An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 105

Author:
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: [S.l.] : Western Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1524

USA > Idaho > Kootenai County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 105
USA > Idaho > Nez Perce County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 105
USA > Idaho > Shoshone County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 105
USA > Idaho > Latah County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 105

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

But for years after that fatal engagement there was no town of White Bird, though ownership of the town- ship had been asserted even prior to the struggle of 1877. The man who exercised "squatter sovereignty" over it at the time of the outbreak, James Baker, was killed by the Indians. It later passed to L. P. Brown, who sold it to S. S. Fenn in 1891. The first uncertain prophecy of a town had appeared several years earlier when H. C. Brown opened a store. This, about the vear 1889. had become the property of Frank and George Fenn.

When S. S. Fenn came in April, 1891, he estab- lished a stage station and hotel. There was no school in the place, at this time, but one had been built on the hill two miles from the present town. The postoffice was established when the Fenn Brothers took charge of the pioneer store, F. A. Fenn being the first postmaster.

The town consisted of the business houses here- tofore mentioned until about 1894, when Charles Cham- berlain opened a saloon. Another saloon was started about a year later by A. Cooper, and to him Mr. Cham- berlain sold his stock and fixtures, purposing to embark in the general merchandise business. The pioneer store had passed, during the fall of 1891, into the hands of A. J. McQuade, and he and Chamberlain were the merchants of the town until the death of the former. Leopold Freidenrich succeeded Mr. McQuade in 1897. During. it is thought. the fall of that year, G. W. Cur- tis bought an interest in Chamberlain's store. In time he became owner of the entire property, and after run- ning the business for eight or nine months he moved his stock to Lucile. The building has changed hands two or three times since. The Star hotel was put up

by Mrs. Dalmage in 1897. and sold the same year to F. Z. Taylor, who transferred it during the current year to Mrs. Hadorn. In 1897, also, William Whit- ney's blacksmith shop was opened. Next year it passed to Ben Davis. who later sold it to John Nevins, from whom it passed to its present owner, James Jones.

Gordon's livery stable, across the street from the Model hotel, was built in the summer of 1899, and sold recently to Mrs. Hadorn, who also has the stage office. Contemporaneous with the building of the stable was the opening, by S. Dalmage, of a meat market. After maintaining this business about a year, he sold to Wilson & Gregory, who occupy the building as a sa- loon. The next important business building of the town was the Bargain Store, erected in December, 1890. by Gordon & Fenn, and occupied first by A. M. Baker. Last fall it became the property of Brockman Brothers. The Model hotel, erected during the fall of 1901, was occupied by different renters until the spring of 1903. when it was purchased by Mrs. Hadorn. Odd Fellows hall was built in 1902. Its lower floor is at

present occupied by Brockman Brothers. Last year, Cooper's feed yard was erected, also a warehouse, in which Mr. Cooper handles hay and grain.

Recapitulating, we have the present business estab- lishments of the town as follows: General merchan- dise, Leopold Freidenrich, Brockman Brothers; sa- loons. A. Cooper, Wilson & Gregory; hotels, the Model, Mrs. Virginia Hadorn; two other hotels in connection; livery stable, owned by Mrs. Virginia Hadorn, who also owns the Grangeville-White Bird stage line ; feed stable, Frank E. Pierce; blacksmiths, Jones & Hill; barbers, Edward Russ and William Thompson ; meat market, Michael Murray. Dr. W. A. Foskott practices medicine in the town ; F. Z. Taylor is United States land commissioner and Miss Effie Taylor is postmistress.

The town has a two-room school house in use dur- ing nine months of the year. The teachers are E. A. Carpenter and Flora Kittrell. The I. O. O. F. is the only fraternity in White Bird. There is no church, but a Sunday-school convenes regularly, Mrs. W. A. Foskott, superintendent.

SLATE CREEK.

This is a small postoffice station established in 1870. The postmistress at present is Mrs. Josie Irwin, and the store in which the office is located is con- ducted by John Irwin. The people in the neighbor- hood are stock raisers, and three ranches corner at the town, owned by Joshua Fackler, John Rice and Walter Rhett. The town is located on the Salmon, and the public school is about one mile distant, down the Salmon river.

WESTLAKE.

