An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 196

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 196
USA > Idaho > Nez Perce County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 196
USA > Idaho > Shoshone County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 196
USA > Idaho > Latah County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 196

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SMALL STATIONS AND POSTOFFICES ON THE NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD.

Granite is eighteen miles northeast of Rathdrum. It is a heavily timbered section. What is known as the Severance sawmill is near here at King's Spur. It uses a forty-horse power boiler and employs a crew of about sixty men. Miss Carrie B. Jordan is postmistress at Granite and conducts a general store. Mrs. Leadbette is proprietor of Hotel Leadbette. Ram- sey is about midway between Rathdrum and Athol; prospecting and logging are the chief industries. When the timber is eventually cleared away a considerable amount of agricultural land will come under cultiva- tion and contribute towards the building of a pros- perous village at this point. The present merchant and postmaster is Frank Tripp. Cocolalla is twenty- eight miles northeast of Rathdrum. It is on Lake Coco- ialla, from which it takes its name. Immense quarries of the finest granite are being opened on the shores of this lake. Algoma is about six miles south of Sand- point. Settlements were first made here in 1900. Nathan Powell is postmaster and has a general store. Sagle is a star route postoffice between Algoma on the N. P. railroad and Lake Pend Oreille. Pan- handle is a new town that has been platted about two

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HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

miles east of Sandpoint, where the smelter is being erected. The proposed new railroad, the Spokane and Kootenai, will run near the site. Kootenai is four miles northeast of Sandpoint. This was once a thriv- ing town of about one thousand people. It had a newspaper and supported several stores and supply houses. It was then the shipping point for freight and supplies by wagon to Bonner's Ferry on the Kootenai river, and to points north. In 1892, when the Great Northern railroad was completed to Bonner's Ferry, the people, newspaper, business houses, etc., followed the new road or sought other localities and the popula- tion dropped to less than one hundred. It is on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille and is surrounded by timber and mineral lands. Its proximity to Sand- point will probably prevent material growth. Oden is three or four miles east of Kootenai and is also on the lake shore. Pack River is five miles northwest of Hope. It is on the shores of the lake and at the mouth of the river bearing the same name. A good deal of prospecting is being done up this river. Black Tail is a mining settlement fourteen miles from Hope, from which place it is reached by steamers. Thornton is a flag station four miles southeast of Hope. Cabinet is seven miles southeast of Clark's Fork and close to the Montana state line.

SOME GREAT NORTHERN AND KOOTENAI VALLEY RAIL- ROAD STATIONS.

Leonia is on the Montana state line about fifteen miles southeast of Bonner's Ferry and ninety miles from the county seat. It is the center of a fine lum- bering region. Lena Mervin is postmistress. E. E. Gilson runs a hotel. The Leonia Mercantile Company, of which W. E. R. Brewster is manager, has a large general store and a good trade. Katka is the next sta- tion west, distant six miles from Leonia. Crossport is a small station four miles east of Bonner's Ferry. Moravia is about the same distance southwest of Bon- ner's Ferry. Naples is the next station south. The White Mercantile Company has a general store here. Elmira is about fifteen miles north of Sandpoint. Col- burn is about half way between Sandpoint and Elmira. Urencoe Station (or Markham postoffice) is west of Sandpoint at the extreme foot of Lake Pend Oreille. La Clede, on the Pend Oreille river, is twenty-eight miles north of Rathdrum. It has a population of per- haps one hundred and fifty. Mining and lumbering are its industries. Jerome .M. Bunker is postmaster : a blacksmith shop is owned by Charles Bradbury; a general store is conducted by Mrs. B. Cass : A. Cliris- tenson has a general store and ships poles ; R. H. Graves runs a restaurant; Fred Burdick is justice of the peace ; the town has a good liotel, the La Clede. The large general store of the La Clede Lumber Con- pany, of which J. M. Bunker is president, William A. Burdick, secretary, and Mr. Mckinney manager, was totally destroyed by fire in the early morning of March 15, 1903. The store also contained the postoffice and in the upper story was a large public hall. The loss on the building was about twenty thousand dollars. The

