Idaho's Bunker Hill: The Rise and Fall of a Great Mining Company, 1885-1991 [Hardcover]

Katherine G. Aiken (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0806136820 | ISBN-13: 978-0806136820 | Publication Date: October 2005

For nearly a century, the Bunker Hill Company was one of the premier mining and smelting corporations in the United States. Located in Kellogg, Idaho, in the remote Coeur d'Alene region, Bunker Hill played a key role in the nation's industrial development. But at the same time it was the catalyst for unprecedented labor strife and environmental desecration. And today it is of one of the EPA's largest Superfund sites. In this richly detailed history, Katherine G. Aiken traces Bunker Hill's evolution from the discovery of the mine in 1885 to the company's closure in 1981.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A solid contribution to the industrial history of the American West." -- Journal of the West --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

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.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 296 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (October 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806136820
• ISBN-13: 978-0806136820
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,171,655 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A narrative of Labor/Management/Environmental relations, March 13, 2009

By 

R. E. Lomas Nd "mancorn" (Long Valley, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Idaho's Bunker Hill: The Rise and Fall of a Great Mining Company, 1885-1981 (Paperback)

Katherine Aiken's history of the Bunker Hill Mining Company covers a lot of ground in 210 pages. The mine operated for 94 years before being closed in 1981 due to a combination of inept management, an obstinate union, and an inflexible EPA. Most of the book is a straightforward account of the company's establishment and growth, along with the financial and labor relations challenges through the depression. The latter years are focused on union/management relations until the late 60s', when environmentalism becomes an additional factor.
Aiken writes well, and though this is more scholarly than a typical popular history book, the narration holds a reader's interest, even though the author doesn't delve into personalities very much after two early key management figures depart.
There are a few issues that should have been covered in more depth. I have always wondered how the Steelworkers, after losing an election at the Bunker Hill, managed to wrest representation from the Metals Workers Union. Aiken only mentions that the Steelworkers found a "loophole." Shortly before the operation closed, the Steelworkers headquarters refused the local's request to cut the sort of deal that the Steelworkers have been cutting ever since; to take a pay cut in hopes of keeping the operation going. Aiken barely mentions this.
This book would otherwise be improved if Aiken had interviewed more former employees, and had spent more time learning the details of the underground operations. She may have better understood that the union support was not at the same level in the mine as it was in the various other plants, and that union members working on incentive played a more significant role in productivity than the allusions that management simply tried to get people to work harder. Other than that, and a few stock references to "workers fighting valiantly and continuously to control their lives" while management tries to make a profit, Aiken's book is a pretty good read, and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in a concise story of the Bunker Hill.
Those who want something more like a potboiler can consider The Deep Dark, by Gregg Olesen, which covers the 1972 fire at the nearby Sunshine Mine, but Oleson spends more time on impressions and individuals, and less on facts and research.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Miner child, January 26, 2007

By 

R. T. Hewitt ""GRUMPY"" (Bucksport, Me USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Idaho's Bunker Hill: The Rise and Fall of a Great Mining Company, 1885-1991 (Hardcover)

I was from that area and remember the bunker hill mine very well. I use to go by it on the why to school all through Jr high. It shut down just before I entered high school. I had two brothers that worked there for a while and they did not like it at all. My dad worked in the Sunshine Mine just down the road the uncle bunker. I bought the book because I did not know the history of how it was founded(besides the jackass story) I wanted to know more. This book shows want happen and how greed bought down one of the greatest mines in the world. Good read. Recommand it to any one who enjoy's mining and the history of it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent historical narrative, November 15, 2010

By 

Scott R. Baillie "Author" (Seattle) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Idaho's Bunker Hill: The Rise and Fall of a Great Mining Company, 1885-1981 (Paperback)

My family had been associated with the Bunker Hill mine for a few generations. I am intimately familiar with the business-side details of the last fifty years of the company's life and well aware of the rich history of this mining property. The author not only amplified and clarified, she also educates us about the business and history of this fascinating company. I enjoy her style of writing and her research is excellent. I highly recommend this book.