HomeMy Public PortalAboutIdaho History: Agriculture and Irrigation"
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6 8 2 H I S T O R Y O F I D A H O
t h e j u d g e o f t h e T w i n F a l l s D i s t r i c t C o u r t : " T h e c i t i z e n s o f T w i n F a l l s C o u n t y
a n d t h a t e n t i r e s e c t i o n a r e o f t h e h i g h e s t t y p e a n d m o s t p r o g r e s s i v e . A l o o k
a t t h e i r f a r m s w o u l d c o n v i n c e a n y o n e o f t h e t r u t h o f t h i s s t a t e m e n t . T h e y h a v e
d e v e l o p e d a w o n d e r f u l c o u n t r y a n d t h e y a r e n o t t h r o u g h y e t . A n d i t i s a g r e a t
c o u n t r y . I c a n r e m e m b e r t h e t i m e , s o m e y e a r s a g o , w h e n I a d v i s e d s o m e O f
t h e f a r m e r s t h e r e n o t t o p l a n t f r u i t t r e e s , b e c a u s e t h a t w a s n o t a f r u i t c o u n t r y ,
I t h o u g h t . I a m s o r r y I e v e r g a v e t h a t k i n d o f a d v i c e . S o m e o f t h e m t o o k i t
a n d o t h e r s d i s r e g a r d e d i t . T o d a y t h e T w i n F a l l s s e c t i o n p r o m i s e s t o b e c o m e
o n e o f t h e l e a d i n g , i f n o t t h e l e a d i n g f r u i t s e c t i o n o f t h e s t a t e . I t s e e m s t o b e
i d e a l l y l o c a t e d . T h e t r e e s a r e h e l d b a c k f r o m t h e d a n g e r o f l a t e f r o s t s a n d t h e
p e s t s t h a t d o s o m u c h d a m a g e i n t h e l o w e r a l t i t u d e s a r e u n k n o w n i n t h e T w i n
F a l l s s e c t i o n . O r c h a r d s t h a t a r e n o w i n f u l l b e a r i n g p r o d u c e t h e l a r g e s t a n d
v e r y b e s t q u a l i t y o f f r u i t . * * * T h e l a s t s t a t e m e n t s i s s u e d b y t w o o f o u r
b a n k s s h o w a n i n c r e a s e o f $ I , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 i n d e p o s i t s d u r i n g t h e m o n t h o f O c t o b e r .
T h e f a r m e r s , y o u s e e , h a d d i s p o s e d o f s o m e o f t h e i r c r o p s a n d t h e r e t u r n s h a d
b e e n b a n k e d . T h e r a i l r o a d w a s t a x e d t o i t s u t m o s t c a p a c i t y t o m o v e o u t c r o p s
t h i s f a l l a n d t h e c r o p s n e x t y e a r w i l l b e g r e a t e r . G r a i n s y i e l d e d a b u n d a n t l y , t h e r e
w a s a b i g p o t a t o c r o p , f r u i t w a s a b u n d a n t , a l f a l f a a n d h a y w e r e a l m o s t u u l i m i t e d . "
T h e T w i n F a l l s b r a n c h o f t h e O r e g o n S h o r t L i n e r a i l w a y s y s t e m f o l l o w s t h e
S n a k e R i v e r t h r o u g h t h e n o r t h e r n p a r t o f t h e c o u n t y , t e r m i n a t i n g a t B u h l , a n d
a t t h e C i t y o f T w i n F a l l s a b r a n c h l e a v e s t h i s l i n e f o r . R o g e r s o n , n e a r t h e c e n -
t e r o f t h e c o u n t y . B u h l , F i l e r , H a n s e n , H o l l i s t e r , K i m b e r l y , M u r t a u g h , R o g e r -
s o n a n d T w i n F a l l s a r e a l l i m p o r t a n t s h i p p i n g p o i n t s , a n d t h e r e a r e a f e w m i n o r
s t a t i o n s , C a s t l e f o r d , i n t h e . S a l m o n V a l l e y , i s a p o s t o f f i c e a n d t r a d i n g p o i n t
f o r t h e f a r m e r s l i v i n g i n t h e w e s t e r n p a r t . T h e p o p u l a t i o n w a s 1 3 , 5 4 3 i n 1 9 1 o ,
b u t t h r o u g h t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f i r r i g a t i o n p r o j e c t s t h e r e h a s b e e n a l a r g e i n -
c r e a s e i n t h e n u m b e r o f i n h a b i t a n t s s i n c e t h a t t i m e . I n 1 9 1 8 t h e c o u n t y r e t u r n e d
a p r o p e r t y v a l u a t i o n o f $ 2 1 , 1 4 1 , 1 9 3 , o n l y t h r e e c o u n t i e s i n t h e s t a t e A d a , S h o -
s h o n e a n d B a n n o c k s h o w i n g a l a r g e r v a l u a t i o n .
V A L L E Y C O U N T Y
V a l l e y C o u n t y w a s c r e a t e d b y t h e a c t o f F e b r u a r y 2 6 , 1 9 1 7 , f r o m t h e n o r t h -
e r n p a r t o f B o i s e a n d t h e s o u t h e r n p a r t o f I d a h o c o u n t i e s . I t i s b o u n d e d o n t h e
n o r t h b y I d a h o C o u n t y ; o n t h e e a s t b y L e m h i a n d C u s t e r c o u n t i e s ; o n t h e . s o u t h
b y B o i s e C o u n t y ; a n d o n t h e w e s t b y t h e c o u n t i e s o f G e m a n d A d a m s . T h e
c o u n t y t a k e s i t s n a m e f r o m t h e P a y e t t e V a l l e y , s o m e t i m e s c a l l e d t h e " L o n g V a l -
l e y , " t h e u p p e r p o r t i o n o f w h i c h l i e s i n t h i s c o u n t y . T h e a c t c r e a t i n g t h e c o u n t y
f i x e d t h e c o u n t y s e a t a t C a s c a d e u n t i l t h e g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n o f 1 9 1 8 , w h e n t h e
v o t e r s w e r e t o d e c i d e o n a p e r m a n e n t c o u n t y s e a t , a n d a u t h o r i z e d t h e g o v e r n o r
t o a p p o i n t c o u n t y o f f i c e r s . G o v e r n o r A l e x a n d e r a p p o i n t e d J . W . H a r t s e l l , S . L .
C a n t r a l l a n d W . D . P a t t e r s o n , c o m m i s s i o n e r s ; A r t h u r C . T r a c e y , c l e r k a n d a u d i -
t o r ; F . C . S h e r r i l l , s h e r i f f ; J . E t h e l M o s s , t r e a s u r e r ; R . N I . P a r k s , a s s e s s o r ;
L . S . K i m b a l l , p r o b a t e j u d g e ; F . M . K e r b y , p r o s e c u t i n g a t t o r n e y ; T i r z a J ' . W a y -
l a n d , s u p e r i n t e n d e n t o f p u b l i c s c h o o l s ; G . E . N o g g l e , c o r o n e r . A t t h e e l e c t i o n
i n 1 9 1 8 , E d w a r d A . S m i t h w a s e l e c t e d s h e r i f f , A . C . T r a c e y , r e e l e c t e d c l e r k a n d
R . M . P a r k s , a s s e s s o r ; L . S . K i m b a l l , p r o b a t e j u d g e , A n n a B . H a r u l a , t r e a s u r e r ,
R . B . A y e r s , c o u n t y a t t o r n e y a n d S . I , . C a n t r a l l . E . A . W i l l i a m s a n d A . N .
D o w e l l , c o m m i s s i o n e r s .
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HISTORY OF IDAHO 683
Lumbering, mining and farming are the leading occupations. Around the
shores of the Great Payette Lake are fine forests of timber and several saw-
mills have recently been erected. In the eastern part the Deadwood, Profile,
South Fork and Yellow Pine mining districts are being actively developed, two
mills having been installed in the last named district. The chief farming sec-
tion is in the "Long Vialley," which is one of the best sections .of the state for
the production of timothy hay, and the Payette Forest Reserve, which extends
into this county, affords splendid opportunities for grazing. Dairying is rapidly
growing in favor with many of the farmers.
The Idaho Northern branch of the Oregon Short Line railway system runs
through the valley and provides good transportation facilities. The principal
towns of the county are located along this line of railroad, viz : Arling, Cas-
cade, which was made the permanent county seat by popular vote at the elec-
tion in November, 1918, Donnelly, McCall, Norwood, Roseberry and Van Wyck.
• Near the center of the valley, but off from the railroad, is the Village of Alpha,
and ` Brewer, Comfort, Logan, Profile, Roosevelt and Yellow Pine are trading
centers for the mining districts. In 1918 the assessed valuation of property was
S4,387,417.
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Thirty-one of the forty-eight states in the American Union each has a county
named Washington and all were either directly or indirectly so called in honor
of Gen. George Washington, the first President of the United States. Wash-
ington County, Idaho, was created by the act of February 20, 18i9, with boun-
daries that included all the present counties of. Washington and Adams, and
that portion of Gem County lying north of the Second Standard Parallel. It
was reduced to its present dimensions when Gem County was created -in 1915,
and is now bounded on the north by Adams County; on the east by Adams
and Gem; on the south by Gem and Payette; and on the west by the State of
Oregon, from which it is separated by the Snake River.
Section 6 of the creative act provided for 'a special election for county offi-
cers' and to decide the location of the county seat. The election was held on
April 14, 1879. and the following officers were elected: F. M. Mickey, I. E.
McKinney and John Cuddy, commissioners; I. M. Hart, clerk; James P. Gray,
sheriff; J. D. Wade, treasurer; S. R. Denney, assessor; T. C. Underwood, pro-
bate judge; H. A. Parker, surveyor; T. M. Jeffreys, superintendent of schools;
J. W. Kelley, coroner. At this election the highest number of votes cast for any
candidate was 226. The only exciting feature of the campaign was the contest
over the location of the county seat, two places being voted for —Weiser Bridge
(now Weiser) and Upper Valley (now Salubria)—Weiser Bridge winning by a
vote of 117 to Io6. The county had no courthouse until 1882, when a cheap frame
structure was erected. Prior to that time the various county officials kept their
offices at their homes in different parts of the county, so that the transaction of
,public business was attended by many difficulties. The present courthouse and
jail were erected in 189o.
John Cuddy, one of the first board of county commissioners, was a native of
County Tipperary, Ireland, came to America in 184owhen he was but six years
'of age and in 1865 became a resident of Idaho. For about four years he was
REFERENCE
SERIES
IDAHO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
61O N. JULIA DAVIS DRIVB BOISE, IDAHO
Number 108 IDAHO BEFORE STATEHOOD
Reissued July 1966
For more than half a century after Lewis and Clark explored the interior Pacific Northwest
(1805-1806), the only white men who lived in the Idaho wilderness were a few fur traders
and missionaries. Thousands of emigrants crossed southern Idaho over the Oregon and
California Trails in search of new farmlands or gold mines after 1840. But until in 1860,
none of them settled in Idaho. Mormon colonists expanding northward in the Cache Valley
crossed the Utah boundary in the spring of 1860, and settled Franklin --Idaho's oldest town.
That same fall, E. D. Pierce's small party of prospectors found gold in the Clearwater
country and established the town of Pierce in December. Fabulous gold rushes to Clear-
water country and to the Salmon River founded a new mineral empire which expanded south-
ward with a still greater Boise Basin gold rush commencing in 1862. Mining excitement
over such a large part of the mountainous country of what then was eastern Washington
brought problems of politics and governmentwhich could be solved only by establishing a
new territory of Idaho, March 4, 1863. At first, Idaho included what now is Montana and
practically all of Wyoming as well. Then with the creation of Montana in 1864 and Wyoming
in 1868, Idaho received permanent boundaries.
Established during the tummul.t of the Civil War, Idaho was the scene of intense partisan
strife during and following the national conflict. By the time the war was over, enough
Confederate refugees had fled to Idaho to make the new territory strongly southern in
sympathy. Not until 1882 did the Democratic party lose its control of Idaho territorial
elections. During those first two decades, Idaho went through a succession of gold rushes
followed by a decline during the national Panic of 1873. Some of the early mining commu-
nities quickly became ghost towns --or near ghost towns -,-while others continued toflourish.
