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Empire City

Ghost town · Owyhee County, Idaho

Triangle quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1965, 1:62,500)
Triangle quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1965, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Empire City is a ghost town in Owyhee County, Idaho. It is one of 11 former communities in Owyhee County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 2nd among the 36 Idaho counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Empire City as a historical populated place on the Cinnabar Mountain topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 42.9782° N, 116.7112° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleCinnabar Mountain
Elevation7,871 ft
Nearest living townJordan Valley, OR
Distance to it17.5 miles
GNIS feature ID399033
Coordinates42.97822, -116.71123

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Empire City is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Jordan Valley, OR (population 163), about 17.5 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 7,871 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Empire City?

Empire City is in Owyhee County, Idaho, at 42.9782, -116.7112.

How many ghost towns are in Owyhee County?

Owyhee County, Idaho has 11 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.