USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume I > Part 72
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OAKLEY
Oakley, situated at the head of the Goose Creek Valley in the western part of Cassia County, is the terminus of the Oakley branch of the Oregon Short Line railway system. Even before the building of the railroad, Oakley was a trading center for a considerable area in the Goose Creek Valley, one of the successful farming districts of Idaho. After the railroad was opened the village began to grow and was incorporated. It has two banks, a flour mill, a commercial club, a weekly newspaper, a fine public school building and some of the best mercantile concerns to be found in Southern Idaho. The headquar- ters of the Minidoka National Forest are located here. Good building stone is found in abundance near the village and some of the buildings are of that material. In 1910 the population was 911 and in 1918 it was estimated at 1,100.
OROFINO
Near this village, which is the county seat of Clearwater County, Capt. E. D. Pierce discovered gold in 1860 and the name was given to the stream on whose banks the mines were located. When the Nez Perce Indian reservation was opened in November, 1895, Clifford P. Fuller took for a homestead the unallotted strip of land where the village now stands. Mr. Fuller then organized the Clearwater Improvement Company and platted a town. On May 1, 1897, the postoffice was removed from Gilbert, about four miles southwest, to the new town. The original spelling of the name was "Oro Fino," a Spanish term mean- ing fine gold, but the postoffice department objected to that form and made one word-"Orofino." Mrs. Lois J. Anderson was the first postmistress. In 1898 the Northern Pacific Railroad was completed to Orofino and the first school was taught in the spring of that year by Mrs. Charles Moody. When Clear- water County was created in 1911 Orofino was made the county seat, though the village had been incorporated some years before. Orofino has two banks, two sawmills, a large brickyard, lime kilns, electric light and waterworks, two weekly newspapers, several churches, an active commercial club, public schools, stores, etc., and in 1910 reported a population of 384. In 1918 the population was estimated at 800. The Northern Idaho Insane Asylum is located here.
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PARKER
Five miles west of St. Anthony, on the West Belt branch of the Oregon Short Line railway system, is the Village of Parker, which was incorporated in 1905. It is the outgrowth of the building of the railroad, the farmers in that section of Fremont County asking for a station from which they could ship their products, foremost among which are sugar beets, seeds, grain and live stock. The population is now estimated at 800.
PARMA
The Village of Parma is situated in the northwestern part of Canyon County, on the Oregon Short Line Railroad and near the Snake River. It is only about three miles from the site of old Fort Boise, after the Hudson's Bay Company removed that post from the Boise River to the east bank of the Snake in 1838. On the corner in front of the Parma State Bank stands a granite marker set- ting forth the fact that Main Street was once a part of the historic Oregon Trail. Parma grew up after the building of the railroad and was incorporated in 1904. It has two banks, a cheese factory, a large grain elevator, extensive fruit packing plants, a telephone exchange, municipal waterworks, two weekly newspapers, electric light, a public library, and the usual churches, public schools and mercantile concerns found in villages of its class. The population in 1910 was 338 and in 1918 it was estimated at 800. In the years 1913 and 1914 Parma exhibitors won first place for a carload of hogs at the Portland Live Stock Show.
PECK
In the extreme eastern part of Nez Perce County, on the division of the Northern Pacific Railroad known as the Clearwater Short Line, is the Town of Peck. The first settler was John Herres, who conducted a ferry across the Clearwater River and had a small general store. When the railroad was built in 1899 a little hamlet grew up at the ferry and about the beginning of the present century it was incorporated as the Town of Peck. Annual fairs have been held here for several years and the station is the main trading and ship- ping point for the farmers in portions of Nez Perce, Lewis and Clearwater counties. The population in 1910 was 236 and in 1918 it was estimated at 400. Peck has a bank and a number of stores, which are the principal business enterprises.
PLACERVILLE
Following the discovery of gold in the Boise Basin in 1862, towns sprang. up as if by magic. One of these was Placerville, located on a little stream called Granite Creek, about nine or ten miles northwest of Idaho City, and within a few months 300 houses had been erected. It was connected with Idaho City, Centerville and Boise by the Greathouse stage lines and its prosperity contin- ued until the placer mines began to fail, when many of the inhabitants sought new fields that promised greater returns. Nevertheless, Placerville hung on and in time was regularly incorporated under the territorial laws. A postoffice was established at an early date, but as no railroad came to assist the town it con- tinued to decline and in 1910 the population was only 187.