Many placer camps were given overlargely to the Chinese by 1869, and the census the next
year showed that the majority of Idaho miners (3,853 out of 6,572) were Orientals. Placer
mining continued in Boise Basin for many years after the gold rush had subsided. Fewer
men were needed after 1869when placer mining consisted mainly inafew large operations.
Hydraulic giants, fed with water carried through miles of flumes, continued to wash down
hillsides that contained gold. And in the Basin, as well as in other important camps such
as Rocky Bar and Silver City, lode mining (in which gold and silver ore was brought out
through a system of tunnels and shafts that penetrated deeply into underground rock) went
through an initial boom after the Civil War, declined, and then revived after 1882. Aside
from the mining towns themselves, other communities (places such as Lewiston, Boise,
and Salmon) which served the mines experienced the same kind of cycle. After the pros-
perity of the gold rush, they faced hard times during the mining decline and the Panic of
1873. Just as the national depression was ending, a series of Indian wars (1877-1879).
continued to disrupt progress in Idaho. Then with widespread railroad construction in Idaho
(1878-1884) that came with the return of good times nationally, these towns --along with
many other communities which sprang up as transportation improved --began to grow again.
l/ c 6, ; . -�-
* 4
rcA- / rYD
Job Security
ORRILL LEWIS and
NELLIE CHAPMAN, both 76,
were interviewed by Mrs.
Anderson in Miss Lewis's home
at Indian Valley.
Miss Lewis has lived in Indian
Valley since 1906, and
graduated from the College of
Idaho in 1928. She worked as a
medical technologist in a Boise
hospital for years, as well as
working for the Dept. of
Welfare in Adams County. Miss
Chapman spent most of her life
in Boise, and was an instructor
of nurses for years in a Boise
hospital. Both of the ladies said
that during the Depression they
had a real security with their
jobs in the hospital, where they
had a place to stay and food was
furnished. For a time they were
given no salary, but they still
kept their jobs.
Miss Lewis and Miss Chap-
man recall people paying their
bills with food, such as trout and
turkeys. No one was refused
treatment at the hospital
because they had no money, but
no one expected to get anything
for nothing. They expected to
pay sometime.
Change in Life Style
NEVA SHUCK, 74, of White
Bird, remembers the Great
Depression of the 1930's.
Banks closed and many people
found themselves without funds,
causing them to change their life
style. Commodities were cheap but
there was little money to buy with. It
was hard to make enough money to
live. Many educated men who had
their own businesses found
themselves working on a WPA crew
digging ditches or doing other manual
labor. Many men on foot traveled
throughout the country looking for
work. Many of them would stop and
ask for handouts, and Neva said that
none were turned down in her com-
munity.
The Salmon River was lined with
men trying to make a living by pan-
ning for gold. Neva said that the
Depression, like other hard times,
brought people closer together to
work for the common good.
This month HIGH COUNTRY
correspondents asked old timers
how the Great Depression of the
1930's effected their lives.
An Old Man at 18
Priscilla Cook interviewed
BOB MORRIS, age 65, of
Smiths Prairie. Bob is from
Montana and has farmed near
Emmett and Grandview.
"I was already working hard,"
Bob recalled. "Having been or-
phaned and needing to help two
younger brothers, there was
nothing to give up. In the middle
of the depression, alredy an old
man at 18, I got married. I
worked at anything that was
honest, trying to run faster and
spit farther and keep ahead of
older men. My wife and I were a
good team, pulling together to
survive and get ahead so we
would be able to buy a farm. We
counted 35 places we lived in,
counting the two farms we own-
ed. When I worked for farmers,
my pay was often in fruit,
vegetables, and animals. No one
had cash, so bartering was com-
mon in hard times."
"People had no time to be
unhappy or have breakdowns.
One complaint in the '30s in
California was that of the
migrant laborers who said the
`Okies' were taking work away
from the natives."
Didn't Give Up Much
Bonnie Cade interviewed
ELTON LOOMIS of Donnelly.
Elton is 65 years young and a
rancher. He said during the
Great Depression of the 1930's
he didn't have much to give up.
They didn't have to worry_ about
gas because most all work was
done with horses. If they needed
to travel to McCall or Cascade
they rode the train.
Elton trapped different
animals to help pay the taxes on
their place. At that time cows
sold for only five dollars each
and eggs sold for ten cents per
dozen.
The people were most helpful
and pulled together real good
during those days. If a farmer
had fields of grain to be
harvested the men would go
help that farmer. When it was
finished they would all go to
another farm to harvest. This
helped all the farmers instead of
each man having to do for
himself.
Mesa Orchard Owner
Mrs. Anderson talked with
CHARLES GRAY about the
Great Depression. Charles has
lived nearly all of his 77 years in
Indian Valley and Mesa, where
he owned an orchard. He has
been the caretaker of the Indian
Valley cemetery for several
years.
Charles didn't feel his family
especially suffered from the
depression because they lived in
Mesa at the time. He said, "I
didn't feel they really suffered
because they didn't want much
and they didn't need a lot of
money because they didn't have
it.
He recalls that wages were at
104 an hour, but a man and his
team were hired for $2.50 a day
plus his horses were given feed.
At that time apples sold for 254 a
bushel.
Mr. Gray definitely felt people
pulled together more to help
each other then.
Some central Idaho place names came from unlike
4•a-�!
BY BEVERLY INGRAHAM
Have you ever wondered how
some of the places in Central Idaho
received their names? Some are
easy to figure out - such as Willow
Creek, Brush Creek or Grassy
Mountain. Other places are named
for early settlers or other people in
that particular vicinity.
For instance, Polly Creek is
named after Polly Bemis, a Chinese
woman who lived at that creek near
Warren. China Creek, also in the
Warren area, was named for the
many Chinese miners who lived
and worked in the region.
Warren itself was named for the
prospector, James Warrens, who
made the first gold discovery there
in 1862. Since this was during the
Civil War, there were secessionists
and loyalists in the mining camp.
The Secesh River and the Secesh
summit on the way to Warren are
named for this group of Southern
sympathizers.
An important figure in Idaho
FOOTNOTE S
a
To History
history, Francois Payette, was in
charge of the Hudson's Bay Trading
post at Fort Boise in the early
1800s. It is doubtful if he ever
trapped as far north as Long Valley,
but his name is given to the river,
the town and the lakes.
Scott Brundage, a prominent
sheepman, ran his sheep in the area
northwest of McCall and had a
mountain, a creek and a reservoir
named after him. Hartley Meadows
and Sater Meadows are named for
two other sheepmen who had flocks
of sheep in the same general area.
John Welch was a packer who
built a cabin near Goose Creek in
Meadows Valley in 1862. He used
it to cache his goods in for the
winter. A replica of his cabin is
now located on the same spot in
Packer John's Cabin State Park.
Alpha was the name of the first
post office in Long Valley. The
settlers there had hoped that the
people at the upper end of the val-
ley would name their post office
Omega, designating the beginning
and end of the valley.
However, the settlers at the
north end called their post office
Lardo instead of Omega. There are
some entertaining stories of how
Lardo got its name, but no one re-
ally seems to know the true story.
One of the earliest towns in
Long Valley was Van Wyck, named
for a friend of the first postmaster,
Levi Kimball. McCall, at the
north end of the valley, was named
for Thomas McCall, an early settler
and the first postmaster of the
town.
Two other towns in Long Valley
were Center, named for its central
position in the valley, and Cabar-
ton. This was the headquarters for
the Boise -Payette Lumber Co.
Built south of Cascade in 1919, it
was named for Mr. C.A. Barton,
the general manager of Boise -
Payette at the time.
One name that is puzzling is
Jughandle Mountain. Where did it
get its name? Did someone find a
handle of a jug on the mountain or
did the shape of the mountain top
look like a jug handle? Again there
are lots of theories, but the real
story hasn't surfaced yet.
The Boydstun Stol
central Idaho place names came from unlikely sources
a- rr9
PlAHAM
ndered how
'entral Idaho
Some are
h as Willow
or Grassy
:s are named
ler people in
ly Creek is
is, a Chinese
it creek near
, also in the
ned for the
who lived
n.
tmed for the
irrens, who
;overy there
s during the
,ecessionists
ining camp.
the Secesh
Warren are
of Southern
e in Idaho
FOOTNOTE S
To History
history, Francois Payette, was in
charge of the Hudson's Bay Trading
post at Fort Boise in the early
1800s. It is doubtful if he ever
trapped as far north as Long Valley,
but his name is given to the river,
the town and the lakes.
Scott Brundage, a prominent
sheepman, ran his sheep in the area
northwest of McCall and had a
mountain, a creek and a reservoir
named after him. Hartley Meadows
and Sater Meadows are named for
two other sheepmen who had flocks
of sheep in the same general area.
John Welch was a packer who
built a cabin near Goose Creek in
Meadows Valley in 1862. He used
it to cache his goods in for the
winter. A replica of his cabin is
now located on the same spot in
Packer John's Cabin State Park.
Alpha was the name of the first
post office in Long Valley. The
settlers there had hoped that the
people at the upper end of the val-
ley would name their post office
Omega, designating the beginning
and end of the valley.
However, the settlers at the
north end called their post office
Lardo instead of Omega. There are
some entertaining stories of how
Lardo got its name, but no one re-
ally seems to know the true story.
One of the earliest towns in
Long Valley was Van Wyck, named
for a friend of the first postmaster,
Levi Kimball. McCall, at the
north end of the valley, was named
for Thomas McCall, an early settler
and the first postmaster of the
town.
Two other towns in Long Valley
were Center, named for its central
position in the valley, and Cabar-
ton. This was the headquarters for
the Boise -Payette Lumber Co.
Built south of Cascade in 1919, it
was named for Mr. C.A. Barton,
the general manager of Boise -
Payette at the time.
One name that is puzzling is
Jughandle Mountain. Where did it
get its name? Did someone find a
handle of a jug on the mountain or
did the shape of the mountain top
look like a jug handle? Again there
are lots of theories, but the real
story hasn't surfaced yet.
Photo courtesy Long Valley Preservation Society
The Boydstun Store at Lardo (c. 19(10).
BY BEV INGRAHAM
For The Star -News k'J -id 17
Idaho was not the destination of
thousands of wagon trains that
passed through southern Idaho as
fast as possible on the way to Ore-
gon, Washington and California in
the mid-1800s. But the discovery of
gold changed all of that
In 1858, only Native Americans
lived in southern Idaho, and in
northern Idaho the Cataldo Mission
had the only white people. By then,
the fur trade had dwindled and the
trappers and trading posts had van-
ished. Idaho, then part of the huge
Washington Territory, was a vast
wildemess.
Five years later, in 1863, the
population of Idaho stood at
21,000, enough to make Idaho a
new territory. This influx of people
was due entirely to the discovery of
gold.
E'
Gold fever swelled Idaho's population
FOOTNOTE S
To History
Idaho's first gold strike in Pierce
in 1860 was soon followed by dis-
coveries at Orofino, Elk City, Flo-
rence, Millersburg and Warren.
Hundreds of miners thronged to
these places, usually arriving via
Lewiston after traveling by steam-
boat up the Columbia River.
Temporary mining camps with
thousands of people sprang up
overnight, and hundreds of miners
moved constantly from camp to
camp, by horse, mule or on foot.
Traveling through the rugged
Idaho mountains in those times was
not nearly as easy as today. The few
trails presented many difficulties
and were often dangerous. No
facilities existed along the way.
Game became increasingly scarce
as deer and elk were shot for meat.
All the gold finds seemed to be in
the most remote and inaccessible
places, but most miners managed to
find their way to each new strike. In
the summer months, the trails must
have seemed almost crowded with
miners coming and going to the
mines.
At one time, 2,000 people lived
in Elk City, and Millersburg had a
population of 1,000. Other camps
had 500 or more miners before the
easy surface gold ran out. Some of
the mining regions produced fabu-
lous amounts of gold and silver,
while others quickly faded away.
The wealth taken from the mines
spawned businesses, banks,
churches and schools to serve the
mining communities. Although
many of the mining camps are
nothing but ghost towns now, they
all played an important role in
helping Idaho become a territory
and then a state.
(Beverly Ingraham is a
Long Valley resident who
has extensive experience in
historical research and
preservation.)
TAP ///aka .S-1-12 74{-51,7afrr , 7/3/ „,
Gold -notgems - ma lend clues to on ' of `Idaho'
� �
By Charles Etlinger
The Idaho Statesman
Idaho celebrates its 108th birthday
today — Statehood Day.