The townsite of Westlake was located in 1887 by J. B. Rice as a preemption. There was a general store at this point in 1889, and the postoffice was established about ten years ago. At an early period the state road ran through the townsite, quite a number of people coming to the place in 1887. Previous to this date the stock and sheep men controlled Craig's mountain. The town was named in honor of Mrs. Sarah Rice, nee Westlake. It was platted in 1896 and a hotel erected by Charles R. Babcock. In 1896 Adam Kam- mers started a blacksmith shop, Smith & Horton a livery barn, and in 1901, (February), Crom & Stewart erected a store building. They came from Milton, Oregon. Previous to the transfer of the townsite Emmet Putnam had started a store across from the present Westlake drug store, afterward selling out to Crom & Stewart. About this period a flour mill of twenty barrels capacity was erected, Emmet Putnam opened a furniture store and J. B. Rice a drug store. William Clausen established a general store in 1896 just outside the town limits, on his own land. The present business houses comprise the Westlake drug store ; two general stores, Clausen's and F. B. Pen- nock & Co., the company including Crom & Stewart; furniture store of Emmet Putnam; blacksmith shop

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of Orin Eastman; hotel and saloon, conducted by Shaw & Neighbor, who have, also, a feed barn in connection.

The church of Westlake is represented by the Seventh Day Adventists. A public school with an attendance of thirty pupils is open six months in the year. The postmaster is James A. Crom, the mail coming via the Lewiston-Cottonwood route every day except Sunday. Westlake is situated five miles from the Salmon river, from which vicinity it receives con- siderable trade.

FOREST.

A postoffice was established at Forest about 1892, in charge of a man named Richardson. Later he sold out his business to H. J. Vincent, who added a small store in connection, (about 1892), and there was no advance in general business until 1896. Dur- ing that year the I. O. O. F. ran up a two-story build- ing. The present business houses are represented by the Idaho Store Company, Coffin Brothers ; one black- smith shop, H. T. Hostley ; feed stable, sawmill, hotel and bar and a barber shop by Robert Hostley. The fraternities are represented by the I. O. O. F. and the M. W. A. J. F. Harris is the present postmaster. The Christian denomination holds services in the town every alternate Sunday. Mason prairie and the Sal- mon river country are contributary to the trade of the town, around which there is quite a flourishing settle- ment, provided with an excellent public school.

KEUTERVILLE.

July, 1884, the townsite of Keuterville was pre- empted by Anton Hendricks, and the patent secured in 1889. The first store was erected by Mr. Kuether in 1888, and this was followed by a blacksmith shop by John Maugg, in 1889, and in the early 'gos came Henry Greving with a general store. The postoffice was established in 1888. A Catholic church was erected in 1885 or 1886, under direction of Father Diomete, S. J., and the same summer a considerable immigration of German farmers flowed in. Mr Mangg built a hotel in 1898, although boarding houses had been conducted by Mr. Hendricks and others prior to that year. The present business enterprises are Dree's general store, postoffice, Anton Hendricks, postmaster, John Maugg's hotel, livery barn by Paul Burgund, who purposes to open a general store, black- smith shop by Mr. Mangg and a milinery store by Mrs. E. W. Drees. There are four sawmills in the neighborhood of Keuterville, from which the town draws its trade. It also has a share of the patronage of tlie Salmon river country. An ungraded public school is conducted six months of the year, B. L. Hussmann, teacher. The attendance is about fifty.

DENVER.

The townsite of Denver originally belonged to B. F. Morris. 720 acres, of which 160 are platted. It

was purchased from Morris by the Denver Land and Townsite Company, consisting of Morris, Vollmer and Scott, Dernham & Kaufman, Spotswood & \each, and a number of small stockholders. It can be justly claimed that Mr. Spotswood is the father of the town. In anticipation of the advent of a railroad considerable money was expended in "booming" the town, and then came "hard times," and failure of railroad materiali- zation, paralyzing industries. The first residence in Denver was built by J. J. Pulse, in 1892. Previous to that there were three hotels, the first, the Idaho, by Shissler & Ingraham ; the second, the Denver, by John Henderson, and the third by G. W. Cooper, now of Moscow. In 1893 G. F. Troeh established a general store, followed by Henry Kuether, Dernham & Kauf- man Co., and J. D. Davis & Co., in 1894. A drug store had been established by J. J. Pulse in 1892. Of the original business men of the place Mr. Pulse is the only one left. A blacksmith shop was started by C. W. Miller in 1892. The opening of the Indian reservation drew a number of business men away. and the town has never recovered its vitality. At present it is estimated that there are 900 people in the precinct. Denver is located ten miles from Grangeville and ten- from Cottonwood.

