Custer City in Custer County, Idaho — The American West (Mountains)
Family Tragedy
Avalanche!
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, June 25, 2017
1. Family Tragedy Marker
Photo captions: (top, left to right) Annie, Olga and Josephine Johnson; Child's porcelain doll; Nels and Mary Johnson; (bottom) Town of Custer with the location circled in red.
Snow slides were common during the winter months but none so tragic as on February 2, 1890. At 8pm the steam whistle on the Custer Mill shrieked the alarm, alerting the town of treacherous slides. One slide crashed down Bald Mountain and flooded the Nels Johnson home with snow, plucked it from the foundation, spun it around and sent it sailing across the Yankee Fork River.
Townspeople frantically searched for the ... Mary Johnson and their three young daughters ... pulled to safety, but Olga (age 10), Annie (age 6) and Josephine (age 4) were killed. Other snow slides ...Bonanza Cemetery so the girls were laid
Erected by Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Disasters • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical date for this entry is February 2, 1890.
Location. 44° 23.28′ N, 114° 41.797′ W. Marker is in Custer City, Idaho, in Custer County. It is on Custer Motorway Adventure Road - Yankee Fork Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 28523 Custer
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Regionally, this marker is in Central Idaho Sawtooth Range. It is also in the American Mountain West. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Custer School (within shouting distance of this marker); Mining Tools and Implements (within shouting distance of this marker); Cross Store & Post Office (site) (within shouting distance of this marker); Chilean Mill and Jig (within shouting distance of this marker); Empire Saloon (within shouting distance of this marker); Custer Jail (site) (within shouting distance of this marker); Transportation (within shouting distance of this marker); McKenzie Residence (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Custer City.
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, June 25, 2017
2. Family Tragedy Marker
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, June 25, 2017
3. Graves of the Johnson Children
Credits. This page was last revised on December 28, 2024. It was originally submitted on November 9, 2017, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 1,147 times since then and 44 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 9, 2017, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
