Nevada Town Was The Prohibition Whiskey Gateway To Gem State

Bootlegging is the term given to the illegal manufacturing and distribution of alcohol, and it's been going on for centuries in one way, shape, or form. The practice is most associated with a time period that spanned 13 years, beginning in 1920 when American laws made the trade illegal.

Anyone who's taken junior high school history knows about Prohibition. In the late 1800s, government leaders in America were trying to determine if alcohol consumption should be completely illegal or just partially controlled. The short version of this debate became Prohibition, which lasted for nearly 14 years beginning in 1920, and the term bootlegging caught on.

It's well known that spots like the Shoshone Ice Caves were used to store illegally transported alcohol for travelers during this time period due to year-round cool temperatures.

Located roughly 120 miles southeast of the caves is the small community of Contact, Nevada, which was the whiskey bootlegging gateway to the Gem State for many years, according to the Nevada Appeal.

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Alcohol runners needed to travel just 17 miles from Contact to enter the southern Idaho stateline during the Prohibition period. Idaho was founded 30 years before Prohibition, while Nevada was founded in 1864. Present-day stops along the bootlegging route in southern Idaho from Contact include Rogerson, Burley, and Twin Falls.

Whiskey brands such as American Medicinal Spirits Company (AMS) were commonly transported throughout the Western United States and crossed Idaho's boundaries through this northern Nevada route, according to Whiskey Auctioneer.