For many Idahoans, the origins of
the state's name probably are as ob-
scure as the event.
So the Idaho Mining Association is-
sued an announcement in advance of
the day, attributing the name to early
miners.
"The name `Idaho' was given to the
state by miners searching for gold in
the mid-1800s," said Edward Fields,
Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology
director. "They were traveling on the
riverboat `Idaho' as they made their
way up the Columbia River, and the
name stuck."
Historian Carlos Schwantes, a Uni-
versity of Idaho professor, said he
tends to accept that explanation .
Travelers heading for what now is
Idaho from Portland took a series of
three steamboats on the Columbia Riv-
er, with the Idaho steaming about 50
miles from the Cascade Mountains to
The Dalles.
"The story usually told is that people
started referring to themselves going
up the river as Idahoans," he said.
Historian Merle Wells said the legis-
lature of Washington Territory, of
which present-day Idaho was a part,
created Idaho County, and that led to
the name Idaho Territory in 1863.
Schwantes' 1991 book, "In Moun-
tain Shadows: A History of Idaho,"
notes generations of Idahoans were
taught that the name came from Indian
words E Dah Hoe that meant Gem of
the Mountains. But, in truth, he said,
the name is an invented word.
TODAY IN HISTORY
Stwies from The Statesman f*,les
100 YEARS AGO — (1898)
Monday, Dec. 26
Novel proceeding inaugurated in this
c ity. Sheriff Oliver went down the valley
yesterday armed with an order issued by
Judge Stewart instructing him to bring in
t,ie two minor children of Roy Heron and
y dace them under the care of the grand -
iather pending further proceedings in the
,.ase. It is a novel proceeding and the
rirst of the kind of which there is any
-ecord here.
50 YEARS AGO — (1948)
Sunday, Dec. 26
Mayor of McCall sees drive against
=lot machines. McCall Mayor Glen How-
01 said Saturday the expressed inten-
tons "of the statehouse and the Allied
Civic Forces" to try and make slot ma-
chines illegal "is a vicious blow at the
small towns and villages throughout the
state." Howell pointed out that of Mc-
Call's $44,000 budget, $13,000 is de-
rived from slot machines.
10 YEARS AGO — (1988)
Monday, Dec. 26
Idaho predicts rosy economy for next
three years. The state's economic explo-
sion, not even anticipated by most ana-
lysts a year ago, has already peaked, but
the latest forecast for Idaho's financial fu-
ture sees the expansion continuing at a
more moderate rate for a least another
three years.
— Compiled by Michelle Sugai
Court ruling could siphon
Idahoans' water rights
Photos by Chris Butler /The Idaho Statesman
John Owen shows the normal kernels of a ear of seed corn he was harvesting in Nampa last week. Owen also farms sugar
beets, onions, mint, wheat and hay in Canyon County. A recent Supreme Court decision presents new threats to Idahoans'
water rights.
If decision holds, thousands may lose
water for homes, farming, business
By Rocky Barker
The Idaho Statesman
If an Idaho Supreme Court
decision holds, Karl Dreher
may be forced to order thou-
sands of central Idahoans to
turn off their water for good.
Dreher, director of Idaho's
Department of Water Re-
sources, hopes the decision will
be reversed. Even more, he and
other state leaders are worried
that the Oct. I decision could
cause thousands of other Ida-
hoans — including Treasure
Valley residents — to lose their
right to use water for drinking,
farming, and making mi-
crochips.
"This decision is a devastat-
ing blow to Idaho's water sover-
eignty," said Republican U.S.
Sen. Mike Crapo, who practiced
water law before entering Con-
gress. "It will impact the man-
agement of water in Idaho
across the board."
The court ruled 3 to 2 that the
United States owns all water not
in use in and upstream of the
Frank Church -River of No Re-
turn, the Gospel Hump and the
Selway- Bitterroot wilderness
areas from when those areas
were established. By preserving
these areas as wilderness, the
government reserved the rights
to the water by implication, the
court said.
Bruce Bernard, an attorney
with the U.S. Department of
Justice, said the Forest Service
was not claiming every drop of
water allocated since 1980. Any
conflict with private rights will
be minimal, he said.
"It appears that there are
some who want to portray this
decision in the most Draconian
light instead of working with us
to make this decision work,"
Bernard said.
But Gov. Dirk Kempthorne
and other state leaders say the
threat cannot be minimized. "I
do not support subordinating
Co h7 �J P,* ge a
JOHN OWEN
President of the Pioneer
Irrigation District
state water rights," he said on KTVB's
"Viewpoint." "It is not good for the
state and I believe it sets a dangerous
precedent."
If the justices apply the same logic
to other water cases pending, most of
southern Idaho's water could come
under federal or tribal control. That
could lead to more water left in the riv-
er for fish and wildlife and less for
farmers, homeowners, and snow-
making at Sun Valley.
"That's very scary," said John
Owen, president of the Pioneer Irriga-
tion District in Caldwell.
But despite the potential threat to
their livelihoods, farmers have been
relatively quiet about the decision.
That's because they are busy finish-
ing up the harvest this week.
Owen was picking seed corn. He al-
so grows mint, onions, sugar beets,
wheat and hay on his 250 -acre farm,
all irrigated.
Kris Inouye, a Wilder farmer, was
racing to get in his crop of onions.
"I haven't had time to read anything
on it," Inouye said.
"Without water, we couldn't raise
anything," Owen said. "If this valley
turned back into sagebrush, it would-
n't be very attractive to people living
in Boise, either."
Idaho uses more water per capita
than any other state in the nation —
22,000 gallons per person per day. Na-
tionally, each person uses about 1,408
gallons daily.
The big difference is irrigation.
Across southern Idaho, 3.5 million
acres of farmland is irrigated, which
accounts for $2.9 billion of income an-
nually. This represents 14.5 percent of
the income generated in southern Ida-
ho and small areas of Wyoming and
Oregon, according to the U.S. Bureau
of Reclamation cash receipts.
Farmers have jealously guarded
their right to divert water from the
Snake River and its tributaries ever
since the first settlers arrived in the
1860s. Idaho law protected their right
to use the water based on the date it
was first diverted or pumped on crop-
lands.
These rights were rarely challenged
until 1977, when a group of Idaho
Power Co. customers sued the compa-
ny over declining streamflows at
dams on the Snake River. They said
the company wasn't doing enough to
prevent upstream farmers from re-
ducing the flows through its hydro-
electric turbines. That meant less elec-
tricity and, thus, higher prices.
Idaho Power then sued the farmers
and their irrigation companies, con-
tending they were illegally using its
water. In 1983, the Idaho Supreme
Court found for Idaho Power.
In 1984, Idaho Power and the state
struck a deal, known as the Swan
Falls Agreement. Idaho Power took
less water than it had a right to claim;
the state agreed to determine who
owned what water and decide
whether any was left for new develop-
ment.
Everyone who used water in Idaho
was required in 1987 to refile or file
their claims with the Idaho Depart-
ment of Water Resources. The agency
sorts through the claims and makes
recommendations on each claim to a
state district court in Twin Falls about
who owns how much water.
This process, called the Snake Riv-
er Basin Adjudication, is working
through 180,000 claims and already
has worn out one District Court judge,
Daniel Hurlbutt, who stepped down in
1998. Hurlbutt's duties were taken up
by District Judge Barry Wood in the
process that has cost more than $38
million.
Adjudication has been complicated
by the series of claims to water in the
basin made by the federal govern-
ment and Indian tribes. Until now,
such claims never have been consid-
ered alongside the state's traditional
uses.
The U.S. Department of Justice
contends that laws establishing na-
tional forests, wildlife refuges, nation-
al recreation areas, wilderness areas
and wild and scenic rivers reserved,
along with the land, water for fish,
wildlife, recreation, scenic value and
grazing. If these claims are recog-
nized, other users may have to use less
water or completely stop using it.
Hurlbutt's decision that the federal
claims had to be made in state court
was upheld by the U.S. Supreme
Court in 1994.
More recently, Hurlbutt ruled that
the United States does reserve water
rights in wilderness and recreation ar-
eas and in wild and scenic rivers. But
he ruled against a federal claim to wa-
ter for the Deer Flat National Wildlife
Refuge, a series of islands in the
Snake River from Swan Falls Dam
near Kuna downstream to Weiser.
The Idaho Supreme Court's Oct. 1
wilderness water rights decision
shocked most of the state's legal com-
munity. Not only did the state's high-
est court recognize the federal re-
served right, said Scott Campbell, a
Boise attorney who represented
Thompson Mining Co., which uses
water in its process to extract molyb-
denum from its mine near Clayton. It
also made all the water rights claims
made since their establishment —
from 2,500 to 3,000 — void.
"It's a dramatic departure from the
traditional concepts of Idaho water
51 aIe9vKcl h OCT ip i4 ?9
P.7p r" --; D P `f
law and sets a potentially dangerous
precedent for other federal claims
pending before the court," Campbell
said.
The decision threatens all develop-
ment upstream of the Frank Church -
River of No Return wilderness since
1980 – 4housands of farms, business-
es and residences — except one —
Thompson Creek Mining. It settled its
dispute with the U.S. Forest Service,
ensuring that it could continue to op-
erate no matter what the court ruled.
Not everyone thinks the case will
have such a huge economic effect.
Laird Lucas, an attorney for state en-
vironmental groups, said that even
with the decision, the federal govern-
ment could not force landowners and
business who developed water after
the Frank Church area was designat-
ed in 1980 to turn off their water with-
out showing that they actually are re-
ducing flows in the wilderness.
"If you can't show a measurable de-
pletion, you can't enforce it," Lucas
said.
If other courts follow the logic of
this decision, Idaho attorneys said,
then they could consider the Deer Flat
claims valid, despite Hurlbutt's ruling.
Since those claims start in 1937, many
farms, businesses and reservoirs up-
stream would become junior rights.
To meet the test, the federal govern-
ment would have to show that to fulfill
the purpose for which the land was re-
served, the water is necessary.
In recent drought years, the level of
the Snake River dropped so low that
several of the islands were connected
to the stream bank. If the courts rule
that the legislation establishing the
refuge required islands, that could im-
ply there is a water right. If the federal
water right is recognized, farmers and
other water users would have to quit
taking water from the river to ensure
the islands stayed surrounded by wa-
ter.
Such a standard would prevent sev-
eral reservoirs from refilling, leaving
thousands of farmers without water.
Sun Valley would even have to turn
off its snow - making equipment,
Campbell said.
"Major areas of our population
could be impacted if the logic of this
case is applied to other federal lands,"
Crapo said.
Even more ominous to state water
users are the claims of the Nez Perce
tribe. It claims all of the water in the
Snake River Basin, based on the right
to fish off of its reservation reserved in
its 1855 treaty with the United States.
"Fish need water," said Heidi
Gudgell ' deputy counsel for the Lap -
wai -based tribe. "The right to fish is
meaningless without the habitat to
maintain the fish."
'
P'.+go"e 3 of H
What is a
water right?
> Nez Perce Tribe: This Indi-
an tribe handed over large por-
Negotiations among the state, the
A water right is a property
tions of Idaho to the federal
government but retained the
federal government, the tribe and oth-
right that permits the use of a
right to fish off its reservation in
er water users to try to settle the claim
certain amount of water in a
certain location in a certain way.
the 1855 trea .
ty Its la wyers ar-
are continuing under the guidance of
It has three elements:
gue that the tribe therefore re-
Francis McGovern, aStan -ford pro-
fessor and professional mediator.
> The priority date, when the
tained water rights,
g s, since fish
need water to survive.
In the meantime, attorneys contin-
water was first used.
> Water users: Thousands
ue to argue their cases before the adju-
> The place of diversion or
of farmers, cities, business, in-
dication court.
pumping.
dividuals and others who claim
Before the wilderness decision,
> The beneficial use, such
a right to use Idaho water side
state attorneys were confident they
as irrigating crops, producing
with the state in opposing feder-
could prevail in the tribe,; -ase. They
hydroelectric power, supplying
al reserved water rights.
still like their chances, but the costs of
domestic or industrial users.
litigation on irrigation companies like
The use of minimum stream -
Pioneer made negotiations attractive.
flows to protect fisheries also is
................ ......." "...... " " " " " " " " " " " " " " ""
To recognize a water right for off-
a beneficial use of water, under
reservation fishing rights would re-
Idaho law.
