Shoshone County, Idaho

Shoshone County is a county in Idaho, United States, in the mountainous Panhandle region known as the Silver Valley. It had a population of 13,169 at the 2020 census and covers 2,635 square miles (6,820 km2), of which 2,630 square miles (6,800 km2) is land, centred near 47°23′N 115°54′W.

Wallace is the county seat, and its postal code is 83873. The county has seven incorporated cities — Wallace, Kellogg, Mullan, Osburn, Pinehurst, Smelterville and Wardner — plus dozens of unincorporated mining camps and rail sidings dating to the county’s silver-lead-zinc boom. Shoshone County sits in the Pacific time zone.

Towns & Villages in Shoshone County

The county has 66 named places on record, split between seven incorporated cities strung along the Coeur d’Alene River and Interstate 90, and a long tail of unincorporated mining camps, rail sidings and mill sites from the district’s silver-lead-zinc era. Most of the unincorporated names below no longer function as settled communities; they persist as mine-portal or siding names on maps and in local usage. CDP = census-designated place; Unincorp. = unincorporated community or historic site.

Two sets of names are worth telling apart: Kellogg and Wardner sit side by side and share the 83837 ZIP, though Wardner remains its own incorporated city; and the duplicate “Silverton” entry from older records refers to one site near Mullan, not to Silverton, Colorado.

ZIP Codes

• 83873 — Wallace (also serves Burke, Mace and the upper Ninemile mining camps)
• 83837 — Kellogg (also serves Wardner)
• 83850 — Pinehurst
• 83849 — Osburn
• 83846 — Mullan
• 83868 — Smelterville
• 83839 — Kingston
• 83810 — Cataldo
• 83848 — Prichard
• 83874 — Murray
• 83802 — Avery
• 83808 — Calder
• 83812 — Clarkia

Most of the smaller mining camps and rail sidings east of Wallace have no ZIP code of their own and are served by the Wallace post office.

Geography

Shoshone County occupies the Bitterroot Range of the Idaho Panhandle, split by the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River and its tributary canyons. The Silver Valley — the developed corridor along Interstate 90 from Kingston through Wallace to Mullan — holds most of the county’s population; the rest of the county is steep, forested and sparsely settled, rising to over 6,000 feet along the Montana state line at Lookout Pass. The St. Joe River drains the county’s southern half toward Clarkia and Avery.

Shoshone County borders Bonner County to the north, Sanders County, Montana, and Mineral County, Montana, to the east, Clearwater County to the south, Latah County to the southwest, Benewah County to the west, and Kootenai County to the northwest.

Demographics

Shoshone County’s population was 13,169 at the 2020 census. Kellogg (2,105) and Pinehurst (1,690) are its two largest communities, together holding roughly a third of the county’s population. Median household income runs well below the Idaho median of $74,942, reflecting the county’s shift from a high-wage mining economy to a more mixed service and tourism base. Population density is about five people per square mile, concentrated almost entirely in the Silver Valley corridor.

Economy & Local Life

Mining still anchors the local economy: the Lucky Friday Mine near Mullan and the Galena Complex remain active silver-lead producers, run by Hecla Mining Company, which has operated in the district since 1891. Kellogg has diversified around tourism, anchored by Silver Mountain Resort’s gondola — the longest single-stage gondola in the world — and its ski and mountain-bike operations. Shoshone Medical Center in Kellogg is the county’s main hospital. North Idaho College and Lewis-Clark State College run satellite programs locally, and the annual Fourth of July celebrations in Wallace and the Coeur d’Alene River Days in Kingston are among the valley’s larger community events.

History

Shoshone County was organized on February 4, 1864, one of Idaho Territory’s original counties, and takes its name from the Shoshone people. Silver, lead and zinc discoveries in the 1880s drew a rush of prospectors and built the towns of the Silver Valley almost overnight. The county was the site of major labor conflicts in 1892 and 1899, when striking miners clashed with mine owners and the National Guard occupied the district. The Great Fire of 1910 burned through Wallace and the surrounding forests, killing dozens and reshaping the region’s approach to wildfire management for decades afterward. The Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex, once one of the country’s largest lead-zinc smelting operations, closed in 1981 and its site became a Superfund cleanup that continues today.

Getting There

Interstate 90 runs the length of the Silver Valley, connecting every incorporated city in the county; U.S. Route 95 and State Highways 3 and 4 serve the county’s western and southern reaches.

• Coeur d’Alene — 43 miles west
• Spokane, Washington — 75 miles west
• Missoula, Montana — 120 miles east
• Moscow — 70 miles southwest

The nearest commercial airport is Spokane International Airport, about 75 miles west via I-90.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Shoshone County?
It is in the Idaho Panhandle, along Interstate 90 between Coeur d’Alene and the Montana state line.

What is the population of Shoshone County?
13,169 at the 2020 census.

How big is Shoshone County?
2,635 square miles (6,820 km2), most of it forested mountains.

What is the county seat of Shoshone County?
Wallace is the county seat.

How many towns are in Shoshone County?
Seven incorporated cities — Wallace, Kellogg, Mullan, Osburn, Pinehurst, Smelterville and Wardner — plus dozens of unincorporated mining camps.

What ZIP codes are in Shoshone County?
Main codes include 83873 (Wallace), 83837 (Kellogg), 83850 (Pinehurst), 83849 (Osburn), 83846 (Mullan) and 83868 (Smelterville).

Why is Shoshone County called the Silver Valley?
Because of more than a century of continuous silver, lead and zinc mining along the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River, still active at mines like Lucky Friday near Mullan.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Idaho.