At present there are three general stores. Henry Knether. L. Spangler and J. D. Davis & Co. J. W. Dunn conducts a furniture store. J. J. Pulse a drug store, S. K. Dunn and A. B. Clayton, blacksmith shops, Isaac Zehner & Son a flouring mill, saloon by William Von Berge. In April last Mrs. Lottie Har- per opened a hotel. Rhoads Brothers conduct a livery and feed stable, and D. H. Bolte an implement house. The postmistress is Mrs. Lizzie Allen Wood, and the school teacher Jacob Vercler.

WOODSIDE.

The new town of Woodside was promoted by a man named Marr, the initial enterprise beginning January 1, 1903. The present business comprises a general store, a dance hall, postoffice, hotel and restaurant.

MOUNT IDAHO.

Mount Idaho, the timber covered mountain which bounds Camas prairie on the south and forms the first of that series of rugged ranges which extend far into southern Idaho, has given its name to the oldest town on Camas prairie and, with the exception of Florence, the oldest town in the county. This little village nestles peacefully among the beautiful pine groves and intervening parks at the base of the mountain and at the extreme eastern edge of the prairie. From this commanding eminence the whole prairie with its northern background of hills and mountain ranges and its bordering canyons of the Salmon and Clearwater rivers becomes at once an open book whose every page presents an inspiring and fascinating picture. Through the town courses a clear mountain stream which bears the unpoetic

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name of Butcher creek. The sight is both beautiful and healthful and for many reasons well adapted for the location of a town.

Directly south of the village a broad, deep ravine or small canyon cuts through the mountain and opens out upon the town. Up the western side of this de- pression winds the old Milner trail, now of course a roadway, which for forty years has been the popular route to Florence-since the trail was blazed through the forest through several feet of snow in the spring of 1862. Many years ago this primitive trail was converted into an excellent wagon road, which at present is one of the most important in northern Idaho, as it is the most direct route to the Buffalo Hump mines and forms a portion of the state wagon road between Mount Idaho and the southern part of the state.

The opening of this historic trail furnished a sufficient reason for the establishment of a station at the base of Mount Idaho and the beginning of the trail and so during the winter of 1861-2 Mose Milner built a log cabin on the site of the future town. This cabin was of a type known as a double cabin, a story and a half high and boasted a puncheon floor. An addition, which served the double purpose of a kitchen and a dining room, was attached to one side of the main building. This pioneer hotel stood on what is now Florence street, formerly the old trail.

The following spring, that of 1862, Loyal P. Brown, a Bostonian who had come west to recuperate his shattered fortunes, while en route to Florence reached the Milner station with his wife, and so forcibly did the business opportunity presented by this trail and station appeal to him that he forthwith joined with James Odle, another recent arrival, in buying the property. They took immediate possession and for three years conducted the business together. Then a disagreement arose over the establishment of a saloon in connection with the hotel and Brown bought Odle's interest. During the forty years this hotel has been in existence it has been conducted in strict accord with the temperance policy first adopted by Brown in 1862. At the time the property was purchased Brown filed a squatter's claim to the land on which the station was built and the next year Odle filed on the claim just west of the Milner claim. On these two claims the town was built, although most of the buildings are on the older one.

A few weeks after Brown and Odle purchased the Milner property, Seth Jones, who had gone into Florence the latter part of May, returned to the prairie and with his wife opened a second station at the lower end of the trail. This station stood on the flat in the eastern part of the present town. Mr. and Mrs. Jones conducted their station until the summer of 1863, when Mr. Jones settled on Three-mile creek and became a pioneer farmer of Camas prairie. As before stated, Mr. Odle severed his business con- nections with Mr. Brown in 1865. In 1863, however, he, too. commenced farming on the claim he had taken west of the station, closely following Mr. Jones. Mr. Brown and his wife remained in the Mount Idaho

hotel until the former's death a few years ago, since which time Mrs. Brown has relinquished possession of the business and retired to private life in the town which has so long been her home.

Just who is responsible for the naming of Mount Idaho is not known. Soon after the discovery of the Florence mines, however, the mountain was referred to by that name and in time it was applied to the little settlement at the foot of the Milner trail.

