On June 13, 1885, 30 Canyon Creek miners met and voted to name the new town that they ivied in “Burke” By 1888 there were more than 300 buildings. Mines that were very large, powerful, and productive dotted the town’s hills. Among those mines were the Hecla, The Tiger-Poorman, and the Hercules. Other smaller claims and mines included the Sonora, Hummingbird, Burke, Anchor, Ajax, Oom, Paul, Anchor, Trade Dollar, and the Orleans. Things were booming the city up the canyon.
In 1888, Burke added a fire department, and amazingly, had 17 saloons, four general stores, one beer hall, two boarding houses, two hardware stores, one fruit store, one butcher shop, one livery stable, one lawyer, on doctor, one furniture store, and one bakery.
When my wife and I make an occasional trip to Wallace and up to Burke, I always get out and walk down the street. I can hear the voices, feel the hopes and fears of the people, hear the laughter of the children, and then see the and feel the hopeless despair as I see what remains of a few tattered buildings and the shell of the great Hecla-Star–Morning mines.
I never get tired of seeing it.
3 comments:
Don't forget the baseball field in the forest. From photographs that I have seen from John Bardelli, it was a beautiful field nestled in the trees. It drew great players and overflow crowds.
I did a post on the park a few years ago. My dad saw many games there,including the great Satchel Paige. I would love to see John's pics. When I was little, the old bleachers were still there.
Is it now a forgotton ghost town? with tumbleweed rolling down the road...... or have I been watching to many old telly programmes of the wild west :) x
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