An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 189

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 189
USA > Idaho > Nez Perce County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 189
USA > Idaho > Shoshone County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 189
USA > Idaho > Latah County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 189

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practicing in Rathdrum; D. F. Hallister, dentist ; William Ashley, Jr., civil and mining engineer ; R. C. Thompson. contractor and builder ; James W. Peters, contractor and builder; General Sparks, city dray ; Sidney Vidgers, sawmill, two and one-half miles west of town : A. W. Post, planing and sawmill. Mr. Post has applied to the council for a franchise permitting him to operate an electric lighting plant within the town limits. Mrs. J. C. Lane runs the Hotel Lane north of the railroad tracks.

Joseph R. M. and Charles W. Culp are owners and publishers of the Silver Blade, a well edited weekly paper, Republican in politics and devoted to the best interests of town and county. W. A. Logue publishes the Panhandle News, a live Democratic paper issued weekly. The pioneer attorney of Rathdrum is C. L. Heitman. In the person of Judge Edwin McBee the village has another lawyer. The town council has granted a franchise to B. O. Graham, of Spokane, for lighting the streets and dwellings of the city by electricity. The Fraternity Building Association has recently been organized with John C. Callahan, pres- ident. The capital stock of the association is $5,000. It is proposed to erect a modern city and fraternity hall on the lot owned by the Knights of Pythias, two blocks north of the courthouse. On May I, 1903, was established the Rathdrum Bank of Commerce. Of this institution, J. G. Thomas, of Newport, Wash- ington, is president ; John C. Callahan, of Rathdrum, cashier, and R. E. Young, assistant cashier.

The fraternal lodges are well represented in Rath- drum. There are chapters of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Foresters ( Rathdrum Court No. 14), Modern Woodmen of America, No. 6843: Rathbone Sisters, K. O. T. M., Rebekahs, Royal Neighbors, No. 2317; Knights of Pvthias, Panhandle Lodge No. 13; Maccabees, Kootenai Lodge No. 7. Law- ton Post No. 29 of the Grand Army of the Repub- lic was organized May II, 1901, with the following charter members: Ewin B. Marsh, Company B, 62d Illinois Infantry ; John R. Wilson, Company G, 18th Indiana Infantry; W. H. Cable, Company E. 12th Kansas Infantry ; W. A. Hart, Company G. 95th Wis- consin Infantry ; D. McCall, Company E, 92d Illinois Infantry ; Albert G. C. Slocum, Company C, 78th Penn- sylvania Infantry; James A. Fisher, Company G, 40th Ohio Infantry; L. A. Berry, Company E. 6th Michigan Cavalry; Emory B. Martin, Company I, 46th Missouri Infantry ; James H. Kennedy, Elisha E. Taylor, Anton Builder, A. T. McReynolds, Henry Geck, Samuel Gambier, Thomas Brophy, Hamilton Davis. The ceremonies attendant upon the formation of the lodge were conducted by Deputy Commander Charles A. Clark and Assistant Adj. General Darius F. Baker of Boise. The present officers are: J. R. Wilson, commander ; Thomas Brophy, Sr., vice-com- mander : L. A. Berry, officer of the day : A. C. G. Slo- cum, chaplain ; John Lyons, adjutant ; E. B. Martin, officer of the guard ; R. C. Bothwick, sergeant.

The churches of Rathdrum have done much to elevate the standard of morals at home and give the village a good name abroad. There are three church

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HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

buildings, owned by the Presbyterians, Adventists and Catholics. There is not at present an organization of the Adventists and the building has been closed for some time. Rev. C. T. Cook conducts the Meth- odist meetings in the building once occupied by the Baptists, whose organization is defunct. The Pres- byterians have had an organization since 1883. The building stands on a lot donated by Frederick Post. Rev. W. C. Beebee was the first pastor of the con- gregation, coming to Rathdrum in 1884. At that time there were but five members of the congregation, A. W. Post and wife, Job Hemick, Mrs. Sarah J. Milder, and Mrs. Pearl Power. Ministers who have since been located in Rathdrum are Rev. John A. McArthur; Rev. Williams Cobleigh; Rev. Charles J. Godsman; Rev. Norman McLeod and the present pastor, Rev. Eugene A. Walker.