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POST FALLS
This village, situated on the Spokane River nine miles west of Coeur d'Alene, Kootenai County, was first known as "Upper Falls." In 1871 Frederick Post built there a sawmill and a little later a grist mill, after which the place took the name of "Post Falls." The settlement of the town began about 1880 and waterworks were put in some five years later. Mr. Post sold his sawmill to the Spokane & Idaho Lumber Company in 1894, having previously sold his flour mill to Dart Brothers in 1889. The new owners of both mills enlarged them and increased their usefulness, thereby extending their trade over a large territory.
Post Falls was incorporated on May 28, 1891, with Thomas Ford, C. M. Brown, H. L. Tauton, C. H. Walizer and W. J. Butterfield as trustees. It has a bank, a weekly newspaper, a large sawmill, feed mill, a threshing machine factory which makes the "Inland Automatic Thresher," a box factory, a can- nery and an electric power plant which derives its energy from the falls. The Catholics, Methodists and Presbyterians have neat church edifices, the town has a public library and good public schools. The Northern Pacific, the Spo- kane & Inland Empire and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroads all touch the town, which makes Post Falls an important shipping point for a highly developed irrigation district. The population in 1910 was 658 and is now about the same.
PRIEST RIVER
The incorporated village of Priest River is situated on the stream of the same name in the western part of Bonner County and dates its beginning from the building of the Great Northern Railroad in 1891. A sawmill had been erected where the town now stands before the building of the railroad. A postoffice was established in 1891 with James Judge as postmaster, and the following spring Charles Jackson opened a general store. The railroad company erected a depot in 1901 and about that time the village was incorporated. Priest River has municipal waterworks, electric light, a bank, a weekly newspaper, a hospital, a commercial club, a large sawmill, several good mercantile establishments, schools and churches, and in 1910 reported a population of 248. In 1918 the population was estimated at 500.
RATHDRUM
The Village of Rathdrum, once the county seat of Kootenai County, is situ- ated at the junction of the Northern Pacific and the Idaho & Washington Northern railroads, about fourteen miles northwest of Coeur d'Alene, the pres- ent county seat. Its excellent railroad facilities make it the principal shipping point for the northern half of the Rathdrum Prairie.
As early as 1861 a hunter and trapper named Connors built a small cabin where Rathdrum now stands and occupied it for several years during the trap- ping seasons. In 1871 he sold his "squatter's right" to Frederick Post but the purchaser did not make any immediate use of it. When the Northern Pacific Railroad was surveyed in 1880 a settlement began to grow up at Rathdrum. In July, 1881, the railroad was completed to the town, which was platted the same
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month, and a postoffice was established with Zachary Lewis as postmaster. Bradbury & Eilert opened the first general store soon after the postoffice was established, Frederick Post built a sawmill in 1882, and a schoolhouse was built that year in time for a term of school to begin in the fall. Waterworks were put in the next year and in 1891 Rathdrum was incorporated. It has a bank, a weekly newspaper, a sawmill, grain elevators, an opera house, five churches, two hotels, well-stocked stores, etc., and is one of the active business centers of the county.
RICHFIELD
The incorporated Village of Richfield is located in the northern part of Lincoln County, at the junction of the Ketchum and Hill City divisions of the Oregon Short Line railway system, and is the trading and shipping point for over forty thousand acres of irrigated farming land. It was incorporated about the time the railroads were built, has waterworks, electric light, a bank, a news- paper, a commercial club, grain elevator, schools and churches, and in 1910 re- ported a population of 158. The estimated population in 1918 was 325. An annual fair is held in Richfield and the offices of the Idaho Irrigation Company are located here.
ROBERTS
This village, also situated in Jefferson County, lies about twelve miles north- west of Rigby on the Butte-Salt Lake line of the Oregon Short Line railway system and was incorporated in 1910 with a population of 192. The popula- tion at the present time is estimated at 400. It has a bank, a commercial club. a weekly newspaper, is lighted by electricity, has an excellent public school system and is the trading and shipping point not only for a large area of irri- gated country, but of a large dry farming district, as well. The town was for- merly known as Market Lake.
