IdahoGoldGettR
Full Member
If you were to ask some people from Idaho if they know about the history of Florence or its whereabouts, 9 out of 10 Idahoans would simply say nope, never heard of the town. However if you were a miner working the gold fields back in the mid 1800's, you may have heard the discovery of gold in Florence as it was a big deal. Though there is only one California "gold rush," the likes of Florence had all the makings of a similar one but on a smaller scale. Though this mini gold rush didn't last long, those miners that did participate, found more riches than the equivalent to any ventured elsewhere. Discovered in 1861, the draw to this little area began with a small party of 50 men and grew to 9,000 by the following year. Like any typical gold bearing township, it had its gambling saloons, a saw mill, and a "dance hall" that sported otherwise. All the makings of a lawless town. It was the wild west.
A transcript to this event written by P.W. Gillette on June 15, 1962 are as follows:
"The town is alive with people today (Sunday).... The saloons are full of people. Many are gambling, hundreds drinking, while some are simply idling away the time and listening the alluring chink of coin on the gaming tables... There is no law here, or none that sees, abates, ******s or punishes crime. Scarcely a day passes that someone is not killed or wounded."
Alonzo F. Brown also wrote:
"Men have a habit of getting drunk at the saloons shooting into stores and tents as they went by. I slept in the store on the floor, and to protect myself from the stray bullets fired by drunken men I piled up a stack of flour as wide as my bed and about four feet high and made down my bed behind the flour. The town was filled with the worst element of the Pacific Coast, and thieves, and gamblers from the East."
I give you the following that backs up such a statement.
A transcript to this event written by P.W. Gillette on June 15, 1962 are as follows:
"The town is alive with people today (Sunday).... The saloons are full of people. Many are gambling, hundreds drinking, while some are simply idling away the time and listening the alluring chink of coin on the gaming tables... There is no law here, or none that sees, abates, ******s or punishes crime. Scarcely a day passes that someone is not killed or wounded."
Alonzo F. Brown also wrote:
"Men have a habit of getting drunk at the saloons shooting into stores and tents as they went by. I slept in the store on the floor, and to protect myself from the stray bullets fired by drunken men I piled up a stack of flour as wide as my bed and about four feet high and made down my bed behind the flour. The town was filled with the worst element of the Pacific Coast, and thieves, and gamblers from the East."
I give you the following that backs up such a statement.
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