Because of the very favorable geographical lo- cation of the place, the little hamlet early became an important and popular resting place for those travel- ing to and from the mines and for many years pos- sessed a very numerous floating population. Especi- ally was this true during the great rush of 1862 and 1863, when the stations were often totally unable to provide accomodations for those who wished to avail themselves of the rude privileges afforded. Quite a number of the criminal class in the region made the place their headquarters in 1862; in fact for a number of years the town was considered a sort of a crimi- nal's refuge, though in justice to those few settlers who were in business there, it should be said that this reputation was not of their choosing by any means.

A postoffice, Mount Idaho, was established very early in the life of the town and Mr. Brown became postmaster. He also installed a small blacksmith shop and dispensed provisions and supplies of all kinds to those who wished to purchase on the prairie. Brown's station and a few dwellings constituted the town for the first decade of its existence.

In 1872 came the first store, established by Ralph Jacobson and his two brothers, in one end of Brown's hotel. This business venture did not result success- fully, however, for the owners soon sold to a man named Rudolph, who was Mount Idaho's only merchant until 1875, when Vollmer & Scott opened a branch store there. Wade Rice built a saloon in 1872. which in 1877 was owned by J. M. Auchinvole and these three business houses, together with Brown's hotel, comprised the commercial portion of the town in 1877. when the Indian war broke out. There were probably one hundred inhabitants then.

Meanwhile Mount Idaho had become the county seat as a result of the annexation of Camas prairie and the Elk City region to Idaho county. This im- portant change was made in 1875 and gave quite an impetus to the town's growth. A handsome county building was erected in 1878 at a cost of several thousand dollars and subsequently a jail was added. These two buildings occopy a block of land on the castern side of Florence street, and served the county until 1902, when the seat of government was removed to Grangeville. The site of the buildings was donated by L. P. Brown in 1875 on condition that the owner- ship of the ground should revert to him in case the county seat was removed elsewhere, but subsequently, in 1892, the county was given an additional deed to the property.

Mount Idaho occupies a prominent place in the history of the Nez Perces war and throughout the whole campaign in Idaho was one of the principal

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bases from which operations were carried on. To this place the terrified settlers of Camas prairie flocked on that memorable evening of June 14, and here they remained until Joseph's hostiles left Idaho. Here it was that the settlers built the famous stone fort, within whose protecting walls they expected to defend themselves to the last. At one time nearly the whole population of the prairie, about 250, were assembled in and around this defense.

The old fort stood on the little hill just north of town, the site of the present school house, and occupied a very strategic position. The fortification was in the form of a circle, perhaps 150 feet in diameter, and was constructed of two rail fences built parallel with each other, the intervening space being filled with rocks and timber. The wall was between four and five feet high. Entrance was gained through a narrow passageway on the west.

In the fall of 1878, another mercantile establish- ment, Grostein & Binnard's branch store, was added to those already in the thriving little village. For several years succeeding the Indian war, the town grew and prospered, experiencing its greatest degree of prosperity during the years 1878-79-80, when the population reached and passed the 200 mark. From this time on, however, Mount Idaho was outstripped in the race for supremacy by Grangeville, a rival town only two miles distant, which was founded in 1875 by the settlers of Three-mile creek. In a hard fought contest in 1892 over the possession of the county seat, Mount Idaho narrowly escaped losing this much coveted honor, and last fall Grangeville finally ob- tained the prize. The loss of the county seat was a serious blow to Mount Idaho, though it had been expected for years.

Mount Idaho's population now numbers one hun- dred and fifty people. Although of far less im- portance than formerly the village is still the trading point of a thickly settled farming community and is the nearest commercial center to the interior mining camps. Four miles east of town is the Dewey or Evergreen mining district on the south fork of the Clearwater : eight miles southeast are the Cove Placer Mining Company's extensive placers which have just been opened ; three miles northeast is the large saw- mill of Edward Heitzman ; and two miles east of town Royal Skaggs operates a small sawmill. All these do a large share of their trading at Mount Idaho, besides which the town receives considerable patronage from the travel to and from the Buffalo Hump district. The O. R. & N. railroad survey passes through the town and up the canyon through which the Milner trail led.

At present Matthew H. Truscott conducts a general store and is the village postmaster ; the Mount Idaho hotel is conducted by I. N. Smith; Wiley Knighten has a blacksmith shop: Herman Brown is the proprietor of a general store; and there is one saloon. The small Chinese population in the town is catered to by one merchant, Sang Yuen. Until about ten year ago the Mongolian population was much larger than the white population.

