An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 188

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 188
USA > Idaho > Nez Perce County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 188
USA > Idaho > Shoshone County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 188
USA > Idaho > Latah County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 188

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The period of transformation came with the dawn- ing of the next decade. Important events crowded themselves thick and fast into the early 'eighties. Be- fore the close of the year 1882 the wilderness of 1879 had been transformed into a town site; a new county had been organized ; the steel rails of trans-continental

road had been laid through what had become a grow- ing village ; a saw mill had been erected and was man- ufacturing lumber to supply the demands of men who were building permanent homes ; from a cabin station on a frontier pony mail route, there had developed the village of Rathdrum, the county seat of Kootenai county, and less than two years later it boasted a population of more than one thousand.

The survey of the Northern Pacific railroad was made in 1880. Immediately thereafter settlements began to be made in the vicinity of the Wood cabin. Aside from the fact that this had been a relay point on the overland mail route, it afforded no special ad- vantage as a railroad station or as a location for a town. But in the minds of the railroad people this constituted a sufficient reason and when the track was eventually laid in July, 1881, Rathdrum became a sta- tion on the road and in consequence the most important town in extreme northern Idaho. At the time of the establishment of the station there were not more than half a dozen men within the present limits of the vil- lage who had come in quest of permanent homes. Among these were Louis Eilert, Fred H. Bradbury, Wesley Wood, J. G. Brophy and M. D. Wright. Bradbury and Eilert were the first to erect a building and open a general store. They were followed by Wonnacott and Sander, who conducted a general mer- chandise store. George B. Wonnacott followed Zach Lewis as postmaster. Aside from the advent of the railroad, the most important events of the years 1881 and 1882 were the laying out and platting of the town site by M. D. Wright and C. W. Wood in July, 1881, and the erection of a saw mill by Frederick Post in 1882. In 1882 Henry Reiniger came to Rathdrum from Calvills, Washington, and built a brewery on Fish Creek one-half mile from town. The cost of con- struction was something over five thousand dollars. In the winter of 1881 and 1882 C. W. Wood erected a livery barn on the ground now occupied by the office building of the Panhandle Abstract Company. Others who were in business in 1882 were Lewis Lee, J. G. Brophy and Samuel Hayes.

As has before been stated the present site of the town was at that time covered with a forest of yellow pine. It was nearly all saw timber and for several years the Post mill was kept running to its fullest ca- pacity in order to supply the local demand for lumber for building purposes, much of the timber being taken from the town site. Planing machinery had been in- stalled in connection with the mill plant which proved a most profitable investment for its builder and owner. M. D. Wright came to the county in 1881 and in July of the same year moved to Rathdrum and purchased one-half interest in sixty acres of land from C. W. Wood and thus became interested with him in the town site. Mr. Wright is an energetic business man who has the faculty of making everything succeed with which he identifies himself and to him is due much of the substantial prosperity of Rathdrum in later years. Realizing that Rathdrum must eventual- ly become the center of a prosperous farming communi- ty, he opened a general store with Fred H. Bradbury as

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partner, the firm name being M. D. Wright & Co. Later he became sole proprietor. By careful manage- ment, from a comparatively small beginning he has built up a trade the most extensive of any commercial house in the village.

In the Rathdrum store he now carries a stock of goods valued at $30,000. In the year 1902 the bus- iness transactions at this stand and at another store conducted at St. Maries together footed $120,000. In 1886 Mr. Wright secured the tie contract from the Northern Pacific railroad company for the branch road from Hauser Junction to Coeur d'Alene and ever since that time he has furnished ties for the company. He has each year furnished from 150,000 to 300,000 ties for which he has received an average of about twenty- six cents each. The company has paid him for ties furnished in Kootenai county since 1886 about $1,000,- 000. In this work he has added very materially to the general prosperity of town and county.

The town site was surveyed and platted in July, 1881, and its real history may be said to date from this event. Almost the first subject to claim the considera- tion of the community when it consisted of scarcely more than a dozen families was that of educational facilities. Realizing the importance of intellectual training to assure success in the varied walks of life and being considerate of the needs of the very few youths whose homes were in and about the village they soon began preparations for a term of school. This school was taught in the winter of 1882 and 1883 by Miss Viola Mulkins in a small building back of the present site of the Heitman law office. Miss Mulkins resigned before her term was completed and it was finished by Miss Kate Powers, who taught until the fire in September, 1884, when the school house was destroyed. This was the beginning of the school work in Rathdrum, in which the citizens have always taken a special interest, and which has developed into the public schools of the present day, second to none in the county in modern appointments and efficiency.