For a number of years the Catholics held services in a building which had formerly been used for a school house. In 1901 they erected a neat brick edi- fice at a cost of about $3,000. At the time of its comple- tion it was the only brick Catholic church in the state of Idaho. The church was dedicated by Right Rev. A. J. Gloreiux, of Boise, to St. Stanislaus Kostka. Father Thomas J. Purcell has conducted the services of this organization since its foundation and it was through his personal effort that the funds were raised for the building of the church edifice. He is now as- sisted in his parish work by Father Kelly.

The citizens of Rathdrum are justly proud of their public schools. They have always taken special in- terest in school matters, in the selection of competent instructors, in the proper and generous equipment of the school room and in educational results. With such an interest in the work it is only natural that the schools should attain a high degree of excellence. Their present standing is such that graduates are admitted to the State University at Moscow without special examination. The building is a two-story franie, with four rooms and was erected in 1890 at a cost of $5,000. It stands on a commanding site in the east part of the town and presents an attrac- tive and substantial appearance. The principal in charge of the schools at present is Professor D. E. Danley, who has been exceptionally successful in his work. He is assisted in the grammar grade by Miss India Tarkington, in the intermediate, by Miss Laura Reiniger, and in the primary by Miss Eliza Ker- cheval. The principal is paid a salary of eighty dol- lars per month and the assistants fifty-five dollars per month. The members of the school board are T. L. Quarels, R. S. McCrea and Dr. F. Wenz. During the last school year the enrollment reached two hundred and twelve.

Rathdrum is about twenty-eight miles northeast of Spokane on the main line of the Northern Pacific railroad. From a sanitary and scenic point of view, it is most fortunately situated. It has been built on a bench of land at the base of a mountain which is known by the numerous appellations of Rathdrum Mountain, Kootenai Mountain and Storm King. The elevation of this mountain is 4070 feet. From

its summit may be seen the Pend Oreille, the Coeur d'Alene, Hayden, Fish and Spirit lakes, together with several smaller bodies of water. A range of hills south of Pend Ore- ille river hides Priest lake from view, but the white peaks of the Canadian Cabinets are plainly visi- ble, although many miles north of the lake. The ele- vation is 2216 feet in the village, which is perhaps one hundred feet above the level of the plain on the south and west. This plain known locally as "Rathdrum prairie" is a portion of the valley of the Spokane river. The greater part of it is now under cultivation. Wheat, oats, hay, vegetables and fruits are the prin- cipal products of the farm. Stock raising has grown to be a profitable industry. This section is directly tributary to Rathdrum.

In the mineral regions in the mountains on the north, and about Hayden lake there are not at pres- ent any producing mines, but it is believed to be only a question of time until mines will be opened here as there are known to be heavy ore deposits; but being of a low grade special machinery is needed to handle it profitably and capitalists have thus far made no investigations or investments in the section. There are heavy forests of yellow pine on the north and east and lumbering is the principal industry. There are five saw mills within a radius of four miles from Rathdrum, having an average capacity of twenty thousand feet per day. The lakes of Kootenai are fast becoming famous as summer resorts. Hundreds of tourists visit them each summer and Rathdrum is made headquarters for supplies. Witlt an agricul- tural region on one side which is every year becoming more productive and which a nearly completed system of irrigating ditches will make vastly more so in the future than it has ever been heretofore; with a mineral and timber region on the other side with next to inexhaustible supplies of each product; with the beautiful lake region on all sides attracting not only the transient pleasure seekers, but the permanent home builders, Rathdrum has every reason for faith in the future. It must continue to be an important commercial center. It is fast assuming the general appearance of a prosperous modern town. Frame structures are giving way to brick on the business streets. More attention is being paid each year to the improvements of streets and sidewalks. Her busi- ness men are progressive and energetic. In her professional and social circles are men and women of intelligence, refinement and great moral worth. Here the home builder may settle amid surroundings and advantages of an attractive and superior nature. Here the business man may safely invest his capital, and the professional man may meet with success in his life work. Here may always be found those essen- tials to happy homes and successful lives-attractive surroundings and good business opportunities.

COEUR D'ALENE.

The site of the town of Coeur d'Alene was one of the spots first visited by the earliest voyageurs to

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HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

Northern Idaho and to Kootenai county. It was here that the Jesuit missionary, Father DeSmet, first met with the Indians to instruct them in the Catholic faith, and it was just a short distance west of the present city limits where was built, in 1842, the first log chapel erected as a temporary house of worship by the father and his associates. The site was chosen at the time be- cause of its central location with reference to the lar- ger camps of the various tribes of Indians then occu- pying this portion of Northern Idaho and adjacent ter- ritory in what is now eastern Washington.

