USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume I > Part 50
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80
The increased demand for quicksilver for war uses by the United States in 1917 led to the organization of two new companies in Idaho-the Monumental Mercury Mining Company and the Yellow Pine Quicksilver Mining Company, but neither of them had developed their holdings to a paying basis at the close of 1918, though both reported good prospects in sight. Cinnabar has also been found at Pine Grove, Elmore County, and on Deer Creek, Blaine County.
Tungsten-For years the greater portion of the world's supply of tungsten- an important element in the production of steel-has come from the Tavoy dis- trict in Burmah and from Southern China. The interference with transportation by the World War led to the development of Tungsten deposits in the United States. In 1917 a small production of tungsten concentrates was made by the Idaho Tungsten Company from the property held by that company on Patterson Creek in Lemhi County, where the mineral had been discovered some years before. Tungsten in the form of Sheelite ore also occurs in the large quartz veins in the Golden Chest Mine at Murray, Shoshone County, and in the Charity mine at Warren, Idaho County, and a recent discovery of this metal has been reported at Arco, the county seat of Butte County.
Tin ore has been found on Panther and Silver creeks, Lemhi County; plat- inum has been found in the placer gravels of Stanley Creek in Custer County; radium is known to exist in the monzanite sands at various places in Southwest- ern Idaho; corundum and topaz crystals are found in Boise, Custer and Idaho counties ; and beautiful fire opals have been unearthed in Latah, Lemhi and Owyhee counties. In fact, the mineral wealth of Idaho is not yet fully known.
NON-METALLIC MINERALS
Asbestos-Extensive deposits of asbestos have been discovered in Clearwater and Idaho counties and one of the deposits was worked to some extent near Kamiah during the last two years. Chrysotile asbestos has been found in Fre- mont County, near Ashton and in other sections of that county. These deposits have been pronounced by the mine inspector as "well worthy of closer investiga- tion."
Coal-George H. Eldridge, who made a report of a geological reconnaissance of Idaho in the early '90s, mentions the presence of coal near Horseshoe Bend, on the Payette River, about twenty miles north of Boise, in lignite veins in sand- stone, no vein being over eighteen inches in thickness. He also noticed coal near Salmon, in Lemhi County, in a deposit of sufficient thickness to justify develop- ment.
Later, however, larger deposits of coal were discovered in Teton Basin and the Idaho Coal Mining Company was formed for the purpose of operating these mines. The properties consist of 900 acres of coal-bearing lands and a shaft has been sunk to a depth of 400 feet on a vein of fine coal about five feet in thickness. This is being developed by R. S. Talbott and others, of Spokane. The property is situate about ten miles from Driggs and the coal was first delivered to the railroad by means of wagon trains, but late in 1918 the branch road was com- pleted to the mine and a good deal of coal has been extracted. A partial de-
497
HISTORY OF IDAHO
velopment by slopes and tunnels has been made, and it is estimated that there are thirteen million tons of coal above the working 500 foot level. This is the only coal mine in the state. The coal is of good quality, contains a large per- centage of volatile matter and a small amount of moisture and ash. A Govern- ment analysis of it says, "It equals the best bituminous coal now imported into Idaho from any source." The absence of coal in Idaho has retarded the de- velopment of the state to a great extent and the development of the Teton Valley Mine is an important matter for the eastern part of the state.
Phosphorus-Idaho possesses the richest and largest bodies of phosphorus rock in the world, aggregating billions of tons. Most of these deposits are in- cluded in Bannock, Caribou and Bear Lake counties. All soils, especially grain producing soils, need the application of phosphorous to retain their fertility. The low yield of wheat crop in the United States and its failure on many occasions used to be due more to the lack of phosphorous in the soil than to any other cause. The ground phosphorous rock treated with sulphuric acid has wherever it has been used as a fertilizer brought a richer and larger crop of wheat than was ever obtained from the same fields prior to its use. The importance of these deposits cannot be overestimated and the amount contained in the fields in East- ern Idaho, which extend also into Western Wyoming, is sufficient to supply the world for centuries. Most of the phosphorous area in the states mentioned has been withdrawn from entry by the United States Government. This action has been severely condemned by many. It is a question of public policy, the wisdom of which must be determined in the future. Hon. Robert N. Bell, the Idaho inspector of mines, says that this course, "is not fair to a promising western in- dustry," and in his report in 1917 adds, "Our Government now holds in reserve and in utter idleness under its conservation policy a bigger lever of relief from our present distressing causes of social unrest with its baneful prospects-the high cost of living-than any nation on earth, and this consists of the vast de- posits of high grade phosphorous rock in Southeastern Idaho and the adjacent territory, the tight conservation of which at the time of such serious crop short- age (1917) is little short of national stupidity and a narrow, biased view of con- servation."