stock of general merchandise, which was almost en- tirely destroyed, was valued at six thousand dollars. Albany Falls is about two miles from the Washington state line. It is about thirty miles northwest of Rath- drum and four miles west of Priest River. This will develop into a thriving place in the future, as the falls in the Pend Oreille river will furnish immense power, which will no doubt be utilized sooner or later by mills and factories. On the north bank of the river and ex- tending three miles to the east, is an immense deposit of aluminum clay, from which the finest grades of brick may be manufactured. The settlement is in school district No. 24, which was organized August 30, 1892. The present valuation of the school property is about eight hundred dollars. The settlement has good pros- pects. Newport is but two miles west of Albany Falls and is directly on the boundary line between Idaho and Washington. A portion of the town is in each state. It is surrounded by rich mineral lands, fine timber belts and numerous valleys of fertile agricultural lands. It has in addition peculiar advantages as a pleas- ure resort. The scenery is enchanting and the excellent hunting and fishing afforded by the nearby mountain valleys and streams, and the Pend Oreille river, make the locality truly a sportsman's paradise. It has gen- eral stores, long distance telephone connections, good schools and churches, and will grow in population and importance, as the surrounding country is developed. Copeland is a station on the Kootenai Valley rail- road, north of Bonner's Ferry. The International boundary line is about seven miles directly north. It is about ten miles southeast of Porthill, seventy miles northeast of the county seat and one hundred and eight miles northeast of Spokane. The postoffice was estab- lished July 1. 1900, with L. P. Cole as postmaster. Mr. Cole is also manager of a general store, conducted un- der the firm of L. P. Cole & Company. Among the prominent settlers of this locality is Charles F. Fischer, who is interested in the reclamation of the swamp lands of the Kootenai valley, and in the develop- ment of other resources of the country.

D. R. & N. RAILROAD STATIONS.

Cataldo is on the boundary line between Kootenai and Shoshone counties. It is thirty-five miles south- east of Rathdrum. There is a sawmill here owned by Roland and Burris. A general store is conducted by A. E. Frost and another by W. P. Dwyer. C. J. Cole and Son are loggers. It is on the Coeur d'Alene river in a heavily timbered section. Mission is a flag station a few miles west of Cataldo. Dudley is the next small station west. Lane is a station of greater importance a short distance west of Dudley. It has a population of about one hundred. There is a hotel here kept by H. Roden. P. L. Zimmerman has a large general store. Another general store has recently been put in by the Kootenai Commercial Company, formerly engaged in business at Harrison. Medimont is about nine miles east of Harrison. Titus Blessing and Jona- than Mauk took up homesteads here several years ago, and in 1895 a town site was laid out on their land.

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HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

This resulted in a contest between the homesteaders and townsite people before the Coeur d'Alene land office and the Interior Department. The townsite people won, but generously gave to Blessing and Mauk all the land not used for townsite purposes. A patent to the townsite was issued to the probate judge of the county, who conveyed the 'lots to the occupants. The name Medimont was coined from "Medicine Mountain," a local land mark. There has been a settlement here since 1890. It is the center of a mineral district. There is also a good deal of farming land along the river in this section, and the stock industry has developed to good proportions. J. W. Slayter is postmaster. A hotel is conducted by Robert P. Short, and a general store by Mr. Slater. About seventy-five people are permanent settlers in the town. Anderson is a station a short distance east of Harrison. Its postoffice name is Springston. Mining and lumbering are well devel- oped industries. D. B. Stowell is postmaster. Nathan R. Bowers runs a blacksmith shop. Stowell and Shingstead have a general store and a sawmill. The Waters Mining Company, of which N. R. Bowers is president, and P. T. Wagner secretary, owns several good prospects in the vicinity. Lacon is a flag station seven miles south of Harrison, on Lake Coeur d'Alene. Watts is a station in the Coeur d'Alene Indian reserva- tion, ten miles east of Tekoa, Washington.

SOME INLAND AND LAKESIDE SETTLEMENTS.