Key pending
quire a new legal precedent, said
David Getches, a University of Col-
> Rights to reservoir water
water right claims
orado law professor and one of the
West's top water law experts. But
are distributed via contracts for
space in the reservoirs. Water
Here's a look at some of the
courts have recognized the fishing
users own the space, not the
key reserved water right claims
right itself a legal reservation the
water.
pending from the federal gov
same land d is reserved.
> Water use by homeowners
ernment and the Nez Perce
a
Based the wilderness decision,
who have their own wells can-
tribe:
such recognition could imply the tribe
not be restricted unless the Y
> The Nez Perce Tribe and
also owns a water right.
use more than 13,000 gallons a
the United States have filed
"I don't know how you can fulfill
day. At that point, they need to
joint claims for all of the water in
the purpose of a fishing reservation
file for a water right or risk los-
the Snake River Basin to pro -
without water," Getches said.
ing out to users nearby who
tect fish habitat and meet the
The state likely will ask the
hold older rights. And domestic
tribe's right to fish off its reser-
Supreme Court to rehear the wilder-
water users exempted from fil-
vation, as authorized in the
ness water case. Three justices would
have to vote in favor of rehearing, in
ing for a water right cannot irri-
1855 treaty.
order for the high court to rehear the
gate more than one -half acre of
land from that water.
They also have filed for rights
case.
to springs and fountains in the
The state also is considering peti-
basin.
tioning the U. S. Supreme Court to
The government and tribes
hear the case. If the court refuses, then
are in negotiation with Idaho
the decision will stand as the law in
Main player's
and water users. But litigation
continues, including
Idaho. But the precedent may be con-
a motion
sidered in other Western states, as
in water debate
hearing Tuesday in Boise be-
well, Crapo said.
fore District Judge Barry Wood.
The only alternative the state will
Here are the key players in
> The Idaho Supreme Court
have if it loses in the courts is to ask
the federal -state water debate
has not ruled on rulings by for -
Congress for relief. Concerned about
> State of Idaho: Represent-
mer District Judge Daniel Hurl -
such cases, Crapo has introduced a
ed in court by Attorney General
butt that recognized federal re-
bill to preserve state control of water.
Al Lance's staff, it argues that
served rights for in- stream flows
Called the State Water Sovereignty
the state has full authority to al-
for wild and scenic rivers, the
Protection Act, the bill faces stiff op-
locate water within its borders.
Sawtooth National Recreation
position from environmental groups
and their supporters in Congress,
Clive Strong is its long -time wa-
law
Areas and the Sawtooth Wilder -
Crapo said.
Now that we have an actual case in
ter expert.
> United States: Represent-
ness.
> Hurlbutt rejected the Unit -
a Western state, I believe the momen-
ed in court by the U.S. Depart-
ed States' claim for a federal re-
tum for bringing this debate forward
Congress will be increased," Crapo
ment of Justice, it argues that
Congress reserved water when
served water right for in- stream
flow to maintain the integrity of
said.
t set aside land for national
islands in the Snake River that
)rests, wildlife refuges, wild
are part of Deer Flat National
ind scenic rivers, wilderness
Wildlife Refuge.
areas and grazing on public
The appeal of this decision
lands. It also argues in support
also is pending before the Ida -
of tribal claims.
ho Supreme Court.
N
---------- F
V,
3
4
'A
V
7
Ask
Chris Butler/The Idaho Statesmani
John Owen, 44, president of the Pioneer Irrigation District, drives a corn picker as he harvests seed corn from about 14 acres of land off Nampa-Cald-
well 8ni jIPvqrri P.,q riiin.r this imPa11
Water consumption
Troubled waters
Idahoans consume 22.3 billion
From 2,500 to 3,000 water rights claims upstream gallons of water each day, ranking
from Idaho wilderness areas were placed in doubt second to California, the largest
Threatened area by a decision of the Idaho Supreme Court Oct. 1 water user in the nation.
Federal claims to In water use per person,
water in Idaho spread Idaho uses more than any other
state in the nation.
to the entire Snake
Wilderness areas
River Basin (A). The
largest claim is by the Loci Selway- Total use (including agriculture)
Nez Perce Tribe for all Bitterroot Tribtdary area with Gallons of water per
water in the basin for person per day
affected water
fish. The other major
13,052
claim is for waters rights
.Lewiston upstream of the Deer
Flat Wildlife Refuge Gospel-
1,408
(113), a series of islands Hump
i Area
in the Snake River Frank
: Idaho California Wyoming National
from Murphy to of
22,000
rea
M�call Church of average
Weiser. 3almon
detail
River of No
McCall
Home and business use
Sun Idaho Return Home and
business water 97%
-
, OB Boise valley Falls
-Q, use is 1 of Idaho's
Twin
Falls percent of the water is used
Pocatello
4�-IChallis total amount of
1� fora griculture
Snake River 0 water used in purposes
Idaho every
Cascade Stanley GT, day. Mining and
industry use 2
percent. —
Gallons of water per
3 person per day
J
184
7
Source: Idaho Department of Water Resources Ing 16
Idaho California Wyoming I
average
Last 200 years have been hard on Idaho
By Dan Gallagher
The Associated Press
Geologically, Idaho in 1000
A.D. looked nearly the same as it
does today, and the flora and fau-
na were as abundant as in those
parts of the state now set aside as
wilderness.
In fact, Idaho's environment
has changed more in the two
centuries since the first white
men arrived than in the previous
10,000 years.
"A thousand years is a drop in
the bucket," Albertson College
biology professor Eric Yensen
said. "Earthquakes and erosion
have certainly altered the land-
scape slightly in the last thou-
sand years, but most of all we've
rearranged the landscape to suit
ourselves."
The mountain near Boise that
now is home to Bogus Basin ski
area was a few centimeters low-
er in the year 1000, and the area's
weather was slightly colder. The
land was rich with wildlife and
fish. Deer, elk and antelope win-
tered along the Snake River. The
valleys were spotted with creeks
and wetlands and healthy
salmon runs returned from the
Pacific Ocean to the Boise,
Payette and Weiser rivers.
Yensen and Suzi Neitzel,
deputy state historic preserva-
tion officer for the Idaho State
Historical Society, said the real
cataclysm for the natural world
occurred in the wake of the
Lewis and Clark expedition.
As pioneers moved from the
East to the West, they brought
along grazing animals, exotic
plants and tools to turn the soil.
"Mere was the mentality that
these resources were infinite,"
Yensen said. `By 1890, the land
was overexploited.
Fire suppression is a 20th cen-
tury phenomenon.
Before that, Yensen said, light-
ning- caused wildfires burned
cooler instead of raging through
forests choked by brush and
deadfall.
And while there is no way to
predict what Idaho will look like
in 3000 A.D., in environmental
terms Yensen hopes it looks
more like the past than the pres-
ent.
"We would be better off, both
economically and ecologically, if
we could restore it to something
like it was a millennium ago."
What's in a
The Associated Press
What does Ulysses S. Grant have
to do with Idaho h istory? Read on.
A map of Idaho reveals several
names that are a legacy of Civil
War tensions. Southerners platted
the mining town of Leesburg
(Lemhi County) in 1866 to honor
Robert E. Lee. The Confederate
general's namesake eventually ab-
sorbed the rival town of
Grantsville, established by Union
sympathizers in honor of Ulysses
S. Grant. Atlanta (Elmore Coun-
ty) was a stronghold of pro -South-
ern miners, who chose the name
to commemorate the battle of At-
lanta in 1864. There also are the
Secesh Basin (Idaho County) and
the Secesh River (Idaho and Val-
ley counties), "secesh" being a
term once associated with the se-
cessionist or Rebel cause.
— `7n Mountain Shadows. A His-
tory of Idaho," by Carlos A.
Schwantes
S// z / -zoo o
Horse -drawn mowers replaced large crews with scythes
Idaho saw growth in 1870s
through imporf of machines
The 1870s were important for the
The Statesman confirmed this
growth of Idaho agriculture, and
Idaho
with a toot of its own horn on June
"Advertising
especially notable for the degree
24, 1871. Pays," read
pf mechanization that took place.
Yesterdays `�
the headline. "Mr. George H.
his
Boise merchants began to import
1
Twichell has disposed of entire
large numbers of farm machines
By Arthur Hart = -
outfit of reapers and mowers, with
from Eastern manufacturers even
the exception of a single
before the arrival of the Oregon
machine." Twichell, whose ads
Short Line railroad in 1883 made it
ery business rather well.
continued to run in the paper until
easy to do so.
"Twichell was yesterday in receipt
Sept. 5, must e be n
H. McCormick's reaper,
of a lot of reapers, mowers, and
n Editor James S. Reynolds
Cyrus
Aug. 8,
patented in 1834, was known to
sulky rakes — genuine serviceable
gave a free commercial
1871 to a competitor who didn't ad-
many pioneer Idaho farmers who
machines," observed The States-
had grown up in the Midwest,
'these horsedrawn rigs
man on June 8, 1871. On June 13, he
boost:
vertise.
"Uncle Jimmy" Twogood, an af-
gradually
teplaced large crews of men with
received an even better
"Mr. Twichell had a number of
fable and popular character in
sickles and scythes — the only way
workmen engaged yesterday put-
Boise during her first generation,
invited Reynolds to have a go at
to harvest grain before that time.
ting together reapers and mowers.
operating his new John P. Manny
Dozens of patented improvements
had 1871
Farmers no longer find it neces-
reaper. "... He placed us in a cast -
been made by May of
W.hen George H. Twichell of Boise
sary to send to Oregon or the East
after machines and intrust the pur-
iron seat, provided with straps and
announced that he was the autho-
chase to agents, but can buy here
buckles to prevent our fallingout,
sized agent for the celebrated
in Boise at less than it would cost
in the same manner as little tot is
t; ed to his high chair at table,
Buckeye reaper and mower and
the New York reaper
there fr' ijW40 t Q'-s
-�' -� directed us in simple terms
combined
and mower.
them y =
The economics of r im are
adapted to our understanding, to
Good advertisers like Twichell
somewhat suspect, tiut econven-
place our foot on a convenient
treadle and to work it up and down
could rely on a great many addi-
ience and the certainty of having
once in five or six yards ... the
tional plugs in the news columns of
the machine whexi_
— -----
concern worked Pike magic. In less
0 small paper like The Statesman,
needed ir- cmziiir3 we su icient
than no time that field of oats and
making it possible for us to follow
fais progress in the farm machin-
reasons for local farmers to pa-
troni�•T'}YSdteli, ° �tic I`PmA Lis
r^ wers was lying in gavels. No
about it ... Nineteen years
a o it was our rough-lot to wrestle
'th McCormick's man- killers.
i e then, what wonderful impro-
r "' ents in harvest machines have
P$ ETTE LAKES lien made!"
PROGRESSIVE CLUB
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Water Wheels Gave
Boise Valley a "Lift'
/ ARTHUR A. HART
Director,
daho Historical Museum
A picturesque feature of
"harly -day irrigation in Idaho
was the water wheel. Today
fewer than half a dozen sur-
vive in all of Boise Valley
7 where once they were nu-
merous.
From the dawn of history
in and regions men have
had to devise ways of getting
water out of rivers and
ditches to parched land
above them. In some places
this was accomplished by us-
ing the muscles of men and
animals to work primitive
lifting devices. In Idaho,
long after pumps of various
kinds were available, the
simple and effective water
wheel did the job.
Like any mill wheel, the
Idaho irrigation wheel was
propelled by the current of
running water, but as the
water pushed the wooden
blades of the wheel around,
some of it was picked up in a
box attached to the blades
:. and dumped out at the top of
the wheel into a wooden
flume.
The trick was to have the
boxes carry as much weight
of water as possible without
slowing down or stopping the
wheel.
This depended upon the
velocity of the current. The
amount of lift depended di-
rectly upon the size of the
wheel, and in places where
the stream was considerably
below the fields to be irri-
gated the wheels were truly
giants.
Grove Street in Boise was
once famous for its fine
mansions shaded with large
and graceful trees. It was
also noted for the row of wa-
ter wheels on the ditch
which ran along the north
side of the street.
