Boise Basin Mercantile 1867, 1868, 1869

Miners need supplies and groceries like anyone else, and they could find almost anything they needed at the "Universal Store," or the local mercantile.

The building is really three separate buildings, constructed in a three-year sequence after the fire of 1867 substantially damaged the original structure. Every effort was employed to guard against fire damage: brick façade, iron doors and windows, and dirt packed into the attic. Fire has never invaded this building leaving Idaho City with the oldest mercantile in Idaho.