical by first removing their petticoats. Don’t store excess raiment in the seat of your trousers.”
source: Montpelier Examiner, November 11, 1904, courtesy ID AHGP [h/t SMc]
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Frozen Dynamite
A Roosevelt miner’s misadventure late in 1906
While thawing six sticks of dynamite in his oven, he was startled by an explosion. Blown through his cabin roof, he lost his possessions but survived without serious injury.
link: Idaho State Historical Society Reference Series Number 20 January 1966 (pg 32)
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source: Earl Willson, The Thunder Mountain Story, “Tome Up”
[personal collection – h/t SMc]
photo credit “The Middle Fork and the Sheepeater War” by Johnny Carrey and Cort Conley – copyright 1977
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Outdoor Idaho – Roosevelt
video on Facebook
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The Yellow Pine Times 