Noah S. Kellogg (1831 - 1903)

Prospector and Discover of Bunker Hill Mine

2020 Inductee from Mining's Past

Noah S. Kellogg was a carpenter and prospector. He joined the rush to the Coeur d’Alene mining district in Idaho when he heard news of the discovery of gold, arriving with thousands of others in 1884, too late to locate a promising claim. In 1885, after working on a flume to carry water from a creek to potential placer gravels, he found himself suddenly unemployed when the project abruptly closed due to lack of funds.

He sought a grubstake to go prospecting. A merchant, John Cooper and a small contractor, Origin Peck, reluctantly supplied Kellogg with supplies and a burro. The burro became the matter of much folklore.  The grubstake was conditional on Kellogg taking the burro, which was a braying and annoying critter disturbing the people in Murray.

Kellogg prospected along Milo Creek, a tributary of the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River. There are many versions as to the actual discovery of the Bunker Hill orebody, most involving the burro which apparently wandered off and was found near an outcrop bearing galena.

Kellogg staked the ground. It soon became apparent that the discovery was a valuable one, and lawsuits over ownership followed. After the matter was settled in court, Kellogg retained a significant share in the mine and found himself wealthy, however, he squandered his earnings. He died in 1903, and is remembered for the discovery of the Bunker Hill mine and has the City of Kellogg named after him.