All that remains of Dewey is this large cement powerplant building and the mine debris behind it. Originally Dewey was called Booneville, but after Colonel Dewey bought the mine in 1896 and rebuilt the town, including a magnificent three story hotel, it was renamed in his honor. With a new post office, a twenty stamp mill operating, and the prospects of being the terminus for Boise, Nampa and Owyhee Railroad, it was a promising town. But within a few years the hotel burned down, and the decline in mining spelled the finish of Dewey.