The year 1883 inaugurated a period of marked prosperity for Rathdrum which lasted through the fol- lowing three or four years. The Coeur d'Alene mines had been discovered and there was a great rush of prospectors into the promising region from all points of the compass. The most accessible route to the mines at that time was via the Northern Pacific rail- road from the east or west to Rathdrum, thence across the country to Cœur d'Alene and up the lake and the Cœur d'Alene river. Rathdrum became the outfitting point for the Cœur d'Alene mines, and as a result many business houses and residences were erected, all lines of business enjoyed a prosperous era and the popula- tion of the village increased and multiplied until it passed the one thousand mark in 1884. Among the business men of this period were Wonnacott & San- ders, Eilert & Bradbury, Cominski & Sons, Thomas Ford, J. G. Brophy, George B. McCabe, who con- ducted a livery and stage line to Coeur d'Alene ; Levi Esch, J. S. Woolery, W. H. Cleland, liveries : James H. Kennedy and A. M. Martin. blacksmiths ; A. W. Post, justice of the peace, also conducted the saw mill ; Mr.

and Mrs. R. C. Cutting, restaurant. Mrs. Cutting fol- lowed George B. Wonnacott as postmistress, and was in turn followed in this office by Mrs. S. F. Smith. In 1883 Joseph Porier purchased the lot where stands the present Woodman Lodge building, paying for it the sum of four hundred dollars. He erected here the first village blacksmith shop. The building was burned in August, 1884. Mr. Porier rebuilt in Sep- tember of the same year on the site which he now occu- pies and was again burned out in 1886. His present shop was erected in the fall of the same year. During these pioneer years a live newspaper, known as the Rathdrum Courier, was published by Mark Musgrove.

Water works were put in by Frederick Post in 1883. It is a gravity system, the water coming from Spring Branch, which has its source in the mountains north of town. A dam in the stream forms a reservoir from which the water is piped directly to the mains in the village. In later years a tank was built for storage purposes with a capacity of eight hundred barrels. Its elevation above the town is sufficient to produce a pressure of sixty-five pounds at the street hydrants, thus giving adequate protection against fire. In 1884 Mr. Post sold the plant to Henry Reiniger, who orga- nized a stock company for its management and opera- tion, disposing of a portion of his interest to the mem- bers of the company. The stockholders are John Rus- sell, Frank Wenz, estate of Henry Reiniger, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Porier, David Holgman and Lorenzo Nicholson, of Spokane, and Benjamin F. Butler, of Sandpoint. Mr. Russell is president and treasurer, and Mr. Wenz is secretary. The first cost of the plant was seven thousand dollars. Since 1883, however, several thousand dollars have been expended in improvements and its present value is more than double the original cost.

In the summer of 1882 a small school building was erected back of the present site of the Heitman law office. It was burned in September, 1884, and during the winter of 1884 and 1885 a school was taught by R. D. Robinson in a house which stood opposite the present site of the Catholic church, and which had been built for a residence. The next year the building was purchased from Thomas Ford for school purposes and it continued to be used as a school house for several years until eventually purchased by the Catholics and converted into a church. It was torn down in 1900 at the time of the erection of the present brick church. The school term of 1885 and 1886 was taught by Miss Nettie Pipes. The members of the school board during this period were Louis Lee, Henry Remiger and Dr. Masterson, and among the early school teachers not mentioned above were Miss Paul and Mrs. J. G. Brophy.

Rathdrum's booming period continued until the branch of the Northern Pacific was completed to Coeur d'Alene City in 1886. Up to this time an immense trade was carried on with the mining camp of the Cœur d'Alenes and nearly all prospectors who were bound for the camps came to Rathdrum to purchase supplies. As is invariably the case during periods of unnatural building and business activity there were at

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HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

this time many transients located at Rathdrum, who, as soon as the depot of supplies was transferred to the terminus of the new branch of railroad, and travel to and from the mines was diverted to the new route, drifted with the outgoing tide and in a few months the population of Rathdrum dropped from a thousand to a few hundred. In the seventeen years that have elapsed since this reactionary period the village has not re- gained more than half what it lost in numbers during the years of 1886 and 1887.

