Kellogg is in Shoshone County with approximately 2,081 residents and is at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in the Panhandle of beautiful Northern Idaho.
In 2005, City Hall was relocated to the old Bunker Hill Warehouse building. Kellogg City hall is fairly plain, painted blue and looks almost like an addition to the original warehouse. It is one level with three windows on the front, an American Flag is at the front of the building. What is noteworthy, is Kellogg is one of the largest Super Fund sites in the United States at the Old Bunker Hill Mine Site. They have an office next to City Hall.
With the discovery of rich lead ore in what would become the Bunker Hill Mine around 1886, Kellogg became the biggest mining area at its time. In the 1980 when the mine closed the city of Kellogg started developing the Silver Mountain area into a ski resort now with the longest gondola lift system in North America. It is now a year round recreational area with an indoor water park, restaurant, bike trails and world class skiing.
In nearby Kellogg there is a memorial for the Sunshine Mine disaster that claimed the lives of 91 miners in 1972. There are numerous historical markers along the highway to learn about the history of the area.
The government consists of a major and six council members that oversee the operations of the city.
There is a interesting legend about how the mining industry began:
"The Legend
In 1885, a gold prospector named Noah Kellogg borrowed a burro, named Bill, and started down the great north fork of the Coeur d’Alene River. After weeks of searching with no luck, he ended up about 1,000 yards above the present city of Wardner where he made camp one last time before heading back to Murray to report. In what turned out to be a fortunate stroke of luck, Bill broke free of his rope and wandered off in search of food.
When Noah caught up with the jackass the next morning, he found Bill standing on a large outcropping of galena (lead ore), leading to the formation of the Bunker Hill and Sullivan mines on September 4, 1885. The Bunker Hill lode turned out to be Idaho’s largest mining operation, and today it is home to some of the finest skiing and riding found in the Northwest. Bill lived to the rip old age of 21 and was forever known as “the $12,000,000 burro."Source:
Silver Mountain Resort