Pumice Stone-Deposits of this mineral have been found in Benewah and Power counties and recent inquiries from Eastern manufacturers will probably result in their development. The soil is of volcanic origin and is superior to emery or carborundum for polishing certain kinds of metals, fine furniture, etc.
Many other non-metallic minerals exist in large quantities in the state, and promise to be of great commercial advantage in the future, but are too remote to be seriously considered at present.
MANUFACTURING
Idaho has never achieved prominence as a manufacturing state, mainly due to the fact that its geographical location is so far away from the populous sections of the country, where the demand for manufactured products is greatest. Most of the factories that have been established within the state are those engaged in the production of commodities to supply a local demand, or for the reduction of foodstuffs to a concentrated form to render them more easily handled for shipment. In the former class are the brick factories, of which
Vol. I-32
498
HISTORY OF IDAHO
there are a number scattered over the state, the foundries and machine shops, sash and door factories, etc., and in the latter class are the flour and sugar mills, cheese factories, canning establishments, milk condensories, packing plants and some others. The manufacture of lumber is an important Idaho industry, but it is described in another chapter.
One of the largest brick factories in the state is located at Pocatello, having a daily capacity of about one hundred thousand brick. Boise also has large brick making interests, and at Idaho Falls a fine quality of pressed brick is made, which are shipped to all parts of the Northwest. Coeur d'Alene, Grange- ville, Kendrick, Moscow, Orofino, Payette and Sandpoint each manufacture large quantities of brick, the last named place having three large yards.
The general shops of the Oregon Short Line Railroad Company are located at Pocatello and have an annual payroll of $1,500,000. Foundries and machine shops that do a general business are situated at Boise, Coeur d'Alene and Lewis- ton, and in some of the mining centers there are shops devoted chiefly to the repair of mining machinery. The shops at Boise were established in 1892, by Capt. James Baxter, who began the manufacture of quartz mills and other mining machinery, later adding all kinds of castings.
The principal sash and door factories are in the great lumbering districts of Northern Idaho, the largest being located at Coeur D'Alene and Sandpoint. In a number of other cities and towns there are planing mills that make sash and doors to order, but from the Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint mills the prod- ucts are shipped to all the leading cities of the Pacific coast.
The first sugar mill in Idaho was built at Blackfoot and was largely in the nature of an experiment. It proved to be a success and was soon followed by others. A full account of the sugar industry is given in Chapter XXIII, on "Agricultural Development."
Flour mills constitute the largest number of manufacturing establishments of any one class, large mills being in operation at Blackfoot, Coeur d'Alene, Culdesac, Genesee, Grangeville, Idaho Falls, Juliaetta, Kendrick, McCammon, Mackay, Meridian, Moscow, Nampa, Nezperce, Oakley, Payette, Preston, Rigby, St. Anthony, Salmon, Troy and Twin Falls, and there are several smaller mills in other towns. Idaho Falls, Genesee and Payette each have two mills and the Blackfoot mill has a daily capacity of 200 barrels of flour. The largest mill in the state is the one at Twin Falls, which has a daily capacity of 800 barrels.
Probably the largest cheese factory in the state is the one at Meridian. It was established some years ago as a cooperative institution and has recently been enlarged. During the year 1918 this factory paid out $180,000 for milk, the output of the factory selling for $75,000 more than in any preceding year of its history. There are also cheese factories at Buhl, Parma, Letha, New Plymouth and several other points in the state, all of which are doing a prosper- ous business.