Steamboat Landing is a settlement at the extreme southern point of Lake Pend Oreille. Boats ply from this point to Lakeview and stages run to Athol on the Northern Pacific railroad. It is about eight miles east of Athol. Squaw Bay is a settlement on an arm of Lake Perd Oreille about two miles north of Steam- boat Landing. It has become a summer resort and the name has been changed to Idlewilde. Hotels and cot- tages have been erected. It is a beautiful location and the scenery is especially grand. It has excellent ad- vantages as a resort. Weber is a mining settlement fifteen miles south of Hope on the lake shore. It is reached from Hope and Lakeview by steamer. The

Weber Milling and Mining Company have valuable properties here. Mica is a postoffice in the western part of the county, fifteen miles south of Rathdrum, and nine miles south of Coeur d'Alene City. It is near the west shore of the lake. Len Landing is a postoffice and steamboat landing on the west shore of Lake Coeur d'Alene, about midway between Coeur d'Alene City and Harrison. Lumbering, dairying and fruit growing are profitable industries here. A stage runs to Bellgrove on the west. Len H. Nichols is postmaster. Mr. Nichols also handles general mer- chandise, farm products and lumber. Eli Stinson con- ducts a grocery store. Bellgrove is a postoffice near the Washington state line, in the western part of the county, directly west of Len Landing on the lake. Will- iams was formerly called Coolin. It is west of the foot of Priest Lake, about twenty-five miles north of the town of Priest River, and is in the Priest River forest reserve. It has a population of something more than one hundred. Stages convey mail and passengers to and from Priest River. Lee Downey is postmaster. A general store is conducted by A. Coolin. Farming, stock raising, and dairying are carried on to a con- siderable extent in the surrounding country. Further development of the town is prevented by its location in the government reserve, but when this is thrown open to settlement it must become an important busi- ness center, for it is surrounded by timbered and agri- cultural lands that when taken up and improved by settlers, will contribute very materially to the growth and prosperity of the settlement. Seneaquoteen is one of the oldest settlements in the county. The Hudson's Bay Company had a trading post here in very early days, and in 1864 when the act was passed by the territorial legislature creating Kootenai county, Senea- quoteen was named as the temporary county seat. No county business was ever transacted here, however, and the settlement has remained a small trading point. It is thirty miles north of Rathdrum and seven miles southeast of La Clede. Andrew Christenson is post - master and proprietor of a general store. A saw mill is operated here by the La Clede Lumber Company. The population is about twenty-five.

CHAPTER V.

EDUCATIONAL.

In this particular instance "Education" by local application may be defined as the foundation upon which rests the magnificent superstructure of Kootenai county's commercial, political, educational, religious and social institutions. This is true in a double sense. The journalists, the managers of the greater industrial

corporations and the lesser mercantile companies, the professional men, the leaders in social life and religious work, are men and women of education. Coming to the county from educational centers in various sections of the east and west they have conquered the wilder- 1:ess and formed other and new educational centers by

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HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

the shores of its lakes and rivers and in the midst of its valley plains. Knowing much of the power of education and realizing the need of intellectual train- ing in the varied walks of life, their best thought and their best energies have been directed toward the early and permanent establishmnt of good common and high schools.

In this age as well as in all ages of the past, many of the leaders in commercial, industrial, political and even professional life, are, and have been, self-made men ; men who in their early manhood were deprived of scholastic advantages. In the active affairs of man the failure of many who have had every advantage of intellectual training has led some to decry educa- tion. Extremists have gone so far as to declare that some men have too much education. But as the ma- jority of us are practical men in this age and not philosophers, we do not waste much time theorizing on the advantages or disadvantages of education, but get it if we can. The efforts of instructors in pursuing "fad" methods may at times be misdirected and con- sequently fail in producing satisfactory results in the training of the student. Again the student may be in school solely because of parental command or en- treaty, with no aim or ambition to accomplish anything further than the completion of the course of study in any manner that will speedily bring his school life to a close. No one should expect such a student to suc- ceed in after life. The right instructor can accom- plish wonderful results with the right kind of material. Kootenai county is an industrial community. The spirit of the day there as in many other localities is commercial. Many have come to believe that the capacity to make and the genius to use money consti- tute the full man ; but there are many also who believe that these are not all the things that the fullness of life holds. In the ultimate judgment it is not wealth, it is not power, it is not even that which the world calls success that really counts. Character is the touch- stone that makes true greatness. The best citizens are the men of character, and when these men have had the advantages of education they have lived powerful and influential lives. While the industrial and com- mercial interests of Kootenai county are great and the citizens are deeply absorbed in the material develop- inent of its varied resources ; yet in the rush and under the weight of business cares the common and the high schools have not been neglected. In every com- munity special pride has manifested itself in the con- duct of the school. The qualifications of teachers have always been a matter for special investigation and as a consequence there exist as good schools in Kootenai county as may be found anywhere in the Northwest.

