Wallace District Mining Museum

Useful Information

Location:	Located in the center of Wallace, Idaho.
Open:	All year Fri-Mon 9-15. [2020]
Fee:	Adults USD 3, Children USD 2, Family USD 7. [2020]
Classification:	Museum
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Wallace District Mining Museum, 509 Banks St., Wallace, ID, 83873, Tel: +1-208-556-1592. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1956	museum opened.

Description

The Wallace District Mining Museum is named after the town Wallace in Idaho where it is located, but it is dedicated to the Coeur d'Alene Mining District. It is a repository of the local mining efforts through documents, photographs, and numerous mining relics which are on display. It is also a sort of Visitor Center for the local mining related tourist sites.

The Jack Waite Mine was operated from 1909 to 1969. Located at the border to Montana, one of the mined veins was located in Idaho while the second was located in Montana. The town Duthie, named after J. F. Duthie who owned the mine from 1930, was the home of the mine personnel and vanished after the mine was closed. In 1978 the remediation of the mine was started. Other important mines in the mining district are Standard Mammoth Mine and Snowstorm Mine. An interesting building is the Tiger Hotel in Burke. The train into the mine actually crossed through the building.

Other interesting topics explained in the museum are the Mining Wars, the Great Fires of 1910, the sex trade, and Dante’s Peak movie. And there is the large three dimensional model of the Sunshine Mine, the largest silver producing mine in the world. A part of the exhibition is equipped with timber sets, so it resembles a real mine. With all the original mining tools and equipment it is hard to remember that you are actually not underground.