Canning establishments, fruit evaporating plants and vinegar factories have been started in nearly all the principal fruit growing sections and the products of these concerns are shipped to all parts of the country. Then there are a number of factories, such as the alfalfa mills at Kimberly and Shelley; the milk condensing plants at Franklin, Nampa and Preston, and the great plant of the Carnation Company built near Nampa in 1918; the knitting mills at Preston;
EPLE'S
STIT
ECCLES HOTEL, BLACKFOOT
SUGAR FACTORY, BLACKFOOT
501
HISTORY OF IDAHO
the Diamond Drill Works at Coeur d'Alene; the threshing machine factory at Post Falls; the spray and disinfectant factories at Meridian and Payette; the lime making interests of Grangeville and Orofino; the ship yards at Sandpoint ; and numerous ice factories that manufacture ice for local consumption. The reader is referred to the chapters on Cities and Towns and Incorporated Villages for further information concerning the manufacturing interests of Idaho.
WATER POWER
Give Idaho a market for manufactured goods equal to that of the average eastern or middle state, and her facilities for manufacturing would be prac- tically unlimited. One of the greatest natural assets of Idaho is the water power, which is as yet barely touched. Civil engineers and scientific men agree that "Idaho has the most and best distributed water power of any state in the Union. The topography of the state, with its lofty watersheds and intervening valleys, is such that a never failing supply of water is furnished for the many streams, and it is probable that not a single county in the state is without ample water power for manufacturing purposes for the next century." Of course, the greatest source of this power is the Snake River, which falls 5,000 feet in cross- ing the state, with a dozen or more great cataracts, from twenty to more than two hundred feet in height, and numerous rapids where power can be generated to an almost unlimited extent and at comparatively small expense.
Power plants have already been established at Idaho Falls, American Falls, the Minidoka Dam, Shoshone Falls, Salmon Falls, the Thousand Springs and a few other points on the Snake River; at Post Falls, on the Spokane River; at Salmon, on the Salmon River; at Grace, on the Bear River, etc., but the prin- cipal application of the power has been to generate electric current for heating, lighting and power for a few small manufacturing concerns. The plant at Grace gives 46,000 horse power, the one at American Falls, 60,000 horse power, the plants at Idaho Falls, the Oxbow plant in Adams County and others generate about as much more, and engineers have estimated that a million horse power can be developed in the narrow box canyon of the Snake River between Lewiston and Huntington, Ore., much of which could be transmitted to Idaho factories.
Where steam is used as a power, the fuel problem is one that always con- fronts the manufacturer. In Idaho this problem is solved in advance. The New England states became the great manufacturing district of the nation chiefly through the utilization of the water power, and Idaho alone possesses greater water power possibilities than all the New England states combined.
CHAPTER XXVI TIMBER IN IDAHO
USE OF TIMBER ON PUBLIC LANDS BY THE PIONEERS-WHIPSAWING LUMBER-FIRST SAWMILLS-EFFECT PRODUCED BY THE RAILROADS- DEVELOPMENT OF THE FOREST RESERVES-LIST OF NATIONAL FORESTS-AGRICULTURAL LANDS-MINERAL LANDS - GRAZING LANDS IN RESERVES-EFFECT OF CONSERVATION ON LIVESTOCK INDUS- TRY-RESOLUTIONS OF STOCKMEN-FOREST FIRES-FOREST RESERVE FUND AND ITS DISTRIBUTION.
With the exception of the Snake River Valley and its tributary valleys in the southern part of the state and the lower parts of the rolling hills of the Potlatch section and the Camas and Nez Perce Prairies in the North, practically the entire area of Idaho was originally covered with a magnificent growth of timber of various kinds. In practically all of the various mining sections, the timber was specially plentiful, both that fitted for manufacture of lumber and the smaller growth, specially valuable for building and mining purposes.
In the early days the general government made no effort to assert owner- ship over the forests and it was tacitly understood that both the pioneer miners and farmers were entitled to go upon the timber land and help themselves to whatever they needed for their comfort or convenience. It was the only policy that could be pursued by the United States that would permit the opening up of new sections. The exigencies of pioneer life demanded such privilege.
