Triumph, Idaho
Encyclopedia
Triumph is an unincorporated village
in the East Fork of Big Wood River
, Blaine County
, Idaho
, United States
. Triumph was the location of the famous Triumph Mine, which closed in 1957 after a history of producing millions of dollars in silver
and lead
since its discovery in the late 19th century. It is located approximately 12 miles north of Hailey
. Population is less than 50 fulltime residents.
Triumph is the childhood home of U.S. Olympic skier Picabo Street
.
The Triumph mine was first discovered in 1883 with the recording of the North Star claim. Additional claims were grouped together over the next 20 years and operated as 14 separate mining companies. All the ore was processed by the Philadelphia Mining and Smelting Company in Ketchum. The North star mill was built in 1889 by the Freedman's of The Philadelphia Company. They were bought out by George Hurst around 1927 and his San Louise Mining Company. In 1933, fire destroyed the stamp mill works and ore was stockpiled. Around 1937 the Department of the interior, under the contro; of The War Department, expanded the Triumph Mine . Federal money built a modern sink float mill, new offices, warehouses and a Main Tunnel that went straight into the mountain for a mile and a half. The small companies were joined to form "The Triumph Mining Co" who, at its WW2 peak, employed 200 men, 24 hours a day, and held the world record for zinc. By 1959, lead, silver, and zinc prices had fallen to half of the WW2 price while union labour was demanding higher wages. The mine was shut down in 1959 and sold to the Forman. Rupert House formed the Triumph Mineral Company in 1964 and began mining again in 1970. In 1982 the mine was leased to The Getty Mining Company and they did an extensive drilling and exploration of both the Mine and the Tailings. Company records show about $45,000,000 in gold left in the Tailings but the gold was not a strategic metal and was not of interest to the War Department. In 1988 the EPA listed Triumph as a Potencial Hazard so in the next 10 years they spent millions on a bureaucratic boondoggle ( Clean up ). The EPA and State, instead of recovering the gold to pay for the cleanup, buried it. In 2007 the Triumph Mine was purchased by Carl Massaro. The goal was to build a small solar village on the mill site and a large solar collector as suggested by the new EPA's "Mine Scarred Program". ( See Triumph Village .net ) This solar project met with public critisem and ultimately failed. The mountain was sold to Denovo in 2008 but "The Triumph Mineral Co" holds the tailings with plans for a solar project in the works for that site. The Denovo Company has cleaned the site and plans additional land uses. Although the mine sill has resources, and agreement was reached by State and Local authorities, to never mine again.
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 the East Fork of Big Wood River
Big Wood River
The Big Wood River is a river in central Idaho. It is a tributary of the Malad River, which in turn is tributary to the Snake River and Columbia River.-Course:...
, Blaine County
Blaine County, Idaho
Blaine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 Census the county had a population of 21,376. The county seat and largest city is Hailey. The county is home to the Sun Valley ski resort....
, 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...
. Triumph was the location of the famous Triumph Mine, which closed in 1957 after a history of producing millions of dollars in silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
and lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
since its discovery in the late 19th century. It is located approximately 12 miles north of Hailey
Hailey, Idaho
Hailey is a city in and the county seat of Blaine County, in the Wood River Valley of the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho. The population was 6,200 at the 2000 census. Hailey is the site of Friedman Memorial Airport , the airport for the resort area of Sun Valley/Ketchum, north. The town...
. Population is less than 50 fulltime residents.
Triumph is the childhood home of U.S. Olympic skier Picabo Street
Picabo Street
Picabo Street is a retired American alpine ski racer. She won gold medals in super G at the 1998 Winter Olympics and in downhill at 1996 World Championships, along with three other Olympic and World Championship medals. She also won World Cup downhill season titles in 1995 and 1996, the first...
.
The Triumph mine was first discovered in 1883 with the recording of the North Star claim. Additional claims were grouped together over the next 20 years and operated as 14 separate mining companies. All the ore was processed by the Philadelphia Mining and Smelting Company in Ketchum. The North star mill was built in 1889 by the Freedman's of The Philadelphia Company. They were bought out by George Hurst around 1927 and his San Louise Mining Company. In 1933, fire destroyed the stamp mill works and ore was stockpiled. Around 1937 the Department of the interior, under the contro; of The War Department, expanded the Triumph Mine . Federal money built a modern sink float mill, new offices, warehouses and a Main Tunnel that went straight into the mountain for a mile and a half. The small companies were joined to form "The Triumph Mining Co" who, at its WW2 peak, employed 200 men, 24 hours a day, and held the world record for zinc. By 1959, lead, silver, and zinc prices had fallen to half of the WW2 price while union labour was demanding higher wages. The mine was shut down in 1959 and sold to the Forman. Rupert House formed the Triumph Mineral Company in 1964 and began mining again in 1970. In 1982 the mine was leased to The Getty Mining Company and they did an extensive drilling and exploration of both the Mine and the Tailings. Company records show about $45,000,000 in gold left in the Tailings but the gold was not a strategic metal and was not of interest to the War Department. In 1988 the EPA listed Triumph as a Potencial Hazard so in the next 10 years they spent millions on a bureaucratic boondoggle ( Clean up ). The EPA and State, instead of recovering the gold to pay for the cleanup, buried it. In 2007 the Triumph Mine was purchased by Carl Massaro. The goal was to build a small solar village on the mill site and a large solar collector as suggested by the new EPA's "Mine Scarred Program". ( See Triumph Village .net ) This solar project met with public critisem and ultimately failed. The mountain was sold to Denovo in 2008 but "The Triumph Mineral Co" holds the tailings with plans for a solar project in the works for that site. The Denovo Company has cleaned the site and plans additional land uses. Although the mine sill has resources, and agreement was reached by State and Local authorities, to never mine again.