USA > Idaho > An illustrated history of the state of Idaho, containing a history of the state of Idaho from the earliest period of its discovery to the present time, together with glimpses of its auspicious future; illustrations and biographical mention of many pioneers and prominent citizens of to-day > Part 60
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HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Grangeville, where he engaged in stock-raising, beginning in that enterprise with twenty head of cattle. He carried on that industry until 1890, raising, buying and selling cattle, having at times as many as three hundred head. He met with fair success, and retired from the business when stock was bringing high prices. In 1891 he opened a butcher shop at Grangeville, in partner- ship with his former employer, Mr. Bentz, the connection being continued with mutual pleasure and profit until 1896, when Mr. Evans sold out. In the winter of 1897 he purchased the hardware business of Davy & Bonnell, built up a good . trade and enjoyed a large and remunerative patronage until 1899, when he was forced to re- tire, the close confinement of the store undermin- ing his health. He is now living partially retired, although he personally superintends his invest- ments. During his residence in the thriving town of Grangeville he has made several judicious pur- chases of realty, which have increased in value with the growth of the town. In 1893 he became the owner of a beautiful plat of six acres within the corporation limits and has erected thereon a delightful residence. Another purchase which he made, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres, he sold to a Lewiston stock company, and half of it has been platted and is called the Lewiston ad- dition to Grangeville. He has also made a forty- acre addition to the town, called the Grand View addition, and well is it named, for it is high and splendidly situated and commands a fine view of the great Camas prairie and the surrounding mountains. He also has forty acres in reserve,
and his realty holdings class him among the sub- stantial citizens of Idaho county. He also has various valuable quartz-mining interests, and is a successful, energetic and enterprising business man, his reputation in business circles being above reproach.
In 1885 Mr. Evans married Miss Ella Jones, a native of Oregon, and a daughter of Seth Jones, who is numbered among the pioneers of Oregon and Idaho. Their union has been blessed with two bright daughters, Irena and Mary. They have a pleasant home, which is a favorite resort with their many friends. Mrs. Evans is an esteemed member of the Episcopal church. Mr. Evans is an active member of the Masonic fra- ternity, having been identified with Mount Idaho Lodge, No. 9, for fifteen years. He has accep- tably filled many of its offices and has the honor of being one of its past masters. He is also a Royal Arch Mason, belonging to the chapter at Lewiston, and his name is on the membership roll of the Woodmen of the World. In politics he is a Republican, and is a most loyal citizen of his adopted land, unswerving in support of its insti- tutions. The cause of education finds in him a warm friend, and he was serving as one of the school trustees of Grangeville when the present fine school building was erected. Leaving the "land of the midnight sun," Mr. Evans came to America to try his fortune, and here his well di- rected labors have been crowned with success. He is truly a self-made man, and as the architect of his prosperity he has builded wisely and well.
FALK-BLOCH MER COLAU DOS. CLOTHING GROCERIES. ETC.
BOISE CE MATIONAL BAN!
ECCOOK
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View of Eighth Street, Boise.
CHAPTER XXVII.
PROMINENT CITIES AND TOWNS OF THE STATE.
T
BOISE, THE CAPITAL CITY.
HE following descriptive article is an ex- cerpt from the souvenir edition of the Boise Sentinel, issued in June, 1897:
So much has been said and written and sung of "Boise, the Beautiful," that the task of saying any- thing new seems utterly hopeless; and of this there is little need. While those who have made their homes here from the beginning, and those who from year to year have come to stay, might naturally be ex- pected to be most fervent in their praises, they have not always been the happiest in laying appropriate tributes before the shrine of the object of their love and admiration. Strangers and transient visitors have often been more fortunate in their offerings.
