Shoshone: Cold Beer on the Lava Plain

Shoshone rose out of the lava plain in eighteen eighty-two when the Oregon Short Line pushed through here, and the surrounding landscape explains everything about the town. Lava tubes formed twelve thousand years ago honeycomb the basalt north of town, and before refrigeration, those caves stayed cold enough to keep ice frozen through summer. Coupled with the railroad, they made Shoshone a popular stop where travelers could find ice and a cold drink.

Lincoln County was organized in eighteen ninety-five with Shoshone as its seat, and the county courthouse was built from the same black lava rock that covers the plain. The Shoshone Ice Caves are still open to visitors, a relic of the volcanic eruptions that shaped this entire stretch of southern Idaho.