There was a time when the Philadelphia Smelter dominated the mouth of Warm Springs Creek, which now serves as the entrance to Ketchum’s Warm Springs neighborhood.

The smelter, built in 1881, was the largest mill in the Idaho Territory by the spring of 1883. Powered by water from the Big Wood River, ore was heated there by charcoal that had been created in 20 charcoal kilns. The heat decomposed the ore, leaving desired metals, such as silver, iron and copper.

Learn more in today’s video with Eye on Sun Valley’s Karen Bossick and Ketchum historian John Lundin.