The Name "Bogus Basin"
How Bogus Basin actually earned its name is a matter of debate. One version dates to the 1880s, when two prospectors loaded a shotgun with a few dollars' worth of gold dust and blasted it into the walls of a worthless cave near Shafer Butte. They galloped down to Boise where they slammed their "find" on a local bar and sold shares in the "mine" to gullible patrons. By the time the new owners realized that they had been fleeced, the swindlers had disappeared.
Another version is a two-paged story of a hard-to-find drainage and an 1863 mining claim. Captain Tom Morgan and a group of no-accounts, filed a claim in the area of the current base facilities, near Shafer Butte. Later they returned to Boise with the fruits of their labor, reportedly as much as $50,000 worth of gold. After a legendary spending spree, it was discovered to be Fool's Gold (iron pyrite) that had been chemically tuned up. The group was neither caught nor ever seen again.
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