100517 Burke, Idaho
Burke, Idaho was famous for being built in an impossibly narrow valley for a town site. Burke Canyon is just 300 feet wide, resulting in unprecedented and unusual building feats such as the Tiger Hotel that featured a railroad tunnel passing through the first floor.
A historical sign in the area summarizes Burke's history:
Lead - Silver discoveries in 1884 attracted a railroad to Burke by 1887. Hundreds of miners lived there in a canyon so narrow that they scarcely had room for streets. So in 1888, S.S. Glidden's Tiger Hotel had to be built over, rather than beside, Canyon Creek. Railroad tracks and Burke's only highway also had to run through his hotel. When a second railroad arrived in 1890, its tracks had to be laid in Burke's only street. No other hotel had two railroads, a street, and a stream running through its lobby.
This information, as well as old photographs of Burke while it was a thriving community and additional information can be found here:
https://westernmininghistory.com/towns/idaho/burke/
Read MoreA historical sign in the area summarizes Burke's history:
Lead - Silver discoveries in 1884 attracted a railroad to Burke by 1887. Hundreds of miners lived there in a canyon so narrow that they scarcely had room for streets. So in 1888, S.S. Glidden's Tiger Hotel had to be built over, rather than beside, Canyon Creek. Railroad tracks and Burke's only highway also had to run through his hotel. When a second railroad arrived in 1890, its tracks had to be laid in Burke's only street. No other hotel had two railroads, a street, and a stream running through its lobby.
This information, as well as old photographs of Burke while it was a thriving community and additional information can be found here:
https://westernmininghistory.com/towns/idaho/burke/
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