Following this eventful period were several years of comparative inactivity in business matters. Aside from the shipment of railroad ties, of lumber from the saw mill and wild hay from the adjacent prairie there was little doing in a business way. There were no industrial demands that could be supplied from the tin- leveloped resources of the surrounding country. Some prospecting was done in the foot hills and in many cases promising assays were obtained from sur- face excavations. Expectations ran high at times that Rathdrum was destined to become a great mining cen- ter, and there are those who still believe that when pro- cesses for handling low grade ores are cheapened and capital can be induced to erect mills in the vicinity, Rathdrum mountain and its lesser neighbors will give up rich yields of the precious metals. But thus far none of the prospects have developed into producing properties. Although there is a considerable area of agricultural land tributary to Rathdrum at the time of which we write the farming and stock raising indus- tries were in their infancy ; but few locations had been taken up and those that were occupied were yielding barely enough for home consumption.

Among the obstacles with which Rathdrum has had to contend have been numerous disastrous fires, which, although they have in a way acted as a tempo- rary clog in the wheel of progress, have ultimately re- sulted in the erection of handsome and substantial business houses and dwellings over the ruins of the old structures, thus giving to the village a much better gen- eral appearance. The first of these fires occurred in September. 1883. when the school house and some small structures near it were destroyed. A general fire occurred in October. 1884, an account of which is as follows: Fire broke out at ten p. m., the 27th, in a small unoccupied building in the rear of Rector's drug store, destroying the entire business portion of the town-fifty-five buildings. Losses aggregated $85,000 as follows: Lee & Jackson, saloon, $4,000 ; Hanry Gordon, saloon, $4,000; Wonnacott & Glass, general merchandise, $19,000: J. H. Smith. $3,500; Dr. C. W. Weaver, Coeur d'Alene hotel, including office and instruments, $4.500; Rector Bros., drugs, $2,500 ; John W. Smith, liquors in storage, $2.500 ; George W. McCabe, livery and stage company, $2,500; J. G. Brophy, saloon, $2,000; E. A. Boblett, American Hotel, $2,000: Sibley & Ish, $2,000; C. M. Benson, $2,000; C. WV. Wood, livery, $25,000; John McCrea, hardware, $2,000: Sun Chung Company, $2,000 : S. C. Cramer, $2,000; Thomas Ford. $2,500 ; T. K. Hireen, $2,000; A. P. Powell, $1,000 ; John Rus- sell, $1,000; Oliver Edmund, $1,000; Henry Keiser,

$1,500 : Branch of Sprague Brewery, $1,500; W. A. Hart, $1,100; George Stafford, $1,000; W. W. Mus- grove, residence and office of the Kootenai Courier, $1,000 ; and others in smaller amounts. No insurance was carried except on the Wonnacott & Glass property. Over twenty families were made destitute. Not a bus- ness house was left in town and no provisions were on hand. Temporary relief was obtained from Spokane. The fire was supposed to have been of incendiary ori- gin.

Again in August, 1886, a similar but less disastrous fire consumed several structures on the main business street. May 29, 1890, a fire started in a restaurant adjoining a saloon conducted by Bradley & Butler. Although the fire was discovered soon after it had broken out the flames got beyond control and buildings occupied as follows were rapidly destroyed: Oliver Edmonds' restaurant ; Bradley & Butler, two saloons ; George Jacobs, saloon ; W. A. Hart, general merchan- dise : F. H. Bradbury, groceries ; D. Rodner, boots and shoes; the Franco-American hotel. The loss at this time was about twenty thousand dollars.

In 1883 the brewery which Mr. Reiniger had built just out of town two years previously, was destroyed by fire. In the same year he rebuilt the brewery and in addition, a commodious and handsome dwelling in the village, the two costing about twenty thousand dol- lars. On August 25, 1899, fire completely consumed both dwelling and brewery, and a general conflagration was averted only by the most strenuous efforts on the part of the voluntary firemen aided by citizens.

Although itt the earlier days Rathdrum was fre- quented by a few individual members of that class which has so often given bad reputations to frontier settlements, it was never a rendezvous for gangs of dlesperadoes. There were a few minor disturbances in the first years, and even in later years the peace and quiet of the village has occasionally been broken by the lawless acts of some irresponsible rowdy, but it has generally sustained the reputation of a law abiding community. Burglaries and holdups have been in- frequent occurrences. The M. D. Wright store has been burglarized on two or three occasions, the last time on the night of November 6, 1902, when the safe was blown open and robbed of $900.00 in cash and a check for $100.00. The next evening the thieves were captured at Hope and brought back by Sheriff C. W. Dyer. In May, 1899, during the administration of John F. Yost as postmaster, the postoffice safe was blown open and robbed of one hundred and seventy- five dollars in cash and fifty dollars in stamps. În this instance the robbers were never apprehended.