The Grove Street ditch
supplied most of the farm
land between there and the
river with water for agricul-
ture, as well as the hand-
some gardens of Boise's fin-
Ist-tructure st homes. It also supplied
water for the steam fire en-
ine in time of need, long be-
ore there was a piped sys-
em or fire hydrants.
An oil painting of Grove
treet done in 1897 by T.
light shows the wheels with
heir supporting wooden
and flumes for car-
rying off the water the
wheels raised.
A recently- discovered pho-
tograph shows the identical
section of Grove a few years
later, with a very important
identification written across
the back. It names the most
prominent wheel in the fore-
ground as that of Tom
Davis, the pioneer fruit
grower who owned most of
the land along Boise river
south of Grove Street.
Davis was, through his
own hard work and know -
how, one of Boise's first suc-
cessful and wealthy business
men.
He not only shipped car-
loads of fruit to all parts of
the United States, once the
railroad got to Idaho, but in-
vested in real estate and a
number of wholesale and re-
tail businesses as well.
On April 26, 1871, Tom
Davis married Julia
McCrum, "of Waterloo, Galt
County, Canada West," a
fact of importance for Boise
ever since. Julia Davis Park
was developed on land do-
nated to the city by Davis —
land that had once been irri-
gated with water lifted by
his water wheel on Grove
street.
Other well -known w 1
were once part of thy' ' ;t �� t � e I CAL
alon the backs of lots on
g
Warm Springs avenue, and
one can still be seen from
Walnut street.
'�LEth�,
r�
PAYETTi-7 L Iris 14 DN
Grove Street ditch in Boise was once lined with water wheels.
Underground Canal Bu it i; D itring 1860s
Still Brings Water to Some Boise Homes
The Boise City Canal, built
in the 1860s to bring water to
the land north of the Boise
River, still runs beneath the
streets of the capital city, a
primary source of water for
outlying property.
When Boise Water Corp.
excavated for water mains
near the city's center, work-
men encountered this bit of
Idaho history in the form of
the cement encased, under-
ground canal that had been
all but forgotten.
According to John C. An-
derson, corporation manager,
the original Boise Water Co.
may have been one of the
canal system's first custom-
ers, because the canal's
water rights likely pre -dated
those of Boise Water Co.
But for the first decades of
Its life, the canal ran open.
As the town gradually grew,
buildings, shops and even a
livery stable sprung up along
its banks. And the canal be-
came part of Boise's early
1900 flavor.
At Eleventh and Main
Streets, two wood bridges
spanned it. Small boys may
have dunked in it on hot
d a y s . Undoubtedly, little
swimming took place down-
s t r e a m from the livery
stable.
The struggleo to build and
finance the canal and to gain
public approval of the proi-
ect Was not easily gained
Prior to the March of 1869
completion, an Idaho States-
man editorial referred to the
difficulties: '
"The ditch will be made:
all can rest assured of
that. The water will be
brought in and Boise Val-
ley will be made to blos-
som with gardens and
trees and shrubbery as no
other valley this side of. Cal-
ifornia, blossoms." "... and
look more like home and a
place to live than present
unsightly yards and lots of
sagebrush and sand."
From an outlet on the
Boise River four miles north-
east, the canal winds behind
stately homes along Warm
Springs Avenue. Great water
wheels, once used to divert
the water for irrigating the
farmlands stretching south to
the river, are still visible.
Although most of them rest
sun- bleached and silent now,
one great wheel near the
Quinten Gregory home on
Walnut Street splashes and
c r e a k s; still transporting
water to adjacent property;
still functioning as it did in
the past.
John and Lawrence Hanni-
fin, owners of Hannifin's
Cigar Store, .located on the
same corner at Eleventhi and
Main for nearly 60 years,
watched Boise grow from a
tent town to what it is today.
Grinning, John tells the
story of a suspected bootleg-
ger. In the early 1900s the
Royal Restaurant building
was a wholesale liquor dis-
pensary on the ground floor
with the old California Hotel
above.
A questionable gentlemen
living in the hotel was sus-
pected of using the tunnel
bordering the canal as an ar-
tery for delivering his illegal '
goods.
Slipping from the hotel
after dark, he supposedly.. .r�
lifted the wood cover over the at r
channel, slid into the border F F P Y EE
ing tunnel and closed the
hatch over his head. Perhaps
he carried a .lantern as well _ —O
as the contraband.
one knows why they were
there.
When a new storm sewer-
age system was installed in
the Eighth Street area sev-
eral years ago, another maze
of tunnels was discovered.
The labyrinth not only ran
alongside the canal, but
some crossed the canal head-
ing north.
Beginning at a pivotal
point once known as "China-
town" located in a five -block
area between .Third and
Eighth streets, one large tun-
nel ended at the old City
Hall site now occupied by
Skaggs Drug on the Eighth
and Idaho street corner.
If the Chinese did dig the
tunnels, what was the pur-
pose of the underground ex-
pressway to City Hall? Paul
Edwards whose father was
one of the incorporators of the
canal company in 1933,"
speculates that the Chinese
dug the tunnels after the
canal was covered beneath
the city's streets.
At some points the diggers
could have dumped extra
dirt into the waterway, but
not always. Likely, they car-
ried it out and disposed of it,
bucketful by bucketful.
Little is known about when
the canal . wss covered or
what kind of laborers dug the
original channel. Perhaps
Chinese labor was used.
If so, that partially ex-
plains their expertise in tun -
n e 1 construction. Never-
theless, the canal was built,
despite the obvious diffi-
culties for financing the con-
struction as tersely described
in the March 15, 1869, Idaho
Statesman: "... stockholders
are to pay up assessments as
fast as possible." And that
those shares (described as
` ' one twenty -five dollar
greenback share ") not paid
"would be advertised and
sold as prescribed by law."
Or maybe he felt thaD s
using a light was too risky
so he groped his way over
moss and mud to pre
-
r a n g e d distribution poi
along the canal route.
The tunnels bordering
canal remain a mystery.
1 1
ar-
nts
the
�"�
No
4
pAue =TTY L/'i;'ir$
P 'i j? IV� aL
i " S
CLUB
-Partial Route of Old Boise Ct*tv Canal,
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,I I
BENEATH THE STREETS of Boise, the old Boise City Canal
winds on a route partially shown on this map. Boise Water
Corp. crews recently found part of the canal while ex-
cavating for water mains near the city center.
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THE WATER WHEEL on the Qu; m Grego- maw m _ outlet on the Boise River thr sA
Rpe@ at 205 South Walnut still trans- the Warm Springs a2 and A_m_
ports water madjacent land ak did i me area, much «#underground.
early days of the A» The Boise Q!, Canal
n/2 to
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The Morris Mills were part of a workaholic's empire,
William Morris invested energy,
money in reclamation project
By ARTHUR HART
AWAZI
power future mills as needed.
Although his years in Boise were
Morris already ran a sawmill on
Shaffer Creek in partnership with Al-
few, William B. Morris made a last -
ing impression on the city a a
as
Idaho ``
exander Rossi, and the firm had a
Main
area. He arrived in Idaho in
lumber yard on upper street,
which advertised "A full assortment
manage the Northwestern Stage Co.
Yesterdays
of seasoned lumber, common, clear,
Fargo &Co.'s Ex-
and the Wells, Fa .'
surfaced, matched, siding and ceil-
press. Being a man vision, fore-
shingles and - laths." This could
saw the reclamation of new tracts of
be purchased at the mill as well as
be
desert land and invested his energy
and money in getting a major project
nephew William H. Ridenbaugh, wh o
the yard.
Morris also had bought up other
started.
Morris died at age 46 on Aug. 23,
carried it to completion).
In November 1877, Morris located
properties to further his big scheme.
1878. Both the Idaho Tri- weekly
and entered, under the Desert Land
He owned the Boise River Toll
de-
Statesman and its rival, The Idahoan
Act, 17,076 acres south of the city at a
Bridge, which The Statesman
scribed as "a permanent part of the
praised him for the same virtues,
while regretting that he had carried
price of 25 cents per acre. At the end
of three years the law required pay-
great Overland thoroughfare which
one of them to extreme: "Labor for
ment of an additional dollar per acre.
traverses Idaho from east to west,
the travel upon which is constantly
him seemed to be an imperious ne-
cessity, interwoven with his very
To develop his project, Morris had a
headgate constructed to divert Boise
increasing," and noted that "this toll
being, and essential to his existence.
river, and built seven miles of canal.
bridge has always been a paying in
He could not leave off business, or
The canal was 25 feet wide at the top
stitution."
One of Boise's earliest flour mills
cease to work."
The work that ultimately drained
and 8 feet wide at the bottom — no
small project in the days when
was also absorbed into the Morris
Morris of his frail strength was the
horses and men did the work.
scheme. The War Eagle Mill,
founded by H.P. Isaacs in 1867, had
ambitious reclamation project he
started on the south side of Boise
A 10 -acre log pond was dug three
V= . N ea 4f the canal in
��
been operated by the Grangers be-
fore Morris bought it. Morris Mills,
River to bring water to the sage
It°�
Pim
brush lands of the first bench. It was
could be bro�t own an
for laieting. The water
as it was then called, is pictured
today from an engraving in an 1890
Morris who started what is now
called the Ridenbaugh Canal (for his
pounded
from the canal could be used to
special holiday issue of The States-
man. Although William H. Riden-
baugh then managed the property,
he had retained the Morris Mills
name. Nephew Ridenbaugh proved
�t-rt. EN10 i t'"�OM I try,, -,
E FROM " r
to be as able a capitalist as his uncle,
.
a' '-
and expanded on the schemes and
fortunes he inherited.
Mrs. Morris left Boise after her
husband's death and lived in Rome
Jil,
ti
for 35 years before her own death in
�. PAYETTE LAKES
1920.
PP,CGRESSIVE CLUB
(Arthur Hart is director of the
Idaho Historical Society.)
STEAM TRACTION ENGINES WERE BIG DURING THE RECLAMATION ERA
. they did the work of hundreds of horses for pioneer farmers in Idaho
Steam Traction Engines Made
Clearing of Farmland Easier
Steam traction engines began to
appear on the American market in
about 1880. Within a few years do-
zens of competing companies were
offering farmers and loggers a com-
pact source of power vastly exceed-
ing what could be assembled from
huge teams of horses or oxen.
In Idaho the widest use of the big
machines came after the turn of the
century with the major reclamation
projects. Moving ponderously but
smoothly, at a speed rarely exceed-
ing three miles per hour, a steam
tractor could clear sagebrush, plow,
harvest and thresh grain, haul logs,
and dig canals. In the Palouse hills,
where 30 horse teams were not un-
known at harvest time, one traction
engine could do it all. (There was
danger of tipping over where the
terrain was too steep, however.)
Although the earliest portable
steam engines were pulled by
horses, they were soon geared to
move under their own power.
"Road engine" became a common
name for the new self - propelled
steamers, and the name "tractor"
began to be used even before the in-
ternal combustion engine replaced
steam.
Names like J.I. Case, Advance,
Reeves, Huber, Rumely, and Best
were all familiar to Idaho farmers
and loggers in the "glory days" of
steam traction engines. They were
considered an indispensable part of
Idaho
Yesterdays
By Arthur Hart
modern operation, although most
small farmers could not afford to
own one. It was common for neigh-
bors to go together to buy a
steamer, and to rent it out to others
for special seasonal jobs like thresh-
ing.
The steam traction engine was
not without its early skeptics, how-
ever, as an account in the Walla
Walla Statesman of May 27, 1882,
brings out. The following scene was
observed by an amused reporter:
"When the traction engine got
into the street on Wednesday two or
three hundred engineers and
mechanics became interested in it
and scattered their opinions about it
as freely as an infatuated spooney
delivers bouquets to a popular ac-
tress. Some of them sneeringly said
it wouldn't run up hill at all. Others
ventured the remark that it would
'stick' in soft ground. Another said
he doubted whether it would go on
level ground with a load. And one
man was even doubtful whether it
would move downhill. Of course it
was a surprise to these engineers
when the engine moved away like a
thing of life, uphill, downhill, on a
level and in every possible condition
of soil. The engine ascended the
steep hill near the pest house north
of town, pulling the separator, -with
16 men on top of it."
The Best Manufacturing Company
of San Leandro, Calif., produced the
big steamer shown in today's pic-
ture. It could harvest, thresh, re-
clean and sack 40 acres of wheat in
a day, using steam power rated at
110 horsepower.
