AHGP-Idaho/Owyhee County/Langley Business Directory 1875

"Pacific Coast Business Directory for 1876-78," Compiled By Henry G. Langley, Editor of the California State Register, Pacific Coast Almanac, San Francisco, 1875. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Idaho Territory

Owyhee County.

Organized in 1864, forms the southwestern corner of Idaho Territory, and is bounded on the north by Ada and Alturas, east by Oneida, south by Utah and the State of Nevada, and west by the State of Oregon. Area, 13,600 square miles. Assessed valuation of property for 1871, $696,188. County seat, Silver City. Principal towns: Boonville, Flint District and Ruby City. Similar to the other counties in the Territory, the surface of Owyhee is very uneven and mountainous. It contains the principal range in the south of Idaho, the Owyhee Mountains. The mining belt contained within its limits was discovered in 1863, and is not as extensive as that of Boise Basin, from which it differs also in the nature of its ores, silver predominating. For the first two years after the discovery of gold, mining was limited entirely to the placers, during which time they paid well. These have now been entirely superseded by veinmining, several rich gold and silver bearing quartz ledges being profitably worked in the vicinity of Silver City. Some parts of the county are very heavily timbered, and water is everywhere abundant. It also contains some valuable farming land, capable of profitably producing various kinds of cereals and vegetables. As a grazing country, it is considered to be unsurpassed, the hill-sides being verdant with luxuriant and nutritious grasses. Bruneau Valley, which is well sheltered, contains an abundance of excellent pasturage, and is the common wintering place for the stock owned in various parts of the county. In the eastern part of the county are numerous valleys occupied by farmers and graziers, the principal being Raft River Valley, 30 miles long by 5 in width. Marsh Creek, Goose Creek, Dry Creek, Rock Creek, Salmon Creek, Duck Creek, and others; the hills between being generally covered with good bunch grass and affording pasturage for many thousand head of cattle, which graze throughout the year, although the loss during severe winters is great. The Snake River forms the northern boundary of the county and within its limits are the great Shoshone Falls, where the torrent plunges at a bound 200 feet and again a few miles further down takes another leap of 160 feet, and again at the Salmon Falls a plunge of 20 feet. A barren country and deep rocky canyons usually border the river, giving it a wild grandeur unsurpassed by any scenery in the world. The Owyhee River, from which the county takes its name, is a stream of 300 miles in length, taking its rise in the eastern part, and flowing southwesterly with a long curve through the northern part of Nevada, continuing in the arc of a circle reenters the county in the western border, and pours its waters into the Snake. Along it are important mining districts, many small valleys on contributory streams, and valuable agricultural and pasture lands.

Officers; John Hallenbeck, Probate Judge, and Public Administrator; James Lynam, Clerk, Recorder, and Auditor; F. E. Ensign, District Attor ney: C. M. Hays, Sheriff; T. D. Beckett. Treasurer; R. S. Milles, Assessor, and Tax Collector; George Boyd, Coroner; R. H. Leonard, Superintendent Public Schools.

page image from Langley's Directory at archive.org

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