The only real tragedy enacted in the village, which shocked and cast a pall of gloom over the village and country, was the assassination of Judge J. C. Brady by Henry Williambusse Friday night, July ,5, 1901 The general depression produced by the cowardly attack upon Judge Brady was appropriately expressed in the editorial columns of the "Silver Blade" on the following morning in these sentences,-"Words can not express the sorrow displayed on every hand by our citizens. It will be many a long day before the gloom

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HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

which now hangs over our city will vanish." A full account of the murder and the trial and conviction of the assassin will be found in another portion of this volume in the chapter on the general history of Koo- tenai county.

As matter historical it may be well to mention two defunct enterprises that, during their existence, were sources of revenue and factors in the general pros- perity of the town. One of these was the Exchange Bank conducted by W. A. Hart for a short time during the middle nineties. The other was the Rathdrum creamery, which began operations in May, 1895. The building was located in Ray's addition, had a twelve- horsepower boiler, cold storage and work rooms, three vats of three hundred gallons capacity each, cream separator, churn, butter worker and numerous other appliances and fixtures. Farmer patrons were scattered from Hauser Junction to Hayden Lake and were paid an average of about eighty cents per cwt. for milk. Of the company which owned and operated the creamery, Henry Reiniger was the president and Frank Wenz secretary. During this period the main portion of the court house building was put up at a cost of $3,500. Vaults and enlargements have since been made entailing an additional cost of $3,000. The first work on the court house was done in 1889. The jail was erected in 1890 and cost about $2,500.

Rathdrum was incorporated in 1891. At this time the agricultural section on the south and west had been partially developed and was contributing materially to the prosperity of the town. C. A. McDonald had erected and was operating a shingle and saw mill two miles east of town. Hayden Lake, Spirit Lake and Fish Lake were becoming popular as resorts and Ratlıdrum became temporary headquarters eachı sea- son for numerous parties of tourists. A considerable trade had developed with the mining camps of the Pend Oreille region. Future prospects were gradu- ally improving in many directions. In spite of the de- pressing effects of the financial crisis of 1893 and 1894 Rathdrum enjoyed a fair degree of prosperity. That the village was growing is evidenced by the fact in 1895 it became necessary to employ a third teacher in the public schools. Miss Lulu Leonard, of Post Falls, was given the place. September IIth of this year there were enrolled III pupils. From the files of the Silver Blade for 1895 we learn that Fred H. Bradbury was at that time postmaster, and it was estimated that Rathdrum had a population of about four hundred. In this year the telephone wires were strung to Rath- drum, the first message being sent to Coeur d'Alene August 27, 1895.

RATHDRUM IN 1903.

The conditions prevailing in Rathdrum today are decidedly favorable to a substantial growth and to its continued advancement as a commercial center. The citizens are a unit in all efforts to further their best in- terests as a community, public spirited men have the community affairs in hand and they have the support of energetic business men and private citizens in all

moves looking to the attainment of a high standard as a progressive, modern town. The present members of the town board are J. W. Handy, Louis Larsen, W. A. Hart, Louis Chambard and Robert McCrae. Jefferson Davis is city marshal.

The history of Rathdrum would not be complete without a review of the business and professional cir- cles as we find them today. As a record of present conditions it will be valuable to those who are inter- ested in home affairs and invaluable to the future historians who may assume the task of compiling the records of events for the benefit of the next generation.

M. D. Wright has been a leading merchant of Rathdrum for fourteen years. His business was first conducted in what is now the side store. Later he oc- cupied a building north of the railroad. In 1900 the present store building was erected. The firm of M. D. Wright & Company incorporated in 1900. Incor- porators were M. D. Wright, B. L. Gordon, of Spo- kane, Mrs. M. D. Wright, John Sherman and Clyde Mullidy. Mr. Wright is president of the company, which is capitalized at $50,000 and the firm conducts a general merchandise, milling and lumbering business. It has gained an enviable success over a wide field and its business transactions are increasing each year in number and importance. A branch store is conducted at Post Falls.