Although the steam traction en-
gines were replaced with gasoline
tractors many years ago, happily
there are still quite a few in operat-
ing condition which are used in spe-
cial demonstrations each harvest
sea son. -- .Othe ;s, ,s4 in city arks as
rt�onuments to a VanisRd• Sri}, ySobfj
we have seen are ip.. ran'gedilte,
Council, and Fairfiel&_-
(Mr. Hart is director of the Idaho
Historical Society.)-', —
w PAYETfE LAKES
Pr:'OGkc;;SIVE CLUB
UMPARY
2
THE SAGE -BRUSH HILLS and
plains of southeastern Oregon
were not particularly inviting to the
trailblazing pioneers, but those who
came later have watched these and
regions blossom at the magic touch
of water around the present city of
Vale, Malheur county seat. Vast
rangelands and rich irrigated farms
stretch out in every direction. Live-
stock and agriculture are the back-
bone of Malheur county.
The crossing of the Malheur River
by the wagon trains on the Oregon
Trail was made at Vale where immi-
grants welcomed the natural hot
water springs for laundering and
bathing. The name of this county
was given by French traders when an
ill -fated trapping expedition was at-
tacked by Indians. Malheur, trans-
lated literally, means "evil hour" or
"unhappy" river. Only a few years
have lapsed since the war whoop of
Bannock and Piute Indians fell on
the ears of the stage and express
drivers.
The first building on the present
townsite was built by Jonathan
Keeney in 1864. He offered accomo-
dations to the immigrants and min-
ers on their way to the gold fields in
the Powder River country. L.B. Rine-
hart purchased the Keeney Station
and land rights in 1872, built a stone
house on the land and established his
home. This landmark, k n o w n
throughout the region as the "old
stone house ", still stands and efforts
are being made to preserve it as a
museum.
When the Indian wars of 1878
broke out and U.S. troops assembled
at the Malheur River ford near the
THE IDAHO SUNDAY STATESMAN, JULY 26, IN4
BACK IN 1936, Alfred Springer
(top picture) started this farm
near Yale with a single plow, six
sacks of small grains seed and two
tents. Today the same farmland
(directly above) is operated by Al-
fred Finch who is engaged in cattle
raising and feed growing. (U.S.
Reclamation Bureau Photos)
s : :
hot springs to intercept the savages,
the settlers gathered in this old stone
house for safety.
In 1868, Rinehart turned loose the
first herd of cattle in the Malheur
River Valley. Before long, thousands
of cattle, horses and sheep grazed
where the bunchgrass grew abun-
dantly. This valley possessed im-
mense stock range but with the in-
creasing demand for agricultural
land, the range gradually failed to
support the large herds of stock.
The name Vale was bestowed upon
the settlement when the first post
office was started in 1884. Malheur
County was originally part of Baker
County and after much agitation, it
was divided and Vale was established
as the county seat in 18187.
Many of the town's earlier build-
ings have been burned by fire at one
time or another, but the I.O.O.F. hall,
the second oldest building, is still be-
ing used.
At the dawn of a new century
agriculture began to assume an im-
portant place. The federal reclama-
tion law was enacted in 1902 and
with the development of several irri-
gation projects came the realization
that water alone was needed to give
life to this fertile land. Traversed
throughout its entire length are ir-
rigation canals whose banks are
studded with prosperous farms.
— MARCIA LIEURANCE
"Self- Binder" Harvests Oats in Field Near Idaho Falls
By ARTHUR A. HART
• Director
r� Farmers Idaho Historical Museum
Idaho's first grain growers
began to supply food to min -
Gold Mhiers co shortly after the gold ong I�VJ/ coveries of the Sixties. Long
before the sagebrush was
grubbed out and large -scale
irrigation began in Southern
�� ® j►o, a many small farms
` had.,baen started on bottom
FILE lands beside rivers, or in the
lower mountain valleys.
Wild hay could be con-
0 _verted into meat, but grain
-- crops were soon sown too.
The number of early flour
Do NOT � F' ,.a )Vr- E ROM L,�lis� i, Boise Valley is test-
-- ..lmnhat wheat was a bas-
ic crop, and it was also prof -
itAle to grow rye and bar -
l rye for the most part,
PAYETTE LAKES to make whisky and
f f CGRESSIVE CLUB the barley to make beer.
These were both considered
as much staples in mining
camps as flour.
Cyrus Jacobs, who arrived
in Idaho in March, 1863, was
on hand when the army ar-
rived in July to establish the
new Fort Boise. He helped
lay out the future capital
city and established a store
at the corner of Main and
Seventh streets.
It wasn't long before the
enterprising Jacobs built a
mill for grinding locally -
grown wheat and rye, and
within a short time his suc-
cess had attracted the com-
petition of two other mills.
Oats was also an impor-
tant crop, especially in
mountain valleys where
wheat would not mature.
Oats had to be cut by hand,
tied in bundles, and threshed
with a flail on the barn floor.
Although a staple in the diet
of horses, some oats were
milled for human use as
well.
Horse -drawn mowing ma-
chines were imported from
the East by Idaho farmers
well before the railroads
came, and horse drawn
rakes were also common. It
was not until 1881, however,
that the first machine which
could both cut and bind
grain arrived in Boise.
This "self- binder" created
quite a stir when Danskin
Brothers exhibited it on
Main street in June, 1881.
Noting that the binding ma-
chine had "taxed the inge-
nuity of inventors for many
years," The Statesman de-
scribed it as "simple in con-
struction ... managed solely
by the driver. It saves all the
work of the binders who are
compelled to follow a reaper
that only cuts the grain. All
you have to do is follow the
machine and gather the bun-
dles of wheat. Farmers will
do well to look after this la-
bor- saving machine."
Although taken a few
years later, today's photog-
raph of a "self- binder" in ac-
tion shows the tied bundles
of oats being dropped in a
field near Idaho Falls.
Someone still had to lean
the bundles together into
shocks to cure, but it was a
whole lot easier than gather-
ing and tying them too.
Outdoor museum at U1
The "Horse
As2-hom* team pulls azo-fonground powered combine in1y000*hw.thenookedhanaleva
the "grapevine" cradle made kconvenient for the worker m get a longer and wider swath when
Agriculture techniques in the
Palouse Hills between 1890 and 1915
were unique to this northwestern
region. During the "horse era'^teams
of from six to 40 draft horses were
required tu pull the farm implements
through the hilly Ge|d»' and the
leveling combine and a machine
known as the Idaho National
Harvester were developed especially
for use in the fertile Palouse.
The terrain fostered a farming life
style different from any other in the -
nahon, and a heritage worthy of
preserving, believe the Friends ofthe
Palouse Hills Farm Museum, a
rommun/ty group who ishelping the
University of Idaho Museum to �
develop the Palouse Hills Farm `~
K4useum, which will probably be
located on the U| campus. --
When it is finished, the (arm
museum will show a "living" history
of early farm life in the Palouse,
according to Dr. Dixie [hrenreich'
coordinator uf the project. |n place of
display cases filled with artifacts from
u farm wife's kitchen will be the farm
wife herself, baking bread' dusting
the hearth and scolding the children.
From the barnyard' museum visitors
will see the farmer in his field, toiling
over the crops peculiar to the
Palouse, and hoping tn raise enough
*» feed the farm animals asweUasthe
family for the next year. �
For museum visitors, it will beatrip
back in time to see how the first
Palouse farmers lived, dreysed, and
even how they spoke. What's more,
visitors can speak with the /unnly
about the history of the period, and
maybe even take u turn ut hitching up
the plow horses. A 70
|
"Museums of this kind give people / � ~-00�~
a personal experience of the oast,"
� s»idG. Ellis Qurcuw'direcuorcftheU|
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LIBRARY
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4 W7 ���`^�Y��1`�*/�
Photos courtesy of the University of Idaho Library
museum. There are about 40 living
history museums in the United States,
with Williamsburg in Virginia and
Plimouth Plantation in Massachusetts
two of the best known examples.
Although they are popular in the
East, Midwest and Southwest, there
are no living history museums in the
Northwest. "A good one here would
put the Northwest on the map in this
business," said Dr. )ay Anderson,
chief of interpretation and research
for the living history farms in Des
Moines, Iowa, visiting here recently.
The University of Idaho's living
history museum, at present, is only at
an early planning stage, but the
feasibility for having such a farm here
is tremendous because several key
elements are available here, said Dr.
Anderson, who is helping to evaluate
sites, public support, buildings and
available land under a $15,000 one -
year planning grant from the
National Endowment for the
Humanities.
"First of all, you've got a great site,"
he said, of the 120 -acre parcel of
university land west of the Kibbie
Dome that might become available.
"It is near parking and modern
facilities, yet in the heart of the site
you can't see any modern intrusions."
Second, the university has two
unique academic programs which
would make such a museum a logical
laboratory for students in outdoor
recreation, history, photography and
other disciplines.
The University of Idaho has one of
five undergraduate programs in
museology, or museum study, in the
nation. "In addition, the university
has one of the leading historical
archaeology departments in the
country," Anderson said.
He recommended establishing the
museum also as a regional
community resource for school
children and the general public, and
as an attraction for travelers who are
in Idaho to enjoy the beauty of the
country.
It is projected that visitation to the
farm could bring about 50,000
persons from around the world
within the first few years of its
opening. Farm visitation could be as
high as 200,000 per year within 10
years, some estimates show.
Although the feasibility and
potential for establishing such a
museum is still under study, Dr.
Ehrenreich is certain that the
university will go ahead with the
project after' the initial planning
phase is through, and that the
museum may open within three
years.
Anderson suggested that seed
capital for the venture will be needed
from the Palouse area, but added that
funds for research of area history,
planning for interpretation,
construction of historical costumes
and equipment, and even operation
of the museum could come from the
National Endowment for the
Humanities and the Department of
Health, Education and Welfare. 'He
also said such museums typically are
able to raise 30 -40 percent of their
operating expenses from visitors'
fees.
The Friends of the Palouse Hills
Farm Museum has indicated that
"people have been coming out of the
walls with offers of authentic
machinery and household items from
the 'horse era'," according to Dr.
Ehrenreich. Barns and schoolhouses
have even been offered.
"However, the museum doesn't
have any storage facilities yet, and,
until we have a way of storing and
insuring equipment, we can't accept
it. We're very pleased with the offers,
and we're asking donors to hold onto
the artifacts for awhile until we can
find a way to store them," she said.
But, if a donor must dispose of a
piece of equipment right away,
arrangements to store it might be
made, she said.
She added that persons may join
the Friends of the Palouse Hills Farm
Museum just by showing an interest.
Reimann takes a drink of water while he gives his horses a chance to rest
PAYETYE LAMES
PROGRESSWE CLUB
sue,.
-- -s• �•• l�vc opened a new era
of development in the west, and
paved the way for irrigation pi-q.
eels such as the New York canal
shown under construction here in
1912. Farmers and business men
formed associations which led to
the Boise project with its large
storage places such as Arrowrock,
Lucky Peak, Lake Lowell. Today
Idaho irrigates nearly three million
acres of land, or 13 per cent.
FRIDAY. AUGUST 8,-1980
'30s grain binder cuts oats;
horse team samples harvest
Shadows shrank as the morning sun reached its peak over
an oat field near Meridian.
The golden oats rustled and a slight chinking noise of metal
on metal whispered at the ears
Henry Reimann, 66, sat astride a maze of machinery not
usually seen in modern -day fields. It was a horse -drawn grain
binder from the 1930s, predecessor of the modern combine.
Reimann talked quietly to the three huge Belgian draft
horses, Bird, 8 years old, Babe, 9, and Bess, 14, that pulled his
rig. He stopped frequently and pulled deeply on a water bottle
while the broad - chested horses turned into the uncut oats and
munched a few.
Reimann retired from full -time farming last year and sold
all but 12 acres of his farm. He raises only a few acres of oats
to feed the draft horses he raises. He also repairs and restores
old wagons and other horse -drawn implements.
"I've been raising horses for 12 years," Reimann said. "1
thought there would be a demand for horses again, so I got Mtti .
it." He said the rising price of fuel has convinced some farm-
ers to try horses again.
"Horses will never replace the tractor," he said, "but they
are coming back faster than we ever expected."
