Watch out for the Mormon crickets

America has a love affair with ghost towns.

I’ve visited several, but the most memorable is Silver City, Idaho.

Silver City is about 75 miles south of Boise and is probably the most significant thing in Owyhee County. This county is in the southwest corner of Idaho.  

We lived in Nampa at the time and used our weekends to explore the area.

We had read about the ghost town and headed out that way.

The county seat of Owyhee County is Murphy. Barely 100 people call it home. Not many buildings there. In front of its courthouse is a lone parking meter, which makes the place quite unique.

It’s the lone photo opportunity in Murphy.

It’s the kickoff place for Silver City.

There are about 150 residents of Silver City, not all there to greet you.

The rather steep road has a dirt base, more like clay. It’s okay for the drive except when it rains. Then it can be a mess.

Silver City lies at about 2,800 feet elevation with mountains around it at 8,000 feet. 

When we first went to Silver City there were only a couple of structures, mainly, the old church sitting on a hill. When the sun hit the church it had a silver look to it.

There to greet us was “two-gun” Willy, the unofficial sheriff of the ghost town. He was “two-gun” Willy but only carried a single pistol on his hip. The single question he received was where was the other gun.

He was about 80 years old and probably hired by landowners there to keep visitors from going through the buildings.

There were three attractions. Willy, the old church, and the cemetery.

Silver City was founded in the early 1880s after prospectors found gold and silver in the surrounding hills. During its heyday, Silver City housed 2,500 people. 

It was fun to walk around the old city.

Property, when it came available, was quickly snatched up by Boise people. Today, there are a number of old houses reconditioned as weekend places for the owners. 

There’s one alert: the Mormon crickets. If you go at the wrong time, the crickets will be all over your car, on the windshield and underneath the carriage of your vehicle.

A real mess to clean up.

On our second trip there, Willy was still there, but after that he disappeared, likely dead.

Silver City attracts a host of people, not welcomed by the people who live there. If they live up there to get away from it all, then it must be a rude awakening now.