The Birch Creek Charcoal Kilns: A Historic Restoration Project to Preserve This Site for Another Generation

By Steve Armstrong, Forest Archaeologist U. S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service Caribou-Targhee National Forest Dubois Ranger District - January 2026

History

The Birch Creek Charcoal Kilns, located on the east slope of the Lemhi Mountain Range in Lemhi County on the west side of Birch Creek Valley, were built ca. 1885 and provided charcoal for the smelting process for the lead-and silver-producing Viola Mine (ca. 1886-1889) on the west slope of the Beaverhead Mountains on the east side of the Birch Creek Valley (Figs. 1 and 5).

Figure 1: Location map of the charcoal kilns, Nicholia townsite, Smelter Gulch and the Viola Mine. Taken from the 2010 Caribou-Targhee National Forest Dubois Ranger District map.

The kilns site lies about 5 miles west of Idaho State Highway 28, about midway between Idaho Falls and Salmon, ID. Existing Idaho Transportation Department signs along Highway 28 identify the location of the kilns site as well as provide other historical information about the Birch Creek Valley. The kilns are available for public viewing year-round. However, access is dependent on the weather during the winter months due to drifting snow which limits vehicle access.

The Birch Creek Charcoal Kilns (10LH43) were first formally documented and recommended as National Register of Historic Places eligible in September 1971. A NRHP nomination form was submitted, and the site was formally accepted and listed on the NRHP on Feb. 23, 1972.

The kilns were originally constructed in 1885, with sixteen parabolic domed brick kilns being built by Warren King of Butte, Montana (Fig. 2). Clay material for the bricks is said to have originated from Jump Creek a short distance west and northwest of Smelter Gulch on the east side of the Birch Creek Valley. The color of the bricks varied from a light buff to a deep reddish-brown (ISHS 1984). Figure 10 shows Kilns 2-4 prior to restoration work taking place. Figure 11 shows Kilns 3 and 4 after completion of the 2025 project.

Figure 2: Ca. 1898 image of the Birch Creek Kilns and the remains of the town of Woodland. Cordwood is visible on the bench above the kilns while a band of sheep use the area for grazing. Red dots mark the locations of the four remaining kilns. Photo from Oberg, 1970.

Only four (red dots on photo) of the original 16 kilns remain today. Of these four, only the two far eastern structures (right edge of photo) retain their domes. The leveled bench and circular depressions are the only remaining evidence of the 12 kilns that were removed through time. It is rumored that local Birch Creek Valley residents tore down and reused these bricks in other locations for their own personal needs.

The Birch Creek Kilns were constructed from the development of the Viola Mine, ca. 13 miles across the valley to the east on the western slope of the Beaverhead Mountains. The Viola Mine, ca. 8600’ elevation, was accidentally discovered by a horse wrangler in 1881. The mine had been sold two times and by 1883 it had been purchased for $117,000 by the British Corporation known as the Viola Mining Company. In 1885, two lead stacks (for smelting) were blown in at “Nycholia” and were operated until 1889 when the ore body was depleted (Anonymous, n.d.). The Viola Mine produced large amounts of lead and silver as well as lesser quantities of gold, copper, and zinc. Ore from this mine was transported via an aerial tramway down the mountain to the smelter location in Smelter Gulch just north of the Nicholia town site. This smelter consumed 50,000-60,000 bushels of charcoal per month to process 130 tons of ore per day and turn out 700-730 bars of lead bullion. The bulk of the charcoal used in the smelter came from the Birch Creek Charcoal Kilns, which produced 44,000-50,000 bushels per month (USDA 1985). The Viola Mining Company suspended operation in 1889 and little else was done until about 1905 when the old workings were reopened. An unsuccessful search was made for the continuation of the ore bodies. However, several high-grade zinc ore bodies were found at the mine, and several carload shipments were made.

Production estimates for the Viola Mine prior to 1885 were about $500,000 with a total production of about $2,500,000. It was also estimated that 60,000 tons of crude ore were shipped via railroad to Kansas City and Omaha (ISHS 1984) to the east before the smelter was completed; all the while lead was less than 3 cents/pound with an estimate of $5,000,000 of total production (Anonymous, n.d.).

The Nicholia townsite (Fig. 3, ca. 6800’ elevation) developed because of the Viola Mine. It was named after Ralph Nichols, the manager of the local mine. He was appointed the postmaster in 1886 (Boone 1988). Nicholia offered a boarding house and community organizations, as well as lead poisoning from the smelter. It also was the place that many of the men working the smelter, mine, and other business ventures called home. The 16 charcoal kilns were all the same size (21’ diameter x 23’ tall), shape, and design (Fig. 4).

Figure 3. The Nicholia townsite, ca. mid-1880s. Photo from Oberg, 1970.

Figure 4: ca. 1986 drawings of Kilns 3 & 4. Taken from the site form 10LH43/TG-55.

To make the charcoal, timber was harvested on the nearby mountain slopes west of the kiln site. This harvested area is still visible today. Each kiln held about 30 cords of wood that had been cut into 4’ lengths. The wood was loaded through the ground level door. When it was no longer practical to load through the ground door, an upper-level door on the opposite side of the kiln was used. It was accessed by a ramp from the bank at the rear of the kiln, and when the kilns were full, the doors and most of the vents were sealed and the wood was set afire. After the fire burned for a while, the rest of the vents were closed, and the fire was allowed to char the wood. The entire process required 7-8 days and produced about 2000 bushels of charcoal per day (USDA 1985). The charcoal from each kiln was then loaded into wagons with 4’ tall side racks and transported about 13 miles across the valley to the smelter. Each wagon load contained approximately 400 bushels of charcoal. Each bushel of charcoal that was delivered to the smelter cost 13 cents ($52 per wagon load).