The first comers to what is now Idaho were lured there by the expectation of finding gold placers and succeeded beyond their expectations; when a placer camp was struck, cabins had to be built on the mining claims, and buildings had to be erected for commercial purposes in the towns. To mine the newly dis- covered creek, bar and gulch claims required flumes, sluice boxes and rockers. Rough buildings could be built from logs made from the smaller trees, but lum- ber had to be sawed. To wait on the construction of even the rude sawmills of the pioneer days was impossible and whipsaws were used by making easily prepared pits upon the rude, raised platform on which logs of the right size were rolled and, one man standing on the platform and one in the pit beneath, worked the perpendicularly held whipsaw and alternately pulling it up and down, were able to manufacture boards of sufficient dimensions for mining use of any kind. Much of the lumber used in mining in the first few months and
503
504
HISTORY OF IDAHO
largely used in lining the log houses in the towns and in making furniture, was whipsawed, and while the price paid was necessarily high, the benefits derived from its use were correspondingly great.
This rude method of making the necessary lumber in the mining regions did not long prevail, as small portable sawmills early found their way into each mining camp.
The first sawmill in Idaho of which anything definite can be learned was the little one erected by B. L. Warriner on Grimes Creek in the winter of 1862- 63. It was a small affair and after it was completed Mr. Warriner had to wait for the melting of the snows before the creek would furnish enough water to run the mill. At that time the Boise Basin was the most populous district in Idaho and the demand for lumber was correspondingly greater than in other sections of the territory. Warriner's mill was soon followed by one erected by Daily & Robbins near Centerville early in the spring of 1863. These two mills were unable to supply the demand for lumber and in May a third one was built. About that time two men-each known as Major Taylor-came into the Basin and began the construction of a steam sawmill at Idaho City. The engine, boiler and machinery for this mill had to be brought to Idaho City by ox teams from the head of navigation on the Snake River, but it was ready for business early in July and had a daily capacity of 15,000 feet. Most of the lumber used in the construction of Fort Boise was cut at the Taylor mill.
Such was the beginning of the lumbering industry in Idaho. Small saw- mills, generally run by water power, were erected in other settlements to supply lumber for local use, but it was not until about 1884 that the lumbering interests of the state (then a territory) began to assume a commercial importance. The great forests of cedar, white and yellow pine in the Potlatch country and the vast timber resources of Northern Idaho had been looked upon with longing eyes by furniture manufacturers and wood workers for years, but these re- sources were not rendered available until some means of getting the lumber to market were provided. The building of the Northern Pacific and the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company's lines in the early '8os, and the construction of the Great Northern Railroad some ten years later, gave the long-desired opportunity and large sawmills were erected in the northern part of the state. Potlatch, in the northwestern part of Latah County, claims to have the largest sawmill in the world.
Benewah, Kootenai, Bonner and Boundary counties are all heavily timbered with white and yellow pine, cedar and fir, and there is scarcely a town on or near the railroads in these counties that has not a sawmill, many of them more than one. Although much of this timbered area lies within the limits of the national forests, where the conservation policy prevails, there are a number of tracts owned by private individuals or lumber companies, and millions of feet of lumber are shipped annually from these northern counties.
While the timber resources in other parts of the state are hardly to be com- pared with the great forests of the Panhandle, there are on the upper Snake River and its tributaries over five billion feet of merchantable timber open to purchase. Most of this consists of lodge pole pine, Engelman spruce, Douglas and Alpine fir and white bark pine.
In the western part of the state, particularly in Boise Basin and in the Pay-
SAND CREEK, SHOWING HUMBIRD LUMBER CO.'S PLANT, SANDPOINT
BOISE-PAYETTE LUMBER CO.'S PLANT, BARBERTON, FIVE MILES EAST OF BOISE
507
HISTORY OF IDAHO
ette and Weiser national forests and contiguous territory, the timber is chiefly yellow pine. This section is the principal field of operations of the Boise-Payette Lumber Company and the firm of Hoff & Brown, the latter concern having three large sawmills on the shores of the Great Payette Lake. The Boise-Payette Lumber Company also has large sawmills at Barberton, five miles up the Boise River from the City of Boise. Some of the great lumber companies have built lines of railroad from their mills into the forests for the purpose of conveying the logs to the mills. Instead of the ox team, consisting of three or four yoke of cattle, which brought one sawlog at a time to the pioneer sawmill, the loco- motive now brings two or three hundred logs at a trip. In other places, such as Coeur d'Alene, St. Maries and Sandpoint, the logs are carried to the mills by floating them down the streams. At the mills they are caught into booms and taken from the water as needed.
An expert in forestry, in speaking of Idaho's timber resources recently, said : "The present annual growth of timber in the state is more than six times the quantity of lumber cut, and, if the present policies are carried out, the time will never come when the yearly cut of timber will exceed the annual growth in Idaho."