SHELLEY
Next to the City of Blackfoot, this is the most important commercial cen- ter of Bingham County. It is situated on the Snake River and the Oregon Short Line Railroad in the northeastern part of the county, eighteen miles from Blackfoot, the county seat. It has a bank, a flour mill, an alfalfa mill, water- works and electric light, a commercial club, two rural mail routes, four churches, modern school buildings, and is an important shipping point for a considerable district in Bingham and Bonneville counties. Shelley was incorporated in 1904 and in 1910 reported a population of 537. In 1918 the population was estimated at 700.
SHOSHONE
Shoshone, the county seat of Lincoln County, is situated west of the cen- ter of the county, at the junction of the main line and the Ketchum branch of the Oregon Short Line railway system. It dates its beginning from the build- ing of the Oregon Short Line in the early 'Sos and was at first selected by the railroad officials for a division terminal, but trouble over the townsite caused the division point to be established at Pocatello. The first train arived at Sho- shone on February 7, 1883. It was a work train and the first passenger train
RIRIE
HOME OF JAMES W. NEWMAN, SHOSHONE
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HISTORY OF IDAHO
did not arrive until nearly a month later. The telegraph line was completed to Shoshone about the same time. When Lincoln County was created, Shoshone was made the county seat and about that time the village was incorporated. It has two banks, a good system of waterworks, electric light, a weekly news- paper, an excellent public school system, a public library, is the headquarters for a large sheep range, and is the center of the first bonded road district in Idaho. The population in 1910 was 1,155 and in 1918 it was estimated at 1,600.
SODA SPRINGS
Formerly in the eastern part of Bannock County, on the Oregon Short Line Railroad, is the incorporated village of Soda Springs, now the county seat of Caribou County, which was erected in February, 1919, the town taking its name from the effervescing springs nearby. These springs were known to the early trappers and explorers and were called "Beer Springs," as they claimed to notice in the waters some resemblance to lager beer. They were visited by Capt. B. L. E. Bonneville in 1833, who gives the following account of the springs : "On reaching them the men threw themselves into a mock carouse. Every spring had its jovial knot of hard drinkers, tin cup in hand, quaffing, pledging, toasting and singing drinking songs. They were loud and extravagant in their commendation of the 'mountain tap.' It was a singular and fantastic scene, suited to a region where everything is strange and peculiar-these groups of trappers, hunters and Indians, with their wild costumes and wilder countenances ; their boisterous gayety and reckless air, making merry around these sparkling fountains; while beside them lay their weapons, ready to be snatched up for instant service."
The first permanent settlement of the place was made in 1863 by a small colony of dissenters from the Mormon Church and they were protected by a small detachment of troops furnished by Gen. P. E Connor until they could establish friendly relations with the Indians and build their cabins. They were also supplied with rations by General Connor. Among the first settlers were William Bowman, Nels Anderson and C. Eliason. Others who came a little later and were prominently identified with the early history of the village were William Chester, Thomas Crane and George W. Gorton. Soda Springs has two banks, a weekly newspaper, a bottling works which bottles and ships the waters of the springs, mercantile establishments, water and light, good public schools, and ships more sheep and wool than any other point on the Oregon Short Line. Valuable phosphate deposits have been found near the village and promise to become an important source of wealth. The population in 1910 was 501.
SPIRIT LAKE
F. A. Blackwell and his associates, who built the Idaho & Washington North- ern Railroad and established the Panhandle Lumber Company, were the found- ers of Spirit Lake, which is located in the extreme northwestern corner of Kootenai County at the southern end of Spirit Valley, one of the richest agri- cultural districts of Northern Idaho. The town was literally hewn out of the virgin forest and has grown up since the building of the railroad, which is now controlled by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul. Spirit Lake has graded and high schools, an electric light plant, waterworks and sewer system, a bank, a
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weekly newspaper, large lumbering interests, substantial business buildings, and in 1910 reported a population of 907.