The first school in Mount Idaho was held in a small frame building erected on Main street in 1867. Mr. Brown donated the ground and contributed most of the money with which the school house was built. Miss Biancia Reed taught this school. For several years this building sufficed and then, for a long time, the school was held at different places in the town. Finally, five years ago, the district purchased the hall erected by the Masonic fraternity on the hill just north of the town and in this building between fifty and sixty pupils are now taught by Miss Margaret Hawk and Miss Beatrice Ellenwood.

The town has no fraternal or secret orders and, strangely enough, is without even a church. A six- times-a-week mail service is maintained and a tri- weekly service between Mount Idaho and the Hump and Florence.

ELK CITY.

The historic town of Elk City is on sloping ground on the east bank of Elk creek, one and one-half miles above its junction with the American river. Much of its history has been given incidentally in connec- tion with the mining district, which bears its name. The present town consiste of a miscellaneous aggre- gation of board and log houses, arranged along a single street extending in an east and west direction. Its population in 1900 is given by the official census as 100, but it probably exceeds that considerably now. It has all the usual business houses and they are all doing well at this writing owing to the revival of interest in the mining district. Being at the junction of roads leading to Buffalo Hump, Big creek, Oro Grande, Red river, Ziegle creek, Dixie and Thunder mountain, it is the natural distributing point for the entire section between the middle fork of the Clear- water and the Salmon river and if it ever becomes a railway terminal it must speedily become a large and important town. There is a practicing dentist in Elk. The only lodge there established is the I. O. O. F.

CLEARWATER.

Was credited in 1900 with a population of 90. lts principal business houses are a store kept by Obannon & Clark, a hotel by Harry Baker, a livery and feed stable, and a postoffice. It is situated about twelve miles from the railway terminal, Stites.

DIXIE.

In the center of the mining district of that name is an old point. It at present consists of about twenty or twenty-five buildings arranged along Crooked river. The principal business establishments are a general merchandise store, Charles Buer proprietor, a large hotel and a postoffice.

OTHER TOWNS.

The towns and points not mentioned in the fore-

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going at which postoffices were established in Jann- ary, 1903, are: Adams, Callender, in the Buffalo Hump county: Canfield on Doumecq plains; Con- cord, population in 1900, ten ; Ferdinand, population, last United States census, 31 ; Florence, whose early history has found place elsewhere in this volume, population 75; Freedom, postoffice at the mouth of Slate creek : Glover, Goff, population 25 ; Greencreek,

population 28; Gregg, population 57; Hump, popu- lation 51 ; Lorena, Lowe, population 21 ; Lucile, popu- lation 52 ; Orogrande, Pollock, population 15; Resort, Riggins, Roosevelt, in the Thunder Mountain country ; Syringa, population 25; Tahoe, population 20; War- ren, an old mining center in the southern part of the country, credited in 1900 with a population of 150; Woodland.

CHAPTER V.

DESCRIPTIVE,

The largest, most varied section of a grandly rug- ged mountain state, Idaho county presents many problems to him who essays to describe its topographical aspect, its diverse elements of wealth, its industries, its products and its peo- ple. Bold indeed is he who would attempt an adequate pen picture of its wondrous con- formation, the grandeur of its scenery, the mag- nificence of its lofty, rock-ribbed, snow crested up- lands, the sublimity of its yawning, deep-cut canyons, the enchantment of its less rugged valley scenes, the crystal beauty of its lakes, its swift-flowing rivers and its mountain torrents, the divine perfection of color- ing with which nature has added a touch of softness to its boldest, wildest, most rugged features, the mystic veiling of giant strength with feminine beauty, the harmony, the magnificence, the splendor of the whole. Well might an abler writer shrink from such a task. In vain would one with no greater gifts at- tempt portraiture so pretentious. Yet he would be indeed a craven and derelict to duty who, having opportunity, would fail to contribute his mite toward extending public knowledge and deepening public ap- preciation of a land so picturesque in contour, so rich in crude elements of wealth, so ready to pour into the lap of industry an abundant reward.

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An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 105

Author: Publication date: 1903 Publisher: [S.l.] : Western Historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1524

Author:
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: [S.l.] : Western Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1524