Leesburg, Idaho
Encyclopedia
Leesburg is an unincorporated community
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Lemhi County
Lemhi County, Idaho
Lemhi County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. The county was established in 1869, named after Fort Lemhi , a remote Mormon missionary settlement from 1855-58 in Bannock and Shoshone territory. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 7,806...

, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It lies at 45°13′26"N 114°6′50"W (45.2238080, -114.1139647), along Napias Creek in the Salmon National Forest, west of Salmon
Salmon, Idaho
Salmon is a city in Lemhi County, Idaho, United States. The population was 3,122 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Lemhi County...

. Its altitude is 6,653 feet (2,028 m). The community possessed a post office as late as 1942, but it has since closed. The entire community has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 since 1975.

History

Leesburg was established after gold was discovered at the Leesburg Mine on July 16, 1866. The mining town was named for General Robert E. Lee because most of the settlers were Southerners
Southerners
Southerners may refer to:* Southerners Sports Club , an informal, non-commercial Bangkok-based club of expats and Thais.* Southerners, are a group of Mexican American street gangs with origins in the oldest barrios of Southern California....

. It once had a population of 7,000, including Chinese; 100 business firms; and a main street a mile long. Miners dug over 400 miles of ditches to carry water to sluice out gold. By 1930 placer mining was carried on nearly entirely by hydraulic methods. The mine produced nearly $16,000,000 in gold prior to 1938.

Further reading

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