STITES
In 1897 Jacob Stites entered a homestead in the Clearwater Valley about fifteen miles northeast of Grangeville. The next year the Northern Pacific Railroad Company took the preliminary steps toward the building of the branch known as the "Clearwater Short Line," and Mr. Stites sold forty acres of his land to J. M. Shannon, J. G. Rowton and N. P. Pettibone, who organized them- selves into the "Stites Townsite Company" and platted a town in May, 1899. Olcott & Strecker opened the first store soon afterward and Stites became the terminus of the railroad. The village was incorporated early in the present century and in 1910 reported a population of 300. Stites has a bank, a weekly newspaper, an up-to-date public school system, and most of the improvements usually found in modern villages of its class.
SUGAR
This village (sometimes called "Sugar City") is located in the northern part of Madison County, three miles northeast of Rexburg and on the Yellowstone Park branch of the Oregon Short Line railway system. The largest sugar factory in the State of Idaho is located here, which gives the place its name. This factory pays out every year about half a million dollars for sugar beets. Sugar has a bank, electric light, a newspaper, a number of well-stocked mer- cantile concerns, good public schools, etc., and in 1910 reported a population of 391.
TROY
In 1888 the settlement where the Village of Troy now stands was known as "Huff's Gulch." In July, 1890, A. T. Spottswood, I. C. Hattabaugh, H. Ham- lin and Fred Veach, knowing that the Lewiston branch of the Northern Pacific Railroad was likely to be built via Huff's Gulch, organized a company and platted the town of "Vollmer." Spottswood & Veach established the first store and the postoffice was located there in 1891. On September 6, 1897, the name was changed to Troy by popular vote, and just a week later the village was incor- porated. Troy has a bank, waterworks, electric light, a weekly newspaper, a flour mill, large lumbering interests, and is a shipping point for a considerable portion of the rich Potlatch Valley. In 1910 the population was 543 and in 1918 it was estimated at 700.
VOLLMER
Vollmer, situated in the central part of Lewis County, grew up after the building of the Camas Prairie Railroad in 1899 and was named for John P. Vollmer, one of the leading business men of the Clearwater country at that date. Vollmer and the Village of Ilo are practically one town. It is the ยท terminus of the branch railroad. that runs to Nez Perce, the county seat of Lewis County. It has a bank, a hotel, schools, churches, and is a shipping point for a large part of the Camas Prairie. The population in 1910 was 332. and at the present time is estimated at 500.
HANSEN BRIDGE
SODA SPRINGS
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WENDELL
Wendell is situated in the southeastern part of Gooding County, about seven miles from the Snake River, and is served by the Idaho Southern Railroad and that branch of the Oregon Short Line system known as the Bliss Cut-off. It has a bank, a weekly newspaper, a large seed warehouse, waterworks, electric light, a commercial club, central schools with free transportation for the pupils, several mercantile concerns, four churches and is one of the progressive vil- lages of the Snake River Valley. In 1910 the population was 482 and in 1918 it was estimated at 600.
WESTON
The village of Weston, situated in the southwestern part of Franklin County and on the Butte-Salt Lake division of the Oregon Short Line, was incorpor- ated in 1901. It is in the fertile Bear River Valley and ships considerable quan- tities of grain and dairy products. It is also the principal trading point for a large farming district in Franklin and Oneida counties and Northern Utah: The population in 1910 was 398 and in 1918 it was estimated at 500.
In addition to the incorporated villages enumerated in this chapter there are sixty or seventy others in the state, most of which are mentioned in the chapters on County History, and many of them have been incorporated within recent years. But those above described include practically all the important centers.
Vol. 1- 51
SWALLOW NEST ROCK ON SNAKE RIVER, BETWEEN CLARKSTON AND ASOTIN
CHAPTER XXXVII HEALTH AND PLEASURE RESORTS
A HEALTHFUL CLIMATE-DEATH RATE-NATURAL SCENERY-IDAHO'S MOUNTAINS -ITS LAKES-WATERFALLS -- NATURAL SPRINGS-"SEE AMERICA FIRST"-IDAHO A SPORTSMAN'S PARADISE.