More than a decade later, in 1853, General Isaac Stevens, while on his transcontinental expedition, spent several weeks exploring the territory about Coeur d'Alene lake and he counseled with representative chiefs of the Indian tribes in camp at its foot. In his report to the government the General occupied much space with descriptions of the lake and its surround- ings, including its outlet, the Spokane river. As he was looking out a northern route for a railroad across the Rocky mountains to the coast, his expeditions were extensive and his descriptions very much in detail. Of the lake itself he says: "One of the most beautiful features of the country is the Coeur d'Alene lake, which is embosomed in the midst of gently sloping hills covered with a dense forest growth; the irregularity of its form and the changing aspect of the scenery about it makes it one of the most picturesque objects in the interior."

Following General Stevens, the then primeval wil- derness was next visited by Captain John Mullan in 1861. The famous military road built by Capt. Mul- lan from Walla Walla to Fort Benton, was at first laid ont around the southern end of the lake to Old Mission, but, during the summer of 1861, a portion of it was reconstructed and a new route chosen around the north end of the lake. Portions of this old road are now oc- cupied by Sherman street and Mullan avenue, Coeur d'Alene.

The next prominent visitor to the site of the pre- sent city was General William T. Sherman, who came in the summer of 1877 while on a tour of inspection of the military forts of the northwest. General Sherman was so pleased with the surroundings that he recom- mended to congress. the establishment here of a mili- tary reservation and fort. His recommendations were followed and in 1878 the reservation was platted, bor- dering on the waters of the lake and on the Spokane river. It was made to include about one thousand acres. The fort was regularly established and garri- soned in the spring of 1879, the first commander being Lieut. Col. H. C. Merriman, who had under command five companies of the Second regiment, U. S. infantry. While the establishment of Ft. Coeur d'Alene, as it was then called, was not directly connected with the build- ing of the town of Coeur d'Alene, it was indirectly re- sponsible for the early settlements made in the imme- diate vicinity, and the history of the town may be said to date from the time the fort was garrisoned. The presence of the garrison made a supply point necessary. For two or three years after the arrival of Col. Merriman and the troops, the post trader, C. F.

Yeaton, had a monopoly of the mercantile business. During the years 1882 and 1883, however, there was great activity outside the reservation, and as if by magic, the wilderness gave place to a thriving village which has never ceased to grow in size and impor- tance, and which is now conceded to be one of the best and most promising towns of Northern Idaho.

A portion of the present town site was purchased from the Northern Pacific railroad company by C. F. Yeaton, the old post trader, in 1880. Another portion is a part of a homestead taken up by Tony Tubbs about the same time. In the spring of the year 1883 a cen- sus of the settlers in and about Fort Coeur d'Alene. ex- clusive of the garrison, would have included Robert Cochran, John Miner, James Turner and James Carrol, who lived along the Spokane river road ; John Clinton, W. H. Mclaughlin and Oscar Canfield, lo- cated out on the prairie ; John Fernan and John C. Costello, at Fernan lake; Tony Tubbs, on the home- stead referred to; John Hickey and John Hagar, near Hayden lake. The discovery of the Coeur d'Alene mines in the summer of 1883 resulted in a great deal of travel from Northern Pacific connections at Rath- drum, via the fort and the lake. to the Coeur d'Alene mountains ; and the town of Coeur d'Alene naturally taking the name of the fort, began to build up in an- swer to a demand for a supply point. The Amelia Wheaton, the first steamer on the lake, had been put in commission by the government for the use of the sol- diers, but was extensively used in transporting miners and their outfits to the head of the lake, on their way to the mines. We may conclude that the action of the government in establishing the :military reservation, the excitement attending the discovery of the mines, the presence of the government steamer, affording transportation up the lake from the fort, taken in con- nection with a naturally advantageous site, led to the preliminary steps in the location of the town.

