GOLD WITH ALL ITS GLITTER.

SILVER WITH ALL ITS SHINE.

GEMS WITH THEIR SPARKLES.

MINING HAS BROUGHT IDAHO MONEY AND HEARTACHE.

JOIN US AS WE EXPLORE IDAHO'S HISTORY OF MINING.

MORE THAN 10,000 PEOPLE ONCE LIVED HERE IN SILVER CITY.

IT WAS A MINING TOWN.

MUCH OF IDAHO'S HISTORY IS TIED TO AGRICULTURE, MINING AND TIMBER.

BUT MINING CAME FIRST.

GOLD WAS DISCOVERED IN CALIFORNIA IN 1848.

THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE CAME WEST LOOKING TO GET RICH.

BUT NATIVE AMERICANS KEPT MOST MINERS OUT OF IDAHO UNTIL 1860.

THAT SPRING, ELIAS PIERCE FOUND GOLD IN CLEARWATER COUNTY.

WITHIN A YEAR, BOOM TOWNS HAD SPRUNG UP.

IN A BOOM TOWN, PEOPLE BUILT HOUSES QUICKLY.

BOOM TOWNS LASTED AS LONG AS THE GOLD DID.

WHAT HAPPENED TO A BOOM TOWN WHEN THE GOLD RAN OUT?

IT TURNED INTO A GHOST TOWN.

IS THERE A GHOST TOWN NEAR WHERE YOU LIVE?

THERE ARE SEVERAL KINDS OF MINING.

THIS FIRST IS CALLED PLACER MINING.

PLACER MINING GOT ITS NAME FROM WHERE NATURE PLACED THE GOLD.

MEL REXROAT IS A MODERN-DAY PLACER MINER.

Mel Rexroat: "WATER FLOWING IN A STREAM WILL SOMETIMES LEAVE GOLD AND OTHER HEAVY ROCKS AND GRAVEL AT CERTAIN POINTS IN THE STREAM BED.

AS YOU SHAKE THE PAN FILLED WITH MATERIAL THE GOLD AND BLACK SANDS ARE GOING TO GO TO THE BOTTOM.

I'LL TAKE OUT ANY ROCKS.

THEN YOU GO TO STEP TWO.

KEEP WASHING OFF THE LIGHTER MATERIAL UNTIL YOU'RE DOWN TO BLACK SAND.

THEN PUT A LITTLE WATER IN IT.

TIP IT BACK AND SWIRL.

WE KEEP DOING THIS VERY SLOWLY.

BECAUSE IT'S HEAVIER, THE GOLD IS GOING TO STAY UP.

NOW WE CAN BEGIN TO SEE SOME OF IT.

THEN YOU PUT YOUR DRY FINGER ON A PIECE OF GOLD.

PUT IT AGAINST A VIAL.

THE GOLD WILL DROP OFF INTO THE WATER."

Phyllis: TO FIND GOLD, SOME MINERS USED DREDGES.

OR THEY USED WATER HOSES TO WASH DOWN THE SIDE OF A HILL AND SEARCH FOR GOLD.

THAT WAS CALLED HYDRAULIC MINING.

BOTH WERE PRETTY HARD ON THE LANDSCAPE.

THERE WERE LOTS OF MINING TOWNS IN IDAHO.

IS THERE ONE NEAR WHERE YOU LIVE?

LOTS OF PEOPLE CAME TO IDAHO TO MINE.

CHINESE MINERS WERE ONE GROUP.

A MINER'S LIFE WAS DANGEROUS.

VERY FEW STRUCK IT RICH.

SINGLE MEN USUALLY LIVED IN MINING TOWNS.

BUT THERE WERE A FEW WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

LIFE IN A MINING CAMP DEPENDED ON HOW MUCH GOLD WAS AVAILABLE.

WHEN THERE WAS LOTS OF GOLD, SILVER CITY WAS A VERY BUSY PLACE.

THIS IS THE OLD ONE ROOM SCHOOLHOUSE.

WHEN THE GOLD RAN OUT, PEOPLE LEFT AND TOWNS LIKE SILVER CITY STARTED TO DIE.

THEN SOME IDAHOANS TURNED TO HARD ROCK MINING.

IT TAKES FOUR THINGS TO MAKE A HARD ROCK MINE.

CAN YOU GUESS WHAT THOSE MIGHT BE?

WELL, IT TAKES THE RIGHT KIND OF ROCK, MACHINES TO DIG, MINERS, AND SOMEONE TO PAY FOR IT ALL.

WORKERS GO UNDERGROUND AND HAUL THE MINERALS UP.

WHAT ELSE BESIDES GOLD DO THEY LOOK FOR?

HOW ABOUT SILVER?

THE RICHEST SILVER MINES IN IDAHO ARE THE COEUR D'ALENE MINES IN NORTHERN IDAHO.