Education in Kootenai county began at a very early date. The first school in the county was conducted at the foot of Lake Coeur d'Alene, near the present site of Coeur d'Alene City, in 1842. It was in truth a sectarian school and in fact a promulgator of the dogmas of Catholicism: but it was nevertheless a school. The pupils were Indians and the teacher a Jesuit missionary, Father DeSmet. In the first chap- ter of the history of this county will be found the de-

tails concerning this school. From 1842 to the present time the Catholics have continuously maintained good schools among the Indians, and at DeSmet on the Coeur d'Alene reservation, there is now both a boys' and a girls' school, where both Indian and white children may obtain a good education under the guidance of priests and sisters of the Order of Providence. Out of an Indian population of 495 on this reservation, about 500 have received a fair education, can read and use enough English to carry on an intelligent conversa- tion. These results have been obtained after sixty years of earnest work on the part of the missionaries.

But the Indians on the reservation do not enter into the intellectual life of the county and it is only as a matter of record that we note the foregoing facts. The first school taught by a white person was at Rathdrum during the winter of 1882-83. Miss Viola Mulkins was in charge and she therefore has the dis- tinction of being the pioneer teacher of Kootenai coun- ty. As Miss Mulkins resigned before the completion of the term and was succeeded by Miss Kate Powers, the latter is entitled to share with her the honor, espe- cially as she continued to conduct the school until the building was destroyed by fire in the fall of 1884. The traditional log school house has not played a very prominent part in the school history of Kootenai coun- ty. There have been a few, particularly in the northern part ; but the saw mill was a pioneer institution in many of the settlements and the necessity for the log building was obviated.

In November, 1883, one year after the beginning of the first term of school at Rathdrum, then called Westwood, a school was opened at Bonner's Ferry by Mrs. Martin Fry. Mrs. Fry taught ten pupils dur- ing this term, three of her own children and seven half- breed Kootenai Indian children. The term lasted nine months, and was taught without compensation. In the winter of 1883-4, children of the new town of Coeur (l'Alene attended school at Fort Coeur d'Alene, and in the winter of 1884-85, Isaac S. Daly taught a term of school at Coeur d'Alene. These were the beginnings of the common schools of Kootenai county.

Among the first acts of the county commissioners, after county organization, was that of creating school districts. The county was divided approximately in half. Coeur d'Alene and all territory south of it was called dstrict No. 1; Rathdrum, vicinity and all terri- tory north was called district No. 2. In 1885 the first of the new districts was formed, No. 3 at Sandpoint. and S. L. Smith was its pioneer teacher.

Among the early school superintendents were Mark M1. Musgrove, Henry Melder and Miss Agnew. In the early 'eighties a territorial law made the probate judge ex officio superintendent of public instruction. Under this law Probate Judge Henry Melder served almost continuously as school superintendent from 1886 to 1898. At the general electon of 1896 Kootenai county cast 759 votes for, and 213 votes against the proposition to amend Art. XVIII, Sec. 6, of the state constitution so as to separate the offices of probate judge and county superintendent of public instruction. The amendment carried throughout the state, and in

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HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

1898 Daniel VanDuzer was elected the first county superintendent under the new law. The first county institute was held at Rathdrum November 4th to 8th, 1895. At this time a Kootenai County Teachers' Asso- ciation was formed, with Henry Melder, president ; T. N. Creekmur, first vice president ; Louise Allbaugh, second vice president ; Christine Winterbottom, third vice president ; W. E. Edelblute, secretary. At the first institute the following teachers were in attendance : A. E. Torelle, T. N. Creekmur, J. C. Brady, Mary Spencer. Grace Burns, Louise Allbaugh, Margaret Buckly, Agnes McRae, F. V. Yeager, George W. Hayes, Christine Winterbottom, W. S. Walker, Oscar Sheffield, Bessie Butterfield, Myrtle Andrews, T. H. Wilson, W. H. Edelblute, Mildred Humes, Hattie I. Smith, Eliza Kercheval, Anna Bothwick, Louise Pres- ton, Thomas Hydorn, Ida Bush, Mrs. Jennie White, Minnie E. Price, C. P. Hartley, Mrs. W. Wright, Lena Boyce, Mary Crockett, Mrs. A. Pierce, Marie Wheatly, Lulu Leonardy.