In the fall of the year 1883, Tony Tubbs staked off his homestead into town lots, which were sold rapidly. In the early winter of the same year C. B. King and James Monagham purchased of C. F. Yeaton the land he had secured from the railroad company, and im- mediately platted the same into an addition to the Tubbs' site. The legal description of the original town site reads as follows: East one half of southwest one fourth. and lots eight and nine, section thirteen, town- ship fifty, north, range four, west of Boise Meridian. Being the rendezvous for prospectors, tourists and adventurers of all classes, while it never had the bad name that has attached to many of the western mining towns, still during several of the earliest years of its ex- istence, gambling and dance halls were well patronized institutions, and though the "wild west" air that per- meated the streets and lake front was bracing and lurid it was enough to satisfy wildest revelers. It is not our purpose, however, to dwell upon the transient element that bore no part in laying the permanent foundation of the city, whose energies were spent in the enjoyment of the present, with no interest in the city's future and whose departure only awaited the establishment of law and order.

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HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

In compliance with the request of the citizens made by petition in the summer of 1884, a postoffice was es- tablished with V. W. Sander as postmaster. The first to engage in general merchandising were C. B. King & Co., Warner and Hart, Tedford and Bleaumer, and V. W. Sander. John Caveland conducted a drug store. Hotel d'Landing was the first hostelry and was under the management of Tony Tubbs. In March, 1880, a hotel twenty-eight by sixty feet in dimensions and two stories high was erected some distance east of the gar- rison on the military reservation. Its first proprietor was James Smith, who was later succeeded by C. B. King. In 1884 this building was moved to the town site, reopened on the lake front, named the Lakeside and was managed by Vincent Wells. Additions and numerous improvements have been made to this build- ing and it is now known as the Coeur d'Alene Inn. The first attorney to settle in the new town was Isaac S. Daly, who came here from Massachusetts in 1883, and who afterward became prominent in the politics of the country. Tony Tubbs served as the first justice of the peace. The first case before Justice Tubbs was a charge of assault brought by one Chinaman against another. Colonel Nash of Spokane prosecuted and Isaac Daly defended. Mr. Daly's client won. During the winter of 1884-85, a number of changes took place in the management of the various hotels. The Hotel d'Landing closed its doors; John Harrison, Major Manning and H. L. Bancroft became successively pro- prietors of the Lakeside ; the Cochran House was built by Robert Cochran and managed at first by Michael Martin and later by John Howard. H. L. Bancroft, who came here in 1883 from Colfax, eventually pur- chased the Cochran House, re-named it the Bancroft House and took personal charge. Mr. Bancroft has continued proprietor of that hotel for twenty years. A. U. S. land office was established at Coeur d'Alene in 1885 with Robert B. McFarland register and James E. Legato receiver. Mr. Legato resigned and William J. McClure was appointed in his stead.

The following from the Portland "Oregonian" De- cember 15, 1883, is interesting as a review of condi- tions prevailing in Coeur d'Alene at that time.

"Tony A. Tubbs arrived here from lake Coeur d'Alene yesterday morning. He reports great activity in building and other improvements in the town of Coeur d'Alene City. Several hotels are projected; a large restaurant is being built ; wharves are being con- structed for the two new steamers which are being rapidly pushed to completion ; a portable sawmill will be shipped from here to-day which will be put into operation immediately ; a large force of men are getting out saw logs for which they receive good prices; a large warehouse is being built near the steamer land- ing and lots are selling like hot cakes. So rapidly have they advanced and so valuable have they become since the Coeur d'Alene mines have proven rich, that Mr. Tubbs has bought back a large number of the lots he sold in his town site, in some cases paying $200 profit to the seller. C. C. McCoy has made arrangements to start within a few weeks a well equipped line of daily

stages between Rathdrum, on the Northern Pacific, and the Coeur d'Alene mines, via the lake."

Until the winter of 1884-85, the children of the neighborhood attended school at the fort, where ar- rangements had been made for the instruction of the children of officers and men having families, and who were garrisoned here. In the fall of 1884, however, through the efforts of Isaac S. Daly, a district was or- ganized (the first of the county,) with W. H. Mc- Laughlin, John German and William Bissel, trustees. A small house recently built by a man named Hender- son and vacated shortly after its completion, was uti- lized as a school building, a carpenter, Samuel Smith, being employed to equip it with seats and black- boards. In this building the first two terins of school were taught by Isaac S. Daly. The pioneers of Coeur d'Alene cannot look back with tender memories to the "log school house" of their early youth, but many of them do have fond recollections of many incidents with which the first teacher, the first school house and their school mate chums were associated.