Perhaps the first question that arises in the mind of a stranger in regard to this locality is why was it so named. After more than a third of a century has passed since the first human habitation was erected on the present site of the town, and after the story has been so often repeated in print, the inquiry con- tinues to be daily made, Why Boise? Briefly, this is what the ancient chroniclers tell of the origin of the name: In the summer of 1834 a party of French Canadian voyagers, belonging to the expedition of Captain Bonneville (whose explorations and adven- tures were afterward immortalized by the pen of Wash- ington Irving), in traveling across the treeless and arid Snake river plains, reached the edge of a pla- teau overlooking a beautiful valley, which, extend- ing westward beyond the limits of their vision, seemed to present a continuous forest belt of trees in full foli- age. Of trees, these travelers had seen but very little for several days while journeying among the vast fields of sage-brush, the essential elements of whose growth is the entire absence of water and shade; when their eyes at length fell upon the valley, and they caught glimpses of the crystal stream that wended its serpentine way westward among the groves of cot-' tonwood trees that kept it company, they exclaimed, "Les bois! les bois! voyez les bois!" (The woods! the woods! see the woods!) Here for them were woods, real forests. With the facility with which a French- man brings his language into practical use, these Can- adian explorers soon affixed a name to their latest discovery, and called the river, whose presence was so welcome to them, La riviere Boisé (pronounced bwoizay), that is, "the wooded." To reach this spot they had followed an old Indian trail, which was sub-
sequently followed by explorers down to the advent of the first immigrants with their wagons, the immi- grants having adopted the marks which their prede- cessors had made as their guide across the otherwise trackless desert.
During the month of August, 1843, nearly ten years after the valley had been named, Fremont reached it at the same point, opposite the present site of the city of Boise, and the cool, crystal waters of the stream and the grateful shade of the groves that adorned its banks drew from him a description of the scene, which has often been quoted and admired by many who have not yet even seen Idaho. Such are the circumstances that attended the naming of the river, the valley and of the spot now occupied by the fair city of Boise.
Situated in the upper section of the valley of the Boise river, on the right and northern bank of the stream and within ten miles of the point where the mountains close in upon the stream, Boise presents a picture of quiet beauty and a scene inspiring a sense of peaceful repose and activity that has never failed to charm and delight every one who has seen it. Idaho is adorned with many lovely valleys and charm- ing localities, possessing many natural advantages and presenting many natural attractions; but nowhere else within her borders is there a spot so securely shelt- ered from the rude blasts of winter, nowhere else are the winters so mild, the clime the year round so health-giving, and the fierce cold of winter so sweetly tempered and adapted to the health and comfort of its inhabitants; nowhere else are there sources of cold and hot water close at hand and easily available for all the purposes to which hot and cold water can be ap- plied, even to the heating of public buildings and private dwellings; nowhere else have the elements of progress and growth shown themselves so healthful and so persistently active.
In 1863 the outposts of civilization, as they extended themselves eastward from the Pacific coast settlements, reached the valley of the Boise. The discovery of gold in the section of the mountain known as the Boise basin, and the presence of discontented savages led to the establishment of the present Fort Boise, or as it is now called, Boise Barracks, which is situated on a beautiful and elevated site, commanding a fine view of the town and surrounding country. Among other good reasons, doubtless this site for the military post was selected largely because of the marvelous beauty of the landscape here presented to view. Looking south- ward from the narrow plateau upon which the officers' quarters at the barracks are situated, the eye wanders
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over the great Snake river sage plains to the magnifi- cent range known as the Owyhee mountains, which close the view in that direction. To the right from the point of observation, the view embraces the west- ein course of the Boise river and of the valley, with its bright and verdant stretches of meadows, farms, or- chards and forests of shade trees, while to the left and eastward the view is more abruptly closed by the neighboring mountain masses of the Boise river range. The military post, then called Fort Boise, was located and established on the 5th day of July, 1863, by Major P. Lugenbeel, and was the immediate cause of the location of the town, which event took place on the 7th. The area surveyed and staked out was covered with a dense growth of sage-brush. Then commenced the era of town building. The buildings first erected were of the crudest and most primitive construction, being in some cases mere brush shanties. The number of inhabitants living with promise of becoming permanent residents was very small indeed. The greater number whose presence graced the scene were transient visitors on their way to and from the gold fields. Many are the claimants, some of them yet living here, to the honor of having been first on the spot.
