Statistics &
Facts
The population of Osburn is approximately
1579.
The approximate number of families is 744.
The amount of land area in Osburn is
3.468 sq. kilometers.
The amount of surface water is 0 sq kilometers.
The distance from Osburn to Washington DC is 2144 miles. The distance to the
Idaho state capital is 269 miles. (as the crow flies)
Osburn is positioned 47.50 degrees north of the equator and 115.99 degrees west
of the prime meridian.
The Founder
The town
of Osburn was named after Stephen Osburn. Osburn was one of the colorful
early day pioneers of the Coeur d' Alene Mining district
When gold was discovered in the Prichard Creek Osburn
was in Butte, Montana. Osburn had moved from the Black Hills of South
Dakota to Butte seeking riches. When news reached Osburn about the
Prichard Creeks discovery he wasted no time in loading his pack horse and
heading toward the new gold strike in North Idaho.
Osburn traveled to Frenchtown , Montana on the Mullan
Road where he and John Lafevre met up and continued together. They arrived
at the spot where the city of Wallace now stands on May 8, 1883. Osburn
crossed the swamp for that is the way Wallace was then described, on the
long corduroy bridge that in places was floating on water and that started
about where the White & Bender Building now stands and ended by the
present Wallace High School. He and Lafevre camped that night at historic
"Swingdoor Cabin," about a mile and a half below town.
When Osburn recalls the
early days he talks of coming over the summit from Thompson Falls, Montana
where the snow was 32 feet deep. He said he put snowshoes on his pack
horse and got along all right until he began climbing the mountain. When
it became clear the horse could not go any farther he sent it back with
about 50 or 60 other gold seekers from Frenchtown who had accompanied him
and some of them wanted to give up and return. From there Osburn continued
on with about 75 pounds on his back.
When Osburn arrived in Evolution (
west of present day Osburn) founded by Andy Prichard he took the Evolution
Trail. At the time Osburn traveled the Evolution Trail there was no trail.
He crossed the divide to Delta, followed Beaver Creek down to the North
Fork of the Coeur d' Alene River and then went of the hills to Eagle City
because the river was to high to ford.
Osburn reported that the gold hunters
came to Prichard and tried to get him to show them the place where he had
discovered gold. He told the miners that to his discovery was use less at
that season of the year because the snow hadn't melted yet. The miners
still insisted he show them for they said this could be no worse than the
one they had taken to reach Eagle City and so he took them. When they
reached the spot it was covered with snow so deep that no prospecting
could be done.
The gold-hunters became
angry and reportedly threatened to lynch Prichard, but Osburn later
claimed that he told the miners they had come to the country against Prichard's
wishes. that they had been accommodated by him, and that they
were utterly without excuse for a display of anger or violence. They were
thus persuaded against any further threats on Prichard's life, Osburn
said.
After the discovery of lead-silver
ore on the south side in 1886, he secured the beautiful tract of land
where the town of Osburn now stands. He built a hotel that became a
stopping place between Wardner and Murray. Murray was the county seat at
that time.
From that date the fame of Bill
Osburn grew and his circle of friends included people from all parts of
the district. his ambition was to make Osburn the county seat of Shoshone
county and he made a fight all the way to the end. The county seat
remained at Murray but a few years later the fight to bring the county
seat to the south side was taken up again. The people of Wallace
compromised with Bill Osburn which resulted in that ambitious town
remaining out of the race and the county seat was brought to Wallace in
1898.
In 1914 Osburn sold his Osburn
estate, reserving a small tract for his home where he lived until
his death in 1919 at the ripe old age of 87. His funeral was at the
Wallace Elks Lodge, which was filled to capacity.
Osburn Economy
Osburn like the rest of the Silver Valley is mostly
supported by mining. That is what much of its history is based on.
The mines of the Silver Valley have a rich history that sadly does not
exist anymore. Although there are still a few mines running they are only
a small portion of what used to be. Osburn is also home to many
small businesses. loggers, doctors, teachers and many others in numerous
professions call Osburn their home.