A large amount of timber has been heretofore destroyed in Idaho, through timber fires, which were generally started as the result of carelessness. Both the United States Government and the State Government, as well as the larger timber companies, are now strenuously endeavoring to prevent forest fires and and are succeeding in confining them to limited localities, and future waste from this cause will be prevented.
The operations of the large sawmills in different parts of the state are greatly denuding the forest areas of the timber supply, but with the losses from fires minimized the annual growth of the timber of the state will do much toward preserving the amount of timber as it now stands. Some forestry experts insist that the natural growth of timber in a state like Idaho will exceed the yearly cut that is made even by as many mills as we have in the state. While this does not seem probable, undoubtedly this growth must be taken into considera- tion when it comes to dealing with the timber supplies of the future.
Later in this chapter, and under the head of "Conservation" the methods adopted to preserve the timber will be more fully commented upon.
Quite a number of the sawmills in the lumbering districts of the state have an annual capacity of 60,000,000 feet or more each. Some idea of the magnitude of Idaho's lumbering industry may be gained from the following despatch from Cascade to the Boise Capital News of July 23, 1918:
"Between four and five hundred men are now employed here by the Boise- Payette Lumber Company. Two trainloads of logs totaling an average of thirty- five cars are being shipped daily from Cascade to the company's great sawmill at Emmett. There is an average of 8,500 feet to the carload. This means that about 1,685,000 feet of logs are shipped from here to Emmett each week, or 6,740,000 feet a month.
"About a carload of logs for airplane stock is now being shipped from here to Emmett each day. These logs are twenty-one feet long and are cut into lumber three inches thick. The company is laying out new yards at Belvidere, a station six miles south of Cascade. Spur tracks from there are being built into the
508
HISTORY OF IDAHO
company's big timber holdings throughout this part of the valley. There is a persistent rumor that the company will establish a roundhouse and shops at Belvidere this fall or next spring."
The mill of the Boise-Payette Lumber Company at Barberton, above Boise, cuts 700,000 feet in two ten-hour shifts, and the putting on of three eight hour shifts could be made to cut 1,000,000 feet a day. From 350 to 400 men are employed in this mill, and about three hundred more are employed at logging camps in the Boise Basin, and on the railroad extending from the camps to,the mill.
Before taking up the matter of conservation, we desire to call attention to the
TIMBER RESOURCES OF IDAHO
There was introduced in the Fifteenth Session of the Idaho Legislature, a bill for the creation of a state Forestry Bureau, whose duty it would be to pre- serve and protect the timber in Idaho. This bill created an Advisory Board composed of the governor and two others appointed by him upon recommenda- tion of the United States Forestry Service and Timber Fire Protective asso- ciations, and the commission was to have power to employ a State Forester at a salary of $3,000.00 per annum.
At the time this measure was before the House, Representative Gardner of Boise County made a remarkable address to the House, which is worthy of reproduction, stating as it does facts pertaining to Idaho timber and its extent which should be known to every citizen of the state.
"The total forested area in Idaho, including barren or grazing lands, young timber growth and merchantable timber within such area is 23,000,000 acres. This is about 43 per cent of the total of 53,000,000 acres of all kinds of land in the state. The total merchantable timber in the state is 130,000,000,000 feet, divided about as follows: White pine, 24,700,000,000, or 19 per cent ; yellow pine, 22,100,000,000, or 17 per cent ; red fir, 27,300,000,000, or 21 per cent ; tamarak, 7,800,000,000, or 6 per cent ; other mixed woods, 48,100,000,000. Practically all of the white pine is in Northern Idaho, and most of it is north of the Clear- water.
"It is because of these vast holdings and their protection I consider this bill one of, if not the most important, before the Legislature. These figures are so stupendous that they must be converted into more common terms before they can be grasped. To illustrate :
"One hundred and thirty billion feet of lumber would fill 6,500,000 railroad freight cars; would build a sidewalk of one inch lumber 10 feet wide and 2,462,121 miles long- enough to go around the earth 100 times at the equator, . or from the earth to the moon and back five times; build a commodious eight room two story frame house for every one of the 6,000,000 men, women, and children living west of the Rocky Mountains.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.