As time went on the number of houses and inhabi- tants increased and the incipient city soon began to feel the vivifying influence of the golden stream which began to trickle down from the rich placer fields in the "basin." The first parcel of gold-dust from the new mines was bought by Cyrus Jacobs, who is still here. Mr. Jacobs had brought a stock of goods here, which were opened and offered for sale by H. C. Riggs and James Mullaney, acting for C. Jacobs & Company. About a week afterwards H. C. Riggs and James Agnew commenced building on the northeast corner of Main and Seventh streets, the location then and many years afterward known as Riggs' corner. This pioneer adobe building was destroyed by fire in 1879 and was replaced by the brick building now occupied by the clothing store of M. Alexander. The first jus- tice of the peace was a Dr. Holton, who had his office in a log cabin on the site now occupied by the Over- land Hotel. The first school was taught by F. B. Smith, in the winter of 1863-4, at the corner of Idaho and Seventh streets, opposite the site of the old Cen- tral Hotel. The first paper published was the Idaho Statesman, first issue being Tuesday morning, July 26, 1864; office in a log cabin one door west of the present location. The Statesman is with us yet, and has never missed an issue since that first bright July morning. The first hotel was kept by Burns & Nor- dicke, on the northwest corner of Main and Seventh streets, the building now occupied by Joe Kinney. Two or three weeks after the opening of the first store by C. Jacobs, a second stock was opened by Dafelle & Moore. The first contractors were May & Brown. Thompson & McClelland established a ferry here across the Boise river, a short distance below the present Ninth street bridge, in the spring of
1864. The removal of the capital of the young terri- tory from Lewiston to Boise, December 10, 1864, gave a fresh impetus to the growth of the town. The columns of the local papers, during the earlier years of the town's existence, were filled with thrilling stories of the dangers bravely met and of the hardships patiently endured by the first settlers, who had deter- mined to build here a city, which has been justly and aptly called the "Damascus of the Plains." For a long series of years prior to the advent of railroads, the principal and best means of communication across the country between the Missouri river and the shores of the Pacific, as well as that connecting important points in the interior, was furnished by stage coaches, the main line of this means of travel passing through Boise, from which point as a center radiated the shorter lines, reaching the outlying towns and mining camps. Apart from the loss of time and the hardships inci- dent to this mode of transit and travel, there was the frequent danger to life from the lurking and blood- thirsty savages. Even as late as 1866 we have veri- fied accounts of all communication being cut off from the outside world by interruptions suffered at the hands of the Indians, while all around and near their homes the pioneers were battling with the treacherous foe, who threatened them with destruction. These greater dangers and obstacles to business, to travel and to tranquil, happy home life being at length overcome and removed, there came another long series of years of "hope deferred," during which one promised scheme after another failed to bring what was so much desired and needed, a better means of communication, until a partial fulfillment and realization was reached by the advent of railroads into what was yet the terri- tory of Idaho. During all these pioneer years. Boise was the center of trade, of travel, and of every impor- tant interest in the territory. Here were held, as now. the sessions of the legislature and of the supreme court, and here was gathered the great library of almost universal legal scope, accessible at all times to the members of the bar, and also to all the people having occasion to visit and consult it. Here the medical profession, augmented by the military sur- geons, has had its largest representation of educated and skilled men. Here popular education has had its inspiration and impulse in the public schools, which have always been in the advance line. In the estab- lishment of the United States assay office, Boise was made largely the center of intelligent mining, as its banks were and are still the center of financial exchanges. The fraternal, patriotic and religious bodies have ever made their headquarters here, because the hospitality and generosity of Boise have been equal to every opportunity and demand. It will be easily under- stood why for so many years of her existence Boise was comparatively unknown. She was only the capi- tal and chief city of an isolated northwestern terri- tory; only one of the many similar objects found in this vast intermountain territory. Truc, the locality always had its power to charm the minds and senses
of
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HISTORY OF IDAHO.
of visitors by its many attractive natural features and commended itself to the judgment of all by its many superior natural advantages. With the progress of settlement, irrigation brought the "magic touch of water" to the apparently sterile but really fertile and productive soil, and soon transformed what was always a scene of natural beauty into a veritable "garden of the gods."