Judge Norman Buck held a term of the district court at Coeur d'Alene in the summer of 1885. Attor- neys present were J. H. McNaught, attorney for the Northern Pacific railroad ; John Allen of Walla Walla ; Colonel Nash, C. Hyde and Frank Graves of Spokane ; J. Hollaman and Mark W. Musgrove of Rathdrum ; Robert B. McFarland and Isaac S. Daly of Coeur d'Alene. Cases tried at this term were mostly dis- putes between miners over claims and suits between miners and the Northern Pacific railroad. The most important case tried was a suit brought by Levi Esch against the Northern Pacific to recover damages sus- tained through the loss of stock killed on the railroad.

In chapter two we have referred to a county seat contest between Rathdrum and Coeur d'Alene in 1885. In the summer of this year George B. Wonnacott called a meeting of the county commissioners at Coeur d'Alene. Mr. Wonnacott was commissioner from the Central district, while H. H. Newhall represented the Southern district. Messrs. Wonnacott and New- hall accordingly organized a regular session of the con- missioners and selected Isaac S. Daly to act as clerk, pro tem; John Russell, the commissioner from the northern district, declining to be present on the ground that Rathdrum was the county seat. It was the desire of the two commissioners named to change the county seat from Rathdrum to Coeur d'Alene, but their plans failed to materialize.

The Amelia Wheaton, heretofore mentioned as the first steamboat on the Coeur d'Alene lake, was built for the government by Captain Sorenson. The second was named the General Sherman and was built by Cap- tain Sorenson for C. B. King & Co. The third boat was built by a Portland company and was commanded by Captain I. B. Sanborn. These pioneer steamers did the carrying trade on the lake until the Coeur d'Alene branch of the Northern Pacific was built in 1886. The railroad company then built the Steamer Kootenai, which was stripped of her machinery and put out of commission in 1898. For many years the Kootenai

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transported the bulk of the freight that went to the mines. The steamer was built to break ten inches of ice and make good time. It kept lake and river open all winter. The old steamer Coeur d'Alene was re- modeled a number of years ago and is now the Georgia Oakes, so named for the daughter of Presi- dent Oakes of the Northern Pacific.

Although a great deal of building was done and there was a great deal of traffic in real estate during the first three years of the life of the city, it had a bonafide population of only 150 in 1885. During the summer of 1884 it was a tent town. Many families dwelt in tents : business houses, saloons and dance halls were some of them under canvas roofs, and the lake front had more the appearance of a summer encampment of sol- diers or vacationers, than of a town. The tents were only occupied, however, while waiting the comple- tion of buildings. Lumber was not easily obtained. The first mill put up was a small one on Sander Beach, operated by Glassford & Hawley, and was unable to supply building material as rapidly as it was needed. During the period from 1883 to 1886, Rathdrum, be- ing on the railroad, was the real outfitting place for the mines, and Coeur d'Alene, being enroute between the two points, was practically only a transfer point from stage line to steamer, and the merchants did not carry extensive stocks. All this was changed, how- ever, in 1886. D. C. Corbin and associates built the Spokane Falls and Idaho railroad (now the Coeur d'Alene branch of the Northern Pacific) into Coeur d'Alene, which at once supplemented Rathdrum as an outfitting point. From this date the town began to grow and its progress has been steady and substantial ever since. Excepting during the period of financial distress which followed the panic of 1893. there has been no material diminution of activity in the process of development. New steamers to supply the grad- ually increasing passenger and freight business on lake and rivers have been in constant demand and have been built ; sawmills have occupied available sites along the lake: tributary mining and agricultural sections have been developed : business and educational institu- tions have become established on sure foundations, and the town has taken rank among the most popu- lous, progressive and substantial cities of Northern Idaho.

In 1887 the village of Coeur d'Alene was incor- porated under the territorial laws with V. W. Sander, Isaac S. Daly, C. D. Warner, John Brown and Dou- glas Ballard as trustees. Mr. Daly was elected chair- inan and was, exofficio, the first mayor. H. L. Ban- croft was appointed treasurer and Warren Baldwin, city marshal. Among the early postmasters were: George B. Wonnacott, Terrance O'Reilly, Major C. D. Warner and Mrs. C. D. Warner. The present post- inaster, David F. Mason, was first appointed in 1898. In 1889 the town was visited by two small fires. The second fire occurred Sunday morning November 10th, destroying the city jail, a wooden structure of one story, and in the conflagration an inmate, P. J. Breen, lost his life. Breen was an ex-soldier and prospector, about forty years of age, who had been incarcerated the

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An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 189

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