Reimann uses a tractor himself sometimes. He plows his oat
field in the spring with a tractor, but does most of the rest of
the work with horses.
Reimann has 18 Belgian and Suffolk draft horses. He raises
them for sale but also takes them to area horse shows.
Since few people manufacture old wagons, binders, and
other horse-drawn wgmept cpoutremeats. RoiM apq
goes to as many auct ,c�jCtn salas as .pilSsi6li3.:id
looks for wagon parts, old equipment manuals and the like.
Reimann bought his binder, a MlcC"ick- Deering, six
Years ago from ,a man who bought it new in the 1930s.
"I didn't have to do a thing to it," he said. "All I had to do
�1-
Do NOT R 0'VE FRO,,1 LIBRARY
k1o". PAYETTE LAKES
PROGRESSIVE CLUB
Strapped pedal triggers release of bundled grain
was hook up the team and go to work. It was in just A -1
shape."
The old binder cuts the grain, bundles it, stacks it on a
bundle carrier and holds up to six bundles. The operator then
kicks the bundles off into windrows that can be gathered easily
later.
Reimann also owns a 1923 Buick Sports Touring car that he
restored by himself. He thought he might like restoring cars,
but decided he liked caring for horses and old implements bet-
ter.
His horses eat as long as there is food in front of them, so
Reimann watches their weight to keep them in good working
shape.
Henry Reimann guides his three -horse team binder through a field of oats on his farm south of Meridian
Oil keeps the old binder working,
Youngster races across
Meld to watch workers
behind wagon load it
with the bundled wheat
€F "TN
F E ��,__
O
P D
r =' 44hMhing bees this month and next
A
��,'' PAYETTE LAKES
PP=- SSlVE CLUB
A couple of generations ago, when it was
time to harvest in Western wheat fields,
neighbors got together for a communal
threshing bee. Prodigious steam - driven
tractors weighing up to 20 tons puffed
stubby columns of black wood smoke
into the August sky, as farmers pitch -
forked sheaves of wheat into the
thresher to the steady slap -bang beat
of drive belts and muffled "chuff, chuff,
chuff" of the engines.
Steam threshing ended sometime in the
1920's, but many farming communities
across the West still fire up their an-
tique steam equipment for at least one
weekend each year to reenact an old -
fashioned threshing bee. You are invited
to join the celebrants this month and
next and relive the sights, sounds, and
smells of harvest time as it used to be.
Old -time threshing was hard work. The
sheaves of wheat, cut and shocked for
drying several weeks before, were piled
into horse -drawn wagons and taken to
stationary threshers that separated the
grain from the chaff and straw. The
grain was sacked and the straw was
baled, often by horse - driven balers. The
thresher had no engine of its own, and
was powered by drive belts from a steam
traction engine.
You'll see essentially the same process
at any of the modern bees. Most of
them also either parade or display an-
tique steam autos, early gas tractors,
and miscellaneous steam - driven farm
machinery. Food is sold on the grounds,
sometimes including freshly baked, whole
wheat bread made from grain threshed
on the spot.
These are the threshing bees in the West
that will be open to the public in Au-
gust and September:
Washington
Toledo Threshing Bee: August 29; 10
A.M. to 6 P.M., at William Raupp farm,
2 miles north of Toledo on the old Jack-
son Road and adjacent to a small air-
field. Free.
Riverside Threshing Bee: September 26;
10 A.M. to 6 P.M., at Evan Jones farm,
12 miles northwest of Riverside off U.S.
97 on South Fork Pine Creek Rd. Free.
Idaho
Orofino Old Time Threshing Bee: Sep-
tember 5; 10 A.M. to 5 P.M., 11 /z miles
southeast of Orofino on U.S. 12. Free.
Oregon
Great Oregon Steamup: August 19
through 22; 9 A.M. to 9 P.M., at Brooks,
6 miles north of Salem on Interstate 5.
Admission: $1 for adults, free for chil-
dren 12 and under.
California
South Shasta Old Time Steam Thresh-
ing Bee: September 4 and 5; 10 A.M. to
5 P.M., at the G.A. Humann Ranch,
about 12 miles south of Red Bluff and 2
miles south of Gerber on Route A8. Ad-
�uNSeT
It's hard td hang onto grain
as it pours from the thresher,
but lots of fun to let it slide
through your fingers
DON NORMARR
Old- timers reminisce
about the steam threshing
bees of many years ago
mission: $1.25 for adults, 50 cents for
children 12 and under.
Utah
Cache Valley Threshing Bee: September
11; 10 A.M. to 3 P.M., at the Floyd Zol-
linger farm, 5 miles south of Logan on
U.S. 91. 0
Piled almost
to overflowing,
this horse -
drawn wagon-
load of wheat
is headed for
the thresher
A -9 THE STAR NEWS - THURSDAY NOVEMBER 16, 1989
Farmers, ranchers
dueled over range
BY BEVERLY INGRAHAM
For The Star -News
In the 1870s and 1880s, much of
west central Idaho was becoming
severely overgrazed in the lower
valleys. By the time the settlers in
the high valleys were proving up
their homesteads in the 1880s and
1890s, much of the once abundant
grass was scarce at the lower eleva-
tions.
More and more bands of sheep
and herds of cattle began coming up
to the high pastures, and the
competition for summer range in-
tensified.
Back then, there were no hard -and
fast - regulations concerning grazing
lands. It amounted to first come,
first served, leading to animosity
among cattlemen and between cat-
tlemen and sheepmen.
By the late 1800s, homesteaders
in Long Valley had settled much of
the land and put up barbed wire
fences around many of their fields.
However, some of the cattlemen
from the lower valleys still consid-
ered the whole valley open range.
Sometimes they cut the fences and
turned the cattle onto the farmer's
land.
In desperation, the settlers decided
to do something about the situation.
It is reported they first wrote letters
to the cattlemen stating their herds
were not welcome in Long Valley.
Violence was promised to enforce
this announcement, but the letters
didn't stop most of the cattlemen
from trailing their large herds into
Long Valley as usual.
In Cynthia Pottenger's book,
"My Roseberry," she tells about a
vigilante committee that was formed
in upper Long Valley to protect
their lands. One night in 1893 the
vigilantes corralled several herds of
To History
cattle that were close to the farms
near Boulder Creek. They shot and
killed 30 of the steers that night.
Despite the slaughter, the cattle-
men again brought their large herds
to Long Valley the next summer.
Again the vigilante committee cor-
ralled and shot more cattle - this
time at Copland Flats south of Mc-
Call.
In the spring of 1895, the armed
vigilantes met the herds of cattle and
some bands of sheep at the north
and south ends of Long Valley and
ordered them to turn back. They
even threatened to hang one of the
trail bosses if he didn't take his herd
out of the valley. Prudently, the
trail boss chose to retreat with his
herd.
The range wars finally came to
an end when a law was passed that
regulated the government -owned
grazing lands. This law helped de-
fine the rights of those who wanted
to use the grazing lands and an un-
happy episode in the history of
Long Valley was ended.
i ,'C1qC
Test your Idaho centennial knowledge
BY BEVERLY INGRAHAM
For The Star -News
During 1990 Idahoans will be
celebrating 100 years of statehood
through all kinds of activities and
presentations. To help kick -off the
centennial celebration in West
Central Idaho, try this quiz and find
out how much you know about
Idaho's history in general and West
Central Idaho in particular.
1. Name the six states that border
Idaho.
2. On what date did Idaho offi-
cially become a state?
3. Who were the first white ex-
plorers to cross Idaho in 1805?
4. What was the famous emi-
grant trail that follow the Snake
River in Southern Idaho?
(Continued from Page A -1)
21. In what year did the railroad
come to McCall?
22. What was the largest town in
upper Long Valley in 1900?
23. What was The Lyda?
24. When was the first McCall
Winter Carnival?
25. Who was the queen of the
first McCall Winter Carnival?
26. What was the winter of
1888 -89 noted for in Long Valley?
27. Name the first town formed
in Long Valley.
28. Where was The Advocate
newspaper first published in Long
Valley?
29. What group of settlers
brought saunas to Long Valley?
30. What was the famous movie
made in McCall in 1938 -39?
31. What famous building is lo-
cated just east of Meadows near
Goose Creek?
32. What former Olympian
started the ski school at Brundage
Mountain?
33. Who was the author of the
novel called Thunder Mountain and
what town did it depict?
34. Name the three towns that
moved to form the town of Cascade.
35. Name the three townsites
that are under the waters of Cascade
Reservoir.
36. Name the Finnish settlement
5. What happened in Idaho in the
early 1860s that led to the creation
of Idaho Territory?
6. When did Idaho become a terri-
tory?
7. What is Idaho's state gem?
8. Who were the celestials of
early day Warren?
9. What race of people comprised
almost one fourth of Idaho's popula-
tion in 1879?
10. What city in Idaho produces
more gold than Alaska?
11. What town is located on the
headwaters of the Little Salmon
River?
12. Who was the city of McCall
named after?
13. Name the deepest gorge in
North America which forms part of
that was located about two miles
east of highway 55 on the Farm -to-
Market road.
37. What was the name of the
railroad that built the tracks through
Long Valley in 1912 -14?
38. What was "Whoopin'
Thula's" sport?
39. Long Valley's early settlers
had to travel to what city to carry
out official county business?
40. In 1917, Valley County was
formed from two other counties.
Name them.
Idaho Centennial
Quiz Answers
1. Washington, Oregon, Nevada,
Utah, Wyoming and Montana.
2. July 3, 1890.
3. Lewis and Clark expedition.
4. The Oregon Trial.
5. Gold was discovered in Idaho.
6. 1863.
7. The star garnet.
8. The Chinese.
9. The Chinese.
10. Idaho City.
11. New Meadows.
12. Tom McCall.
13. Hell's Canyon
14. The syringa.
15. Francois Payette.
16. Stibnite, Idaho.
17. The Sheepeater Indians.
18. George Bush.
19. Mount Borah.
Idaho s western border.
14. What is Idaho's official state
flower?
15. Who was Payette Lake
named after?
16. Where is the leading tung-
sten- producing mine in the U.S.
during World War II?
17. What is the common name
of the Indian tribe that lived along
the Middle Fork of the Salmon
River?
18.What U.S. vice president
floated the Middle Fork of the
Salmon River?
19. Name Idaho's highest moun-
tain.
20. What parallel of latitude runs
just north of New Meadows?
(See "Quiz," Back Page)
20. The 45th parallel.
21. 1914.
22. Roseberry.
23. A steamboat on Payette
Lake.
24. 1924.
25. Betty Harwood.
26. One of the worst winters on
record with eight feet of snow early
in November.
27. Van Wyck.
28. Lardo.
29. The Finnish settlers.
30. Northwest Passage.
31. Packer John's Cabin.
32. Corey Engen.
33. Zane Grey, Roosevelt, Idaho.
34. Van Wyck, Thunder City and
Crawford.
35. Van Wyck, Center and
Arling.
36. Elo.
37. The Oregon Short Line.
38. Dogsled racing.
39. Idaho City.
40. Idaho and Boise counties.
(Beverly Ingraham is a
Long Valley resident who
has extensive experience in
historical research and
preservation.)
How Counties
Were Named
Idaho Historical Society
Reference Series
ADA: Ada Riggs, daughter of H. C.
Riggs, a member of the legislature
who got the county established.
ADAMS: John Adams.
BANNOCK: local Indian tribe.
BEAR LAKE: local natural fea-
ture.
BENEWAH: a Coeur d'Alene In-
dian leader.
BINGHAM: Henry H. Bingham,
Pennsylvania congressman and
friend of governor W. M. Bunn.
BLAINE: James G. Blaine.
BOISE: French word meaning
"Wooded."
BONNER: E. L. Bonner, who es-
tablished Bonner's Ferry in 1864.
BONNEVILLE: B. L. E. Bonne-
ville, a fur trader.
BOUNDARY: on the Canadian,
Washington, and Montana border.
BUTTE: local natural feature.
CAMAS: an edible bulb used by the
Indians.
CANYON: local natural feature.
CARIBOU: Cariboo Mountain and
mining area, named for Cariboo Fair-
child, prospector.
CASSIA: from a French word ca-
jeux, meaning raft: a variation of
Raft river.
CLARK: Sam Clark, an early set-
tler.
CLEARWATER: for the river.
