Idaho's Bunker Hill: The Rise and Fall of a Great Mining Company, 1885-1981

A comprehensive history of a major American mining company

For nearly a century, the Bunker Hill Company of Idaho was a leading U.S. mining and smelting corporation that played a key role in the nation’s industrial development. At the same time, it was the catalyst for unprecedented labor strife and environmental desecration. In this richly detailed history, Katherine G. Aiken traces Bunker Hill’s evolution from the mine’s discovery in 1885 to the company’s closure in 1981.

Throughout the company’s long history, management’s relentless pursuit of profit and the labor-management conflicts that often resulted were nothing short of legendary. Often a tale of strife, Bunker Hill’s history is at the same time a story of cooperation, dedication, and ingenuity. People literally gave their lives for the production of lead, zinc, and silver. In the end, however, environmental destruction, aging facilities, and mineral shortages, as well as foreign competition, crippled the company’s economic viability. Aiken offers an in-depth profile that illustrates major trends in American corporate culture.

Katherine G. Aiken is Professor and Chair in the Department of History, University of Idaho, Moscow. She is the author of Harnessing the Power of Motherhood: The National Florence Crittenton Mission, 1883–1925.