Idaho's Bunker Hill: The Rise And Fall Of A Great Mining Company, 1885-1981

by Katherine G. Aiken

A richly detailed history traces the evolution of one of the premier mining and smelting corporations in the United States, from the discovery of the mine in 1885 to the company's closure in 1981, where it is now one of the EPA's largest Superfund sites.

284 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 2005

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having relatives who have both worked and retired from Bunker Hill, I was very interested in reading something about their daily working lives. It didn't really get into the day to day grind but it did explain a lot about the unionization, politics and the hold the company had over the town of Kellogg and the employees who work there.

[Randy White · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that was written by a History professor I know, who taught in the department where I received my BA in history. While it focuses on a local story, huge mining complex and how it dominated the local area, it is a common story about how mining companies operated in the American West and how they impacted the people and places where they existed. If someone wants to gain a better understanding of western mining history, how the American West was turned into a place to be dominated and its wealth extracted at whatever the cost, how people can be twisted to support the very thing that will likely kill them, you should read this book. I grew up in the town dominated by this company...and I agree completely with Dr. Aiken's analysis.