9/1/2014

Yankee Fork Dredge, Idaho

Yankee Fork Dredge, Idaho

This massive piece of mining equipment traveled up and down the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River from 1940 to 1952. The dredge dug its way along the river bed, separating gold from gravel and silt as it moved. Its tailings have disfigured about 5 miles of the Yankee Fork valley. It is similar in some respects to the Quincy Dredge on the Keweenaw Peninsula. Unlike the Quincy Dredge, the Yankee Fork Dredge is being actively preserved and maintained. Volunteer led tours are available for $5 from 10:30 to 4 in the summer. The dredge was abandoned in the 1950s and then donated to the National Forest Service. For many years it deteriorated until preservation efforts began in the 1980s. It is now part of Idaho's Land of the Yankee Fork State Park. Bonanza ghost town is a few hundred yards from the Yankee Fork Dredge. Custer ghost town is about 2 miles north of the dredge on Yankee Fork Road.

The Yankee Fork Dredge website.

 

Dredge Tailings on the Yankee Fork

Yankee Fork Dredge, Idaho

Yankee Fork Dredge, Idaho

Yankee Fork Dredge, Idaho

Yankee Fork Dredge, Idaho

Yankee Fork Dredge, Idaho

Yankee Fork Dredge, Idaho

 

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