Custer County County
Established January 8, 1881 with its county seat at Challis. Named for the General Custer Mine, which was named in honor of General George Custer who died at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Its history begins with fur traders and pathfinders as early as 1824; later in the 1860s and 1870s prospectors and miners came. It contains portions of the Sawtooth, Salmon River, White Cloud, Pioneer, Lost River, and White Knob mountains and contains the highest peaks in the state.
Mapped Location
Custer County: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.
Information
General information on Custer County
- Feature Type: County
- County Seat: City of Challis
- Established: Saturday, January 8, 1881
Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Custer County
A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Custer County | Official |
Origin Notes and History of Custer County
References to Custer County that document the origin of its place name
CUSTER.—Named for Gen. George A. Custer, who was killed at the battle of Little Bighorn on June 25, 1870. The county seat is Challis, named for A. P. Challis, who, in 1878, founded the town.
Related Catalog Titles
A Bibliography for Custer County, County
History of Custer County, Idaho .. by Jesse R. Black
Published in 1900, Jesse R. Black's History of Custer County, Idaho provides a concise chronicle of the region's establishment in 1880 and its rapid transition from untamed wilderness to a bustling frontier hub. The narrative details the volatile boom-and-bust cycles of the gold and silver rushes that birthed high-altitude mining towns like Bonanza and Custer, while also documenting the severe challenges faced by early settlers. A keen insight drawn from the text is how the area's violent early history—marked by profound geographic isolation, harsh mountain elements, and bloody conflicts with Native American tribes—forged a fiercely resilient pioneer culture built entirely around rapid resource extraction. Ultimately, this brief volume serves as a vital historical snapshot of the fleeting but transformative mining boom that defined central Idaho's rugged pioneer era.
1 preliminary leaf, 21 pages, 1 leaf 20 cm
ONLINE CIRC [ 1 ]
Custer County
- Alder City (historical)
- Bayhorse
- Bonanza
- Cape Horn (historical)
- Casto
- City of Challis
- Chilly
- City of Clayton
- Cliff (historical)
- Crystal (historical)
- Custer
- Dickey
- Ellis
- Garden City (historical)
- Goldburg
- Grandjean
- Grouse
- Houston
- Leslie
- City of Lost River
- Lower Stanley
- City of Mackay
- Obsidian
- Robinson Bar
- Rothas
- City of Stanley
- Sunbeam
- Torreys
- White Knob (historical)
Political Boundaries
Last updated: 2016-11-27