Frisco
Frisco
The town of Mining Affairs
Frisco was in all reality the upper end of Gem, where the more wealthy lived, but there were still inhabitants that were involved in the common grunt.
Frisco had a large population of miners, who were overworked and payed low wages for their hard work. Eventually the miners got tired of the conditions they were living in, and decided to stage a strike, The Coeur d’Alene Mining Wars.
The settlement of Frisco is an extension of the town of Gem. With the railroads taking up the middle of the canyon and the mine on the entire south side the only area left for home was on the north side of the canyon. The mine did have a board house located on the north side but there were no businesses located in Frisco. Less than a1/2 mile below Frisco was the business committee of Gem.
Frisco Mill
Frisco Mill 1899
The San Francisco Mine was located in Frisco in March of 1884 and by 1889 the Gem and Frisco townsite boosted a post office, telephone office, general store, two saloons, and a train station. In 1890 the San Francisco Mine was sold to a group of investors from Helena, Montana, and the name of the mine was changed to the Helena and Frisco Mining Company. At the time the Frisco mine had the largest mill in the Coeur d’Alene Mining District. The manager of the mine, Aulbach Esler is said to be directly responsible for the Union uprising in 1892.