THE AREA IS CALLED THE SILVER VALLEY.

NEAR SODA SPRINGS, WORKERS DIG OUT PHOSPHATE.

IT'S A MINERAL USED IN FERTILIZER.

AT FIRST, PEOPLE FROM OUTSIDE IDAHO OWNED IDAHO'S MINES.

RAILROADS HAULED EQUIPMENT TO THE MINES AND HAULED AWAY THE VALUABLE ORE.

LIFE FOR THE MEN IN THE MINES WASN'T EASY.

MINERS WOULD MAKE THREE OR FOUR DOLLARS A DAY.

THEY WORKED 10 HOUR DAYS AND THE WORK WAS DANGEROUS.

AT FIRST EVERYTHING WAS DONE BY CANDLE LIGHT.

IF A MAN MISSED WHILE HAMMERING A STAKE, HIS PARTNER MIGHT LOSE A HAND.

NEW EQUIPMENT WAS INVENTED.

DUST FROM THE NEW DRILLS GOT INTO THE MINER'S LUNGS AND MADE THEM SICK.

THERE WERE FEW DOCTORS AROUND.

UNIONS FORMED TO HELP THE MINERS.

UNIONS DID A LOT TO MAKE LIFE BETTER FOR MINERS.

BUT UNIONS COULDN'T KEEP THE PRICE FOR GOLD FROM DROPPING.

AND IF THE PRICE DROPPED TOO MUCH, EVERYONE WOULD BE OUT OF WORK.

IN THE 1890'S, MINE OWNERS AND WORKERS FOUGHT OVER HOW MUCH WORKERS SHOULD BE PAID.

OWNERS THOUGHT THEY HAD TO PAY TOO MUCH.

AND WORKERS THOUGHT THE OWNERS JUST WANTED TO STOP THE UNIONS.

IN 1891, THE FIGHTING GOT SO BAD THAT A FEW MINERS BLEW UP THE FRISCO MILL.

GOVERNOR FRANK STEUNENBERG CALLED IN FEDERAL TROOPS.

THE TROOPS ARRESTED 600 MINERS.

IN 1905, HARRY ORCHARD KILLED GOVERNOR STEUNENBERG.

ORCHARD SAID HE WAS WORKING FOR THE UNIONS.

BUT AFTER A TRIAL, THE UNION LEADERS WERE FOUND NOT GUILTY.

EVEN SO, FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS, THE UNIONS DIDN'T HAVE MUCH POWER.

THEN IN THE 1920'S MORE PEOPLE STARTED JOINING UNIONS.

ART NORLEN REMEMBERS HIS FIRST ACTION AS PART OF THE UNION.

Art Norlen: "I WAS WORKING IN THE CEDAR CAMP AND THERE WAS NO RUNNING WATER.

WE DECIDED WE WOULDN'T WORK UNLESS WE GOT A BATHHOUSE.

I TOLD THE BOSS WHAT WE HAD DECIDED.

AND HE WAS FIGHTING FOR THAT HIMSELF."

Phyllis: MINING HAD AN IMPACT ON THE STATE'S ENVIRONMENT.

EARLY MINERS DIDN'T TAKE CARE OF THE EARTH.

JERRY COBB WORKS FOR THE GOVERNMENT.

HE HELPS CLEAN UP THE PROBLEMS LEFT BEHIND BY THE OLD MINERS.

COBB THINKS SOME CHILDREN IN THE SILVER VALLEY HAVE HIGH LEVELS OF LEAD IN THEIR BLOOD.

THEY THINK THE LEAD CAME FROM DIRT FOUND AROUND TOWN.

Jerry Cobb: "A CHILD PLAYS IN THE DIRT AND GETS SOME IN HIS MOUTH.

KIDS EAT DIRT.

AND LEAD IS FOUND IN THE DIRT.

SO WE NEED TO REMOVE THE DIRT SO THE KIDS DON'T GET SICK."

Phyllis: WORKERS ARE LEARNING NEW WAYS TO MINE AND STILL PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT.

MINING IN IDAHO.

IT STARTED WITH THE PLACER MINERS LOOKING FOR GOLD.

HARD ROCK MINING BROUGHT JOBS.

UNIONS FORMED TO HELP WORKERS.

AND MINERS ARE TRYING TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT.

THE STATE'S NICKNAMED AFTER MINING.

IT'S CALLED THE GEM STATE.

IDAHO HAS MORE MINERALS THAN ALMOST ANY OTHER STATE.

SILVER CITY SHOWS US THE IMPORTANCE OF MINING TO OUR STATE'S PAST AND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO OUR FUTURE.

I'LL SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT TIME.

CLOSED CAPTION TRANSCRIPTION BY SARA J. HANSEN