There is no country in the world, no state in the Union, where the resident. is more certain of a long and pleasant life than in Idaho. Remarkably healthful in every section of the state, it is difficult to determine what particular portion extends the most assuring promise of recovered health to the invalid looking for a change of locality. While in many respects the climate of the several sections greatly varies; while in the higher valleys the thermometer sometimes in the winter months registers far below zero; while in Boise not one year in ten more intense cold than ten degrees above is shown and even such weather lasts but a few days ; while in the mountains of the Boise Basin and in the great mining regions of the Coeur d'Alenes, as well as in other parts of the state the winter months show a snowfall far deeper than is usual in the middle west ; while the Boise Valley very seldom shows enough of winter's white mantle to permit a sleigh ride; while in the northern part of the state and in the home of the mountainous areas summer rains are frequent, although in the great Valley of the Snake they rarely occur; still the air is filled with the same health producing ozone, and hospitals become unnecessary except to care for victims of accidents or health-searching invalids from other states. The death rate is smaller in Idaho among her actual residents, than it is in any state in the Union ; this is specially true when the death rate from some of the most dreaded dis- eases is considered. Tuberculosis of the lungs, the "white plague" that for cen- turies has so afflicted civilization, causes an average death rate in the United States of 161.3 per 100,000 of population, while in Idaho it is but 45 in that number. Among children, 71 in every 1,000 under the age of one year die in Idaho, while more than double that figure, 143.9, die in the entire United States. The high altitude, pure water and uncontaminated air makes of the entire state a health resort; the dry climate sometimes it being asserted helping this happy consummation in Southern and Southeastern Idaho, but this is disputed because the northern sections, where rains more often occur, are equally healthful.
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THE SCENERY
No state in the Union presents such a diversity of natural scenery-mountain, lake, plain and waterfall-as the "Gem of the Mountains." Everywhere natural beauty spots abound, some of these having been set apart as places for recreation, rest, sport and the recuperation of health and many others are seemingly as rich in such possibilities as the selected places.
THE MOUNTAINS
A large part of Idaho is a high mountainous area, containing numerous pic- turesque plateaus and lonely valleys with sparkling springs that afford ideal camp- ing places for an outing far from "the busy haunts of men." Foremost among the mountain ranges lying wholly within the state are the Sawtooth Mountains, which divide Custer County on the north and east from Valley, Boise, Elmore, Camas and Blaine counties. These mountains have been called "the American Alps" and well deserve the name. It is difficult to find words to describe the grandeur of these peaks, one of which, Hyndman Peak, has an elevation of 13,000 feet and is the loftiest point in Idaho. Five streams-the Boise, Payette, Salmon, Wood and Lost rivers-find their sources in the Sawtooth Mountains, within a comparatively short distance from each other. The noted writer John Conley Smith, after visiting their vicinity, thus describes the romantic scenery :
"Few realize that there is such grand scenery in Idaho as that in the Sawtooth. This range is remarkable for its numerous high peaks, many of them having never been scaled. Socially speaking, mountain climbing is eminently correct, but so far as original enterprise is concerned, there is little room for talk today. One finds that almost all of the great mountains of the world have been 'done' by some one ahead; but this is not true in Idaho. Should one scale one of these Sawtooth peaks and look off over Idaho's illimitable glory, one would see misty mountain masses, peaks in crenulated complexity, gaunt canyons falling sheer and deep; then an opulence of beauty with sur-lighted splendor, lakes in the Alpine regions, shadowy forests, silver flashing water falls, vast and boundless stretches of moun- tains, and always the overpowering sense of the stupendous grandeur of Idaho.
"On reaching the summit, wonderful manifestations of Nature are shown. All that lives here has struggled long and hard against the elements. On the wind- ward side, the trees are bare of bark. There is an awesomeness about these trees, but even more grim are the rocks. Nevertheless, flowers are here- the pure Alpine flora. Naturally small, by degrees they have become not only less, but beautifully less. Can anyone think of any contrast more striking than that of the tender glory of these flowers with the majesty of the peaks?"
This beautiful description, equalled if not surpassed by the written account of Governor John T. Morrison, who while filling that office had occasion to visit the White Bird region in Idaho County and referring to his experience while riding on the train from Weiser north, said:
"What a wealth of superior brand there is in Idaho. Rich beyond computa- tion in material resources, our state is also a storehouse of inspiration for the poet and artist. I never go to the hills without coming back a better and freer man. No doubt I need more of the hills, and I know I have little of goodness to spare; therefore, I may confess to the uplift with less of stultification. The
ROCKY POINT, LAKE PEND D'OREILLE
LAKE LOWELL NEAR CALDWELL
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