From 1940 until it closed in August of 1952, the dredge dug out rock and recovered gold by washing and separating the rock, dirt and gold. The Snake River Mining Company operated the dredge for several years until it reached a rock dike below Bonanza in 1949. At that time, they sold it to J.R. Simplot the potato magnate form Boise who operated the dredge from 1951 The dredge was then operated until 1952 when it ran out of mining claims on which to work. The dredge has not been operated since 1952.

The dredge is 112 feet long, 54 feet wide, 64 feet high and weighs 988 tons. The fine material was dispersed into 32 sluice boxes where the gold was collected by the mercury process. This was reportedly a very efficient dredge, taking out about 80% of the gold available.

The destruction of the Yankee Fork stream is hard to imagine until one sees the miles of boulders and pools formed by this giant dredge as it ate its way up the stream. Huge losses of trout, steelhead and salmon were lost in the devistation of the stream. In those days people thought more of jobs and money ( even today that mentallity still excists in soem areas) rather than the environment, and today we pay the cost. Fish have returned to the Yankee Fork but not in the numbers before the days of the dredge.

Mr. J.R. Simplot, the last owner, donated the dredge to the U.S. Forest Service. In 1979, The Forest service had no funds to maintain nor keep the dredge open as a visitor attraction. Former employees and their families formed an association to restore and keep the dredge open to the public. This group of volunteers has restored the dredge and it is open for guided tours.
The Yankee Fork Gold Dredge is open from Memorial Day 10:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M through Labor Day weekend.

DIRECTIONS:

Follow state Highway 75 for 13 miles east of Stanley, then turn north at the Sunbeam Dam onto the Yankee Fork Road and follow the dirt road for nine miles. The $3 fee for a guided tour is used for the preservation of the dredge and the heritage of the Yankee Fork.