Jarbidge is a name derived from the Shoshone language meaning "devil". Natives believed the nearby hills were haunted.
Gold was discovered near Jarbidge in 1909, making it the site of one of the last gold rushes of the American frontier, and incidentally was the site of the last stagecoach robbery in 1916.
Its population swelled to near 2,000 in 1911; however, it began a slow decline thereafter, when the mining facilities were largely cannibalized for the war effort during World War I. Mining operations ceased completely in 1932. However, in 2013 permits for the removal of the gold were re-issued and the mine is reopening.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.