Manor News
Why We Named It Jackass Manor (and the Donkey Who Started Kellogg)
A stubborn donkey, an 1885 silver strike and a ski hill once called Jackass Ski Bowl. The true-ish story behind the name of Kellogg’s favorite vacation rental.
Every few weeks somebody pulls up to 106 S. Division, spots the three-donkey sign on the siding, and laughs out loud. Good. That’s the point. But the name isn’t just a joke. It’s a love letter to the town.
The donkey that found a fortune
The way Kellogg tells it, back in 1885 a prospector named Noah Kellogg had a donkey that wandered off. When he finally tracked the animal down on the hillside, it was standing on (or staring at, depending on who’s telling the story) an outcropping of galena, the silver-and-lead ore that would become the Bunker Hill mine.
Bunker Hill went on to run for nearly a century and turned this valley into one of the richest silver districts on earth. A town grew up around it and took the prospector’s name. The donkey, being a donkey, did not get a town. It got the legend, which is better.
Wait, the ski hill was called what?
When the ski area above town opened in 1968, the locals knew exactly who to thank. They named it Jackass Ski Bowl. It was later renamed Silverhorn, and in 1989 it became the Silver Mountain you know today, home of the 3.1-mile gondola that climbs right out of town.
Plenty of long-time Kellogg folks still call it “the Jackass.” So when we remodeled this classic uptown home and needed a name, there was really only one choice.
So what does that make our guests?
Honorary members of the herd. You’ll find the donkeys everywhere if you look: in the black-and-white portraits up the staircase, the very serious donkey in a bathtub above the very real clawfoot tub, and the trio out front who guard the carport.
What you won’t find is anything that feels like a joke once you’re inside. The house was remodeled top to bottom with brass fixtures, a navy chef’s kitchen, three full bathrooms, a private hot tub and a secret bedroom behind a bookcase. It’s stubbornly comfortable, which is the only kind of stubborn we tolerate.
Come meet the herd
If you’re heading to Silver Mountain, riding the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes or gathering the whole family in North Idaho, we’d love to have you. Grab your dates on Airbnb or VRBO, and don’t forget to say hi to the donkeys on your way in.
