Now showing
Boom and Bust - The Mining Towns (1981-07-16)
About this film
[Description from the original press release] The mountain valleys of the Northern Rockies set the stage for host Phil Abbott’s trek to South Pass City, Wyoming; Silver City, Idaho; and Bannack, Montana. These towns, which were bustling centers of activity in the last part of the 19th century, have quietly survived in their original conditions—largely because people valued them just as they were. South Pass City, Wyoming, was the home of an early advocate of women's rights, Esther Morris. In her honor, the late Edness Kimball Wilkins worked very hard to save and restore the town. In this Hidden Places program, she tells Phil Abbott the story of South Pass City, which is being restored by the Wyoming Recreation Commission. Due to a lack of historic zoning laws, however, commercial development continues along its borders. Farther west, Abbott visits Silver City, Idaho, a town whose historic integrity remains intact because descendants of mining families have kept its buildings as summer homes. A few years ago, their homes were found to be trespassing on federal property... and a conflict is yet to be resolved. Folklorist Louie Attebery comments on why an old town like Silver City oug…
Directors & creators
Nebraska Public Media
Subjects
public broadcasting, AAPB, Philip Abbott, Esther Morris, Edness Kimball Wilkins, Louie Attebery, Jim Sherlock, Harry Parman, Colonel William Bright, Wyoming Recreation Commission, Bureau of Land Management, South Pass City, Wyoming, Silver City, Idaho, Bannack, Montana, Oregon Trail, Gold rush, Historic preservation, Women's suffrage, Mining towns
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