The growth of the city has been a steady, healthy growth from the beginning, with no boom spurts to accelerate it, because none were needed. The city grew by its own inherent advantages of location, cli- mate and soil, and by the energy and enterprise of its inhabitants.
After a long period of isolation and obscurity, Boise has emerged into the light of day and has worked out a place for herself where her many attractions and advantages are seen and recognized. By the provis- ions of the state constitution, adopted in 1890, the capital of the state was permanently fixed here for the period of twenty years. At the close of this period we shall have reached the end of the first decade in the twentieth century. Then the beautiful capital city of Idaho will be in full possession and enjoyment of all her native and acquired resources and advantages, ready to work out her glorious destiny under her own sunny skies and with the natural means with which she is so highly favored.
In the meantime, Boise will be busy getting ready for the dawn of the more glorious era. She will be developing and bringing into full use all her many natural powers of progress and prosperity. She has an intelligent and enterprising people who will make the most of all the means and advantages which nature has placed in their hands. Very soon every dwelling may be lighted and heated from the great urns and reservoirs which nature has provided. As the city grows, the supply of natural hot water can be indefi- nitely increased, until coal and wood will be rarely used for fuel. Those who wish for perfect security and exemption from fierce winds and rude winter storms will find in the upper Boise valley the most completely sheltered locality on the continent.
But, conceding all that the ardent lovers of Boise claim for her, and all that she is so justly entitled to claim for herself, in point of geographical position, political importance, climate, soil, tree and flower growth and picturesque beauty of surroundings, still there is the important and vital question ever con- fronting us: What is there here to justify a population, already numbering eight thousand and daily increas- ing, in hoping to find the means of a happy and pros-" perous existence? The past is securc and quite cred- itable to us. The present is what we see it to be. What of the future? One of the bright day-dreams of the inhabitants of Boise has been that the time would soon come when we should have local manufactures. Here, as elsewhere, by far the larger percentage of the population are wage-earners. We can see no reason why our dreams and our wishes in this par-
ticular should not be soon realized. All the fruits grown in the temperate zone grow here in the rich- est profusion. The valley of the Boise is the true home of all the fruits, large and small, and especially so of the prune, one of the most popular fruits known, and one for which the demand is constantly increas- ing. We cannot believe that the day is far distant when we shall have canning establishments here, where the great abundance of our surplus fruits can be pre- pared for a market that can never be over-supplied. The area of mining discovery and development is con- tinually broadening and extending itself northwardly toward the Arctic zone, and as the area becomes larger, the means of transportation are extended to meet and supply the. wants of the delvers for the precious metals. Very soon every product of this beautiful and fertile valley that can be prepared for market here, where every facility for manufacturing exists, will meet with ready transit and quick and profitable sale. An era of manufacturing once set in, there are no limits to the possibilities in this direction. The soil and cli- mate here are admirably adapted to the cultivation of the sugar beet, which is destined soon to "beat" the sugar trust to death with its saccharine club. Boise cannot hope to have a monopoly of the market for home-made sugar; nor will she need it; but she can supply her own market, and the surplus will always find a ready demand.
Other points, far less favored every way, have woolen manufactories, which have succeeded beyond the most sanguine hopes and expectations of the enterprising men who inaugurated them under trying and unprom- ising beginnings. It requires no gift of prophecy to see that we must soon have woolen manufactories. We have long had the very stupid habit of export- ing hides, to be transported to distant establishments to be there manufactured into leather, shoes and har- ness, to be then returned to us, we paying every cost and charge, even to the rent, taxes, cost of living and the profits of our local merchants, who kindly give us back our hides transformed into the various articles which we might have made ourselves. It is time that this folly should cease. The local tannery and local shoe and harness factory must soon be made to add their forces to the many possibilities soon to be rea- lized.