The early school records of the county having been burned with the court records in the Rathdrum fire of 1884, we were unable to secure statistical informa- tion concerning the early schools. The records cov- ering the period from 1885 to 1893 were poorly kept, being confused with those of the probate judge, and it was impossible to gather reliable figures from then. Even the state superintendent's office could furnish no information covering the period prior to 1893. The school census of Kootenai county, taken July 1, 1893. showed a school population of 1,462: boys, 735, and girls, 727. Of these, 906 were enrolled in the schools of the various districts, which numbered at that time 29. At that time there were five graded schools in the county, located at Rathdrum, Coeur d'Alene, Sand- point, Bonners Ferry and Post Falls. Twenty-three of the twenty-nine school houses occupied were owned by the districts ; the remaining six were rented build- ings. Forty-one teachers were employed in the schools of the county at an average salary of $51 each per month. Of the forty-one teachers, twelve were gen- tlemen and twenty-nine were ladies : salaries paid to gentlemen averaged $53 per month, and to ladies $49 per month. Of the twenty teachers' certificates issued in 1893, three were first grade, twelve second grade and the balance third grade. In the school year ending August 31, 1893, Kootenai county paid to its teachers $10.167; for libraries and apparatus, $955; for fuel, rent, and incidentals, $5.608 : for repairs and furniture, $1,536, a total expenditure for the year of $18,266.48. The receipts for the year were as follows: On hand at the beginning of the school year. $3,947.14 : collected from all sources, $22, 197.59 : total receipts, $26.144.73. Although the county was but ten years old. it stood seventh in the state in point of amounts collected and expended for school purposes. Although during the next school year beginning September 1. 1893, all the industries and commercial institutions of Kootenai county were paralyzed by the panic in financial centers. there was no material decrease in the receipts and expenditures for school purposes, and the average amount per month paid to teachers was increased one 52

dollar. The enrollment was somewhat less owing per- haps to the hardships individual homes were forced to endure, or to removals from the county because of the depressing effects of the panic upon various industries ; but on the whole the school year was a successful one and results were not noticeable below those of the year previous. Ten new districts were formed during the year and $1,695 expended for new school houses and grounds in rural communities. The total valuation of school property this year was $33,690.

There are but two independent districts in the coun- ty, those of Rathdrum and Sandpoint; but in all the larger and in some of the smaller towns excellent school buildings have been erected, some of them at a cost of many thousands of dollars, and courses of study have been established, the successful completion of which admits the graduate to the lower classes of the state university at Moscow without examination. The fact that many enter that institution direct from the public schools of Kootenai county, is a splendid en- dorsement of the work of its teachers and an evidence of the high standing of the common schools of the county in the long list of educational institutions in the state. It is a matter of common remark by visitors that the schools of Kootenai county would be a great credit to a much older community and one much more densely populated.

Since 1893 forty-seven new districts have been formed, making in all seventy-six districts at the close of the school year in 1902. For comparative purposes we will give statistics for the year 1902. showing that advancement is being made, in keeping with the gen- eral progress that has been made by all industries in the county during the past few years. There are now seventy-four school houses in the seventy-six districts, in nine of which graded schools are taught. The school census of 1902 shows a total school population of 3,149 ; of this number 1,571 are boys, and 1.578 are girls. The increase since 1893 is 1,687, showing that the school population has more than doubled in the last ten years. The enrollment for the year ending June 30, 1902, was, in all the schools, 2,821, showing that 328 of school age were not enrolled. Thirty-five male and eighty-five female, or one hundred and twenty teachers in all, were employed at a total cost to the county of $31,142.23, an increase of $20.975 over the amount paid teachers in 1893. Text books cost the county $1.378.50 and libraries $668. During this year there were received from all sources $73.899.42, of which $3,113 were raised by the sale of bonds issued for building purposes. The total bonded indebtedness of the county for school purposes was $18.750 ; estimated value of school houses and sites, $59,488; of school apparatus, $5,410 ; of school libraries, $1.502. and of all school property, $81,378.86.

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An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 196

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