Henry Reiniger, who died January II, of the pres- ent year, had always been one of the foremost busi- ness men of Rathdrum. Mention has already been made of his business ventures in the earlier years. In 1901 he opened a hardware store which he was conducting at the time of his death. Mr. Reiniger came to Rathdrum from Colville, Washington, in 1881 and up to within a short time before his death, was engaged in active pursuits and he had built up quite an extensive trade in hardware, stoves, etc. John Russell is president of the Rathdrum Mercantile Co., incorporated. Mr. Russell is pioneer merchant of Kootenai county, having engaged in bus- iness at Sandpoint in 1881. He came to Rathdrum in 1890 and opened a general store in the building now occupied by the Silver Blade. In 1892 he erected a three-story brick business building at a cost of $16,- 000, which he now occupies. He has a very large trade in general merchandise, implements, carriages and wagons. E. P. Manor conducts a general store in a substantial and attractive white brick building, 30 by 110 feet, which he built in 1902. Mr. Manor came to Rathdrum in 1894 from Hauser Junction, where he had previously engaged in mercantile pursuits. W. A. Hart has been in business in Rathdrum continu- ously since 1884. He built the first brick business house in the town. He now occupies the lower floor of the building with a stock of general merchandise. The upper floor is fitted up as a hall and is used for public meetings, balls and plays.

Another general store that enjoys a large and growing trade is that of Larsen Bros., Walter and Lewis, which was established in 1901. A bakery is also conducted in the connection with the store. Al- though their advent into the business circles of Rath-

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HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

drum is comparatively recent, the Larsen Bros.' store is becoming a popular trading place. Lewis Larsen was formerly a citizen of British Columbia, and Wal- ter, of Spokane. Grant Vess runs the Rathdrum meat market which was opened in October, 1902. A harness and shoe shop was opened in August, 1902, by Robert Buckley, who came to Rathdrum from Ari- zona. E. P. Dyer has a jewelry store and is jus- tice of the peace. Mr. Dyer came from Spokane in 1895. John W. Peters conducts a news and station- ery store and serves the village as postmaster. C. H. Peters deals in jewelry and does watch repairing, while Mrs. Peters has opened a millinery establishment. W. W. Stoddard runs a barber shop. Mr. Stoddard came from South Dakota in 1901. An implement agency is under the efficient management of W. C. Royce. Mrs. Rozetta Mulledy has a confectionery and bakery and is the local operator of the Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone Co. A lodging house and millinery establishment is conducted by Mrs. W. C. Rodgers. The Wilson Hotel is owned by B. S. Wishard, who came here from Coeur d'Alene in 1895.

The Mountain View Hotel was built by M. D. Wright and Benjamin F. Butler in 1890, at a cost of $10,000, and was for many years known as the Wright Hotel. In 1893 Mr. Wright sold his interest to Mr. Butler. It is a four-story frame structure, at present the largest and best hotel in the county. It occupies a location convenient to town and railroad station and from its upper floors is obtained a good view of the mountains on the north and the valley on the south and west. The hotel has changed hands a number of times. Among its former proprietors were Butler & Bradley, and Mrs. Laura Herron. In 1898 the hotel was pur- chased by Mrs. O. Lavin for $6,000. Mrs. Lavin has had personal charge of the hotel since and under her management it has become a most popular hostelry and a valuable property.

The Panhandle Abstract Co., Ltd., was incorpo- rated November 25, 1901. Its president is A. Cook : vice-president, J. C. White; treasurer, Ruida Cook ; secretary, Edwin McBee; J. R. Wilson and H. M. Stontenburg are real estate and loan agents. Mr. Wilson is also justice of the peace. Another real estate agency is maintained by M. D. Wright and John Cren- shaw. Mr. Crenshaw is an early settler, having home- steaded a claim on Hayden Lake in 1880. Stewart Young and A. E. Duff are also in the real estate busi- ness. B. F. Bourn is manager of the Homefinders' Real Estate and Insurance Company. Livery and feed stables are owned by Levi Esch, W. H. Cleland and J. S. Woolery. Mr. Esch put up his livery barn in the fall of 1884 and has been in the business continu- ously since. Mr. Cleland and Mr. Woolery began busi- ness in the early nineties. Joseph Porier and George Umphrey are the village blacksmiths. William Hays is a house and sign painter ; James A. Dyer, con- tractor and builder; C. W. Wood, general trucking business : G. R. Klopf, furniture and undertaking. Richard Tautenhaher, brickmaker, yards four miles west of Rathdrum. The Rathdrum pharmacy is con- ducted by Dr. F. Wenz, who is the only physician 50

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An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 188

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