The kilns provided employment for about 150 people, and the town of Woodland was developed in the vicinity of the kiln site. Many of these people were of Chinese, Irish, and Italian descent. The men were engaged in the “coal” business, some in hauling wood to the kilns, others burning the “coal,” and still others loading and hauling the same to the smelter at Nicholia (ISHS 1984). The town was large enough to support a school as noted in the Idaho Recorder (Salmon City) newspaper of November 8, 1888 (USDA 1985). With the exhaustion of the Viola ore body coupled with the demise of the smelter at Nicolia in 1889, the Birch Creek kilns ceased operation (ISHS 1984).

Historic Restoration

There have been several small-scale restoration efforts in the past that applied non-historically appropriate materials to the kilns. During the 2024 and 2025 projects, we focused on Kilns 3 and 4, the two remaining domed structures. Inappropriate material (Portland cement) was removed where possible, and historically accurate lime mortar was reapplied. Highly deteriorated or missing bricks were repaired or replaced with original bricks that were salvaged from Kilns 1 and 2 (from their collapsed domes). Cracks were repaired and a mortar cap was applied to both kilns. The final treatment was to apply limewash to both kilns (Figs. 9 and 11). These two remaining kilns are now mostly stabilized for another generation. However, the lower arched doorways on all four kilns need some additional restoration work. Bricks are missing from these doorways/arches that will eventually lead to structural wall failure (Kilns 1 and 2) and catastrophic dome failure on Kilns 3 and 4. The project moving forward in 2026 will repair each arched doorway to help prevent structural failure on all four remaining kilns. New bricks (salvaged from kilns 1 & 2) will be used to replace missing bricks. Limewash will be applied to the Kiln doorways to match with charcoal being rubbed on the interior surface to blend the repair and restoration work into the historic blackened brick interior of each kiln (Kilns 3 and 4). The 2026 project is partially funded through a grant from the Idaho Heritage Trust (IHT). IHT’s mission is to “serve all Idahoans to preserve and maintain our collective culture and history.”

The Caribou-Targhee National Forest entered a partnership with HistoriCorps to perform the stabilization and restoration work at this site (Figs. 6-8). HistoriCorps solicited for volunteers as well as a historic mason to oversee the project. Stabilization and restoration projects were completed in 2024 (two weeks) and 2025 (three weeks) using HistoriCorps volunteers as well as Caribou-Targhee National Forest staff. To date, 17 volunteers and multiple HistoriCorps staff have contributed over 1300 hours onsite toward the preservation of this NRHP listed property. Forest Service personnel contributed several hundred hours of planning, organizing, and on-site work at the Kilns over the 2024 and 2025 seasons. To date, approximately $125,000 has been invested in preserving the kilns and producing ten new interpretive signs that will be installed in 2026. The new interpretive signs for the site discuss topics such as site history, the kilns themselves, how charcoal is made, the Viola Mine, smelting, the Nicholia townsite, how bricks are made, along with a preservation and protection message.

Figure 5: Aerial imagery looking east, Kiln 1 in foreground with leveled bench where 12 kilns previously stood. Kilns 2-4 in the background. The Nicholia town site, Smelter Gulch and the Viola Mine area are indicated as shown. May 7, 2025, USFS image.

Numerous visitors came to the kilns site during our restoration projects. These included local residents who were both happily surprised and amazed that the Forest Service/Caribou-Targhee National Forest would invest in the preservation of their local history. Other non-local and out-of-state visitors were exposed to and learned about Birch Creek Valley history. All site visitors felt strongly about historic preservation endeavors and were glad to hear that the Forest Service was engaged in these activities.

Figure 6: Aerial imagery of Kilns 2-4. Work at Kiln 3 has been completed with work continuing on Kiln 4. July 23, 2025, USFS image

Figure 7: Scaffolding set up at Kiln 4. July 21, 2025, Steve Armstrong, USFS image.

Figure 8: Scaffolding set up at Kiln 3, mortar cap in place. July 15, 2025, Steve Armstrong, USFS image.

Figure 9. Six different limewash test strips were applied in 2024. July 3, 2025, Steve Armstrong, USFS image.

Figure 10. Kilns 2-4 prior to restoration work taking place. July 11, 2024, Steve Armstrong, USFS image.

Figure 11. Restoration work completed on Kilns 3 and 4. July 25, 2025, Steve Armstrong, USFS image.

References Cited

Anonymous

n.d. Correspondence and untitled/undated/unnamed-author's report on Viola-Nicholia. Includes United States Bureau of Mines index map dated 1944.

Boone, Lalia

1988 Idaho Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary. University of Idaho Press. Moscow, Idaho.

ISHS (Idaho State Historical Society), CSW Architects (Boise) and Preservation Services

1984 A Conservation Study: Birch Creek Charcoal Kilns, Targhee National Forest. Pocatello, Idaho.

Oberg, Pearl M.

1970 Between These Mountains: History of Birch Creek Valley, Idaho. Exposition Press. Jericho, New York.

USDA United States Department of Agriculture

1985 Stabilization Plan, Birch Creek Charcoal Kilns, TG-55/10-LH-43. Targhee National Forest, St. Anthony, Idaho. Report on file at the Caribou-Targhee National Forest Supervisor’s Office, Heritage Resources Program, Idaho Falls, Idaho.