In spite of past mistakes, Boise is destined to be a railroad center, just as it was the center of travel and transportation by stages and freight wagons in the early days. It is the natural center and radi- ating point for Idaho, and natural causes must produce their natural results in due time. Of Boise as a mining center and of the mining districts imme- diately tributary to her, it is impossible now to write so as to do them justice. The theme is too prolific. These resources are known and appreciated, and the possibilities to grow out of them are already being enjoyed. Boise has all the elements and all the natural resources and attractive features requisite to make her the queen of this intermountain region. Her people
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HISTORY OF IDAHO.
have faith, hope and courage and they have fully proved that they know how to labor and wait for the good time that is surely coming.
The early history of the Boise schools is difficult to obtain, as no records can be found. The oldest settlers say that about the first free school was taught in the small brick building now standing on the cor- ner of Eighth and Washington streets. It was here, in 1885, that John W. Daniels was called from the far east to collect the educational forces of the com- munity, then consisting of four ungraded schools, into a graded system. One at this age cannot understand how the crude material and possibly the cruder public opinion were molded into a unity of thought and action that in 1881 erected the Central school building and established the strong system of schools that ever since has given education to our children and great satisfaction to our citizens. The legislature at this time gave Boise the independent school district under whose control the people still work.
The ground, consisting of a whole block, upon which the Central building stands was donated for public buildings. The building of such a structure was a heroic deed. When we remember that the nearest railroad station was Kelton, Utah, and that nearly all the manufactured goods had to be freighted the two hundred and fifty miles, at a cost of from five to ten dollars per hundred, the enormity of the enter- prise is apparent. When completed, the building and furniture cost fifty thousand dollars. There are, in it, sixteen school rooms and an office, and the whole number of pupils accommodated is about eight hun- dred, ninety-three of them being in the high school (1897). The heat is furnished from the natural hot water. Many thought it folly to erect such an immense structure when only a small portion of it was util- ized, but the increase in population was so great that the Whittier school, corner of Fort and Twelfth streets, was built in 1894. This consists of four large rooms, airy and well furnished. The cost of the build- ings and grounds was eight thousand six hundred dol- lars. The unprecedented growth of the city soon filled these buildings to overflowing. In the summer of 1896 the Lincoln school, on Idaho and Fourth streets, was erected, at a cost of fourteen thousand five hundred dollars. The large halls, the six ele- gant rooms. and the basement are models of archi- tectural skill. No pains were spared to make this the most attractive and the best arranged school-house in the city.
The Wesleyan Hospital and Deaconess Home, though comparatively new in Boise and Idaho, having been established in 1896, has mounted rapidly into popularity and influence by dint of merit and substantial worth until it is recognized as one of the best in the state. It is located on Ninth and Eastman streets, in Hyde Park addi- tion to Boise, where patients can have a quiet
place, fresh air and plenty of sunlight. The rooms are tastefully furnished, well ventilated and kept scrupulously clean and tidy. The med- ical staff is composed of only competent and thor- oughly qualified physicians who have had years of experience in all kinds of medical and surgical cases. Surgical operations of every character are performed at this institution, where the most suc- cessful and approved means are employed for the correction of deformities and the restoration of health to all those who are afflicted. Patients are left absolutely free to select any physician they may desire.
S. M. Coffin, secretary of the Boise Chamber of Commerce, in the Idaho Statesman of May 27, 1899, thus describes in a "nutshell" the present prosperous and stable condition of the capital city of the Gem of the Mountains state:
This city may well be proud of its citizens and com- mercial solidity of its banks and business houses.
The First National Bank of Idaho was the second national bank organized on the Pacific coast and has since 1867 opened its doors to its depositors with unwavering integrity. There are three thousand six hundred and sixty-five national banks in the United States; the number of this bank is 1668. The Boise City National bank obtained its charter in 1886 and is a United States depository. The deposits of both banks aggregate over one million dollars. There are stockholders in both banks who are worth, in cold cash, more than the banks. The Capital State Bank was born in 1891 and is a solid, reliable institution.
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