Pottsville plans progress

WALLACE — Plans for Pottsville continue to make progress, as the Shoshone Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) and four members of the “Pottsville Seven” met on Tuesday to further discuss the topic.

The Seven are a group of men from the Silver Valley who first developed the proposal to restore Pottsville to its original beauty.

“The basic idea is to get things usable as soon as possible to be able to use the park. Replacing and repairing fire rings and grills, as well as repairing and installing horseshoe pits,” Pottsville Seven member Jim See explained.

Most recently, the Seven are looking into restoring the area by using old photographs that show what the area initially looked like, with information showing pavilions, fountains and cabins.

“The hard part is there are no photographs when they are working on the pavilions and no surrounding landmarks like fountains and cabins. This makes it difficult to locate some of the original buildings,” See stated.

The group is looking to get aerial views of the area, as well to assist in creating a site plan. Unfortunately though, these photos have been challenging to obtain with the current level of foliage blocking some areas.

The area is currently referred to as “Shoshone Park,” but the BOCC, Seven, and the USFS are looking into officially changing the name to Pottsville, Pottsville Park or Pottsville Picnic Area — as the area has historically been named in the past.

More information on the historical evidence of Pottsville and about the area will be detailed in a three-part series of articles written by Jim See. The first article is featured in today's edition of the News-Press and on www.shoshonenewspress.com with other pieces to follow.

BOCC, Pottsville Seven and the USFS will meet again in April to discuss progress and come up with a plan to physically visit the area in May.