CUSTER: George A. Custer.
ELMORE: a quartz mine near
Rocky Bar.-
FRANKLIN: Franklin D. Richards,
a Mormon apostle.
FREMONT: John C. Fremont.
GEM: from the quotation, "Gem of
the Mountains."
GOODING: Frank R. Gooding, a
governor and United States senator.
IDAHO: for the steadier Idaho,
launched June 9, 1860, and used by
miners during the Idaho gold rush.
JEFFERSON: Thomas Jefferson.
JEROME: Jerome Hill, an investor
in a local reclamation project.
KOOTENAI: local Indian tribe.
LATAH: for Latah Creek.
LEMHI: Fort Lemhi at the LDS
Salmon river mission, named for
King Lemhi in the Book of Mormon.
LEWIS: Meriwether Lewis.
LINCOLN: Abraham Lincoln.
MADISON: James Madison.
MINIDOKA: Dakota word for
spring or well.
NEZ PERCE: local Indian tribe.
ONEIDA: Oneida, New York.
OWYHEE: for the river, moun-
tains, and mining area explored in
1819 -1820 by Owyhee (later known as
Hawaiian) fur trappers.
PAYETTE: Francois Payette, fur
trader.
POWER: for a power plant at
American Falls.
SHOSHONE: Indian tribe.
TETON: local mountains and val-
ley.
TWIN FALLS: for the irrigation
tract and city, which were named for
the falls.
VALLEY: Long valley, a natural
feature.
WASHINGTON George Washing-
ton.
100 years ago:
July 3, 1890
■ Gov. Shoup come sister in our
called the constitu- IDAHO beloved Union.
—
tional convention C E N T E N N I A L Chas. M. Hays
together on July 4,
1889, and it is ex- — CQUNTDOWN ■Boise and the
pected that the ", Statehood! city celebration
president will sign the bill admit-
ting
hearty invitation to alllthe people
the state of Idaho on July 4,
1890. Good enough for one year,
of the surrounding country to
■ SILVER CITY — Owyhee
visit us on July Fourth. This is the
first celebration at the capital of
County joins in the general re-
joicing. May the wealth of our
the state of Idaho and everyone
mines, the fertility of our fields
in Ada County should make it his
business to be present. Come
and the brightness of our sun-
shine make Idaho forever a wel-
one and all and help Paint the
town red, white and blue.
Excerpts from The Statesman 100 years ago
L)i)) 613/Z6) c-)3
Etiquette rules
Invitations should be sent by
messenger, and not mailed, un-
less to persons out of town.
Guests should arrive about
fifteen minutes before the hour
named for the dinner. A delay
beyond the hour is unpardon-
able.
Wear gloves to the table, and
remove them when seated.
Do not use the edge of the
table cloth for a napkin.
Without a perfect knowledge
of the art of carving, it is impos-
sible to perform the honors of
the table with propriety; and
nothing can be more disagree-
able to one of a sensitive dispo-
sition, than to behold a person,
at the head of awell- furnished
board, hacking the finest joints,
and giving them the appear-
ance of having been gnawed by
dogs.
Soup being removed, the gen-
tleman who supports the lady of
the house on her right, should
request the honor of taking
wine with her; this movement
will be the signal for the rest.
Should he neglect to do this, you
must challenge some lady.
Ifyou have children, never
introduce them after dinner,
unless particularly asked for,
and then avoid it if possible.
To dine out, it is usually un-
derstood that you must be in-
vited; there are, however, some
GENTLEMEN, who have at-
tained to that high degree of re-
finement which enables them
to dispense with such a stupid
ceremony. They drop in as din-
ner is being served up, when it
is impossible that the party on
whom they intrude can do oth-
er than request them to stay and
dine, though we suspect he has
a much stronger inclination to
kick the unwelcome guest back
into the street.
We would recommend you
to eschew such practices; when
invited, return an answer in
plain terms, accepting or de-
clining. Ifyou accept, be there
at the appointed time.
When you are helped to do
anything, do not wait until the
rest of the company are provid-
ed. This is very common in the
country, but shows a want of
good breeding.
— Reprinted from "Historical
Treasures fromldaho
Kitchens, "theldaho Historical
Auxiliary, Boise, Idaho
MOSCOW'S GRAIN ELEVATOR HISTORIC DISTRICT INCLUDES STRUCTURES LIKE THESE
... agricultural history also is recognized by such zoning
Idaho Could Preserve Past
By Forming Historic Districts
A number of Idaho communities
are considering the formation of his-
toric districts under an act passed in
the 1975 session of the Idaho Legisla-
ture. A few have already done so.
Designed to assist in preservation
of distinctive architectural or histor-
ic clusters of buildings or sites, the
act permits cities or counties to es-
tablish controls over what happens
to landmarks of value and impor-
tance to the community as a whole.
Since most towns derive their
character from certain landmark
structures, there is a strong local
identification with them. Just as
Boise wouldn't be Boise without the
distinctive dome of the capitol on its
skyline, Nampa wouldn't be itself
without its historic depot, Rexburg
without its tabernacle or Idaho Falls
without its temple. Every town in
Idaho has at least one such identi-
fying landmark, known to young and
old alike, which would be sorely
missed.
The fact that many well -loved
structures have been lost in the past
intensifies the concern of people
today for the preservation of at least
a few of the really important re-
minders of a community's history.
Many Boiseans still think sadly of
the castle -like city hall which once
stood at Eighth and Idaho; Nampans
remember the Dewey Palace Hotel;
and in Caldwell they miss a striking
city hall very different from Boise's.
When a number of buildings are
close enough together to have a
character and atmosphere of their
own, the formation of a district
Idaho
Yesterdays
By Arthur Hart,
c
makes sense. It gives property own-
ers a chance to protect the special
values of their own architecture
from the inappropriate or damaging
actions of others. To work effecti-
vely, of course, such districts should
be formed by mutual consent, with a
review board and the right to appeal
and temper its decisions as with oth-
er zoning.
In addition to historic districts
which are established by city or
county ordinance, there are also
those nominated to the National
Register of Historic Places by the Ida-
ho Historical Society. This is a rec-
ognition of the historic and archi-
tectural significance of a neighbor-
hood by the National Park Service
after the Idaho Historic Sites Review
Board has approved its nomination
because of state or local signifi-
cance.
Listing on the National Register
makes properties in districts eligible
for 50 per cent matching grants for
restoration (as Congress makes the
fiords available each year). In prac-
tice, historic districts may be recog-
nized by both local ordinance and
National Register status, but the two
are totally independent of each oth-
er.
Idaho City and Silver City are ex-
amples of districts with this dual rec-
ognition, but Boise's Capitol and Old
Boise Historic Districts have not yet
been recognized by local action. This
is probably because the capital city's
Historic Preservation Commission
has not yet had a meeting.
Moscow's Grain Elevator Historic
District illustrates that agricultural
history can also be recognized by
such zoning. The importance of
wheat growing in the Palouse
country and of changing technology
for handling grain is clearly shown by
this collection of utilitarian buildings
going back to the 1880s.
When all grain was sacked for
ease of handling, wheat was hand -
trucked into long sheds with low
roofs. The bags were stacked hori-
zontally. The basic unit was a sack
the size one man could lift. Later,
grain was handled in bulk. Elevators
made possible storage of great quan-
tities of loose grain in tall buildings.
An elevator hoisted the grain to the
top and dumped it in. It could be
drawn off at the bottom into railroad
cars or trucks as needed.
The Moscow district contains the
town's first railway station, long -
sack storage sheds, poured concrete
elevators of cylindrical shape, and
corrugated iron elevators made in
the distinctive shapes of the era in
which each was built. This too is his-
toric "architecture."
(Mr. Hart is director of the Idaho
Historical Society.)
���� r , o , �� , r e
: R ' S O L D E S T B U S I N E S S I S B L A C K I E ' S B A R B E R S H O P
- r e t i r e d b a r b e r C . A . D u n a g a n f i l l s i n f o r A l v i n B l a c k
m i l d e r H a d D r e a m s
O f R a i l r o a d L i n k u p
W i t h e C i t y b y t h e B a y '
B y M I R I A M B A R R
T h e I d a h o S t a t e s m a n
W I L D E R I f a d r e a m o f e a r l y - d a y
r a i l r o a d e r s t o c o n n e c t B u t t e , M o n t . ,
a n d t h e " C i t y b y t h e B a y " h a d m a t e r i -
I i z e d , W i l d e r p r o b a b l y w o u l d h a v e b e e n
m u c h d i f f e r e n t t o d a y .
A S a n F r a n c i s c o , I d a h o a n d M o n -
t a n a , . I n c . , r a i l r o a d w a s p r o p o s e d i n
1 9 0 4 , I t w a s t o t e r m i n a t e i n S a n F r a n -
c i s c o t h e " G o l d e n G a t e . "
T h e c h a r m o f t h e " w o r d s " G o l d e n
G a t e " a p p a r e n t l y c a p t u r e d t h e s e t t l e r s '
i m a g i n a t i o n . T h e y n a m e d a n o r t h w e s t
s e c t i o n o f C a l d w e l l , t h e f i r s t g r a d e
s c h o o l i n t h e W i l d e r v i c i n i t y , t h e B a p -
t i s t C h u r c h , t h e f i r s t s t o r e , a n i r r i g a -
t i o n c a n a l a n d d i s t r i c t , a n d t h e h i g h -
w a y d i s t r i c t a l l " G o l d e n G a t e . "
T h e l i n e w a s t o g o w e s t a n d s o u t h
f r o m C a l d w e l l t o t h e S n a k e R i v e r b y
t h e p r e s e n t c i t y o f W i l d e r a n d o v e r t h e
h i l l t h r o u g h t h e F a r g o c o m m u n i t y n e a r
t t ` , e S n a k e R i v e r . T h e g r a d e w a s b u i l t
f r o m C a l d w e l l t o W i l d e r a n d c u r v e d t o -
w a r d t h e r i v e r .
T h e l i n e w a s s u r v e y e d a s f a r a s t h e
r i v e r , a n d b a s e s f o r t h e t r e s t l e a c r o s s a
d e e p g r a d e w e r e b u i l t o n b o t h s i d e s .
U . S . 9 5 l a t e r w a s b u i l t b e t w e e n t h e
b a s e s , a n d t h e b a s e s w e r e r e m o v e d
m a n y y e a r s l a t e r .
W o r k o n t h e l i n e c o n t i n u e d a s l a t e a s
1 9 1 1 , w h e n t i e s a n d r a i l s w e r e l a i d a s
f a r a s W i l d e r . T h e O r e g o n S h o r t L i n e
R a i l r o a d C o . b o u g h t o u t t h e o r i g i n a l
o w n e r s , a c c o r d i n g t o i n f o r m a t i o n c o m -
p i l e d b y D o r i s P e d e n a n d h e r s i s t e r ,
H e s t e r G i t t i n s .
B e f o r e t h e d r e a m e n d e d , a r a i l r o a d
b o x c a r h a d b e e n s e t u p n e a r t h e
p r e s e n t U . S . 9 5 - I d a h o 1 9 j u n c t i o n t o
s e r v e a s a d e p o t . A b o a r d s i g n o n t h e
c a r h a d t h e w o r d , " W i l d e r . "
" T h e n a m e w a s n o t w e l l r e c e i v e d i n
t h e c o m m u n i t y , " t h e s i s t e r s s a i d . " W e
t h o u g h t G o l d e n G a t e w a s s o m u c h n i -
c e r . "
T h e n a m e " W i l d e r " i s b e l i e v e d t o b e
f o r M a r s h a l l P . W i l d e r , p u b l i s h e r o f a
p o p u l a r w o m a n ' s m a g a z i n e o f t h e d a y ,
" T h e D e l i n e a t o r . " W i l d e r r e p o r t e d l y
o f f e r e d t o p r i n t a n a r t i c l e f a v o r a b l e t o
t h e c o m m u n i t y i f t h e t o w n w e r e
n a m e d f o r h i m .
W i l d e r i n m o r e r e c e n t y e a r s h a s b e e n
n e a r l y s y n o n y m o u s w i t h h o p s , a n d
h o p s w i t h t h e B a t t f a m i l i e s .
W h i l e n o t a l l o f t h e B a t t f a m i l i e s a r e
r a i s i n g h o p s , a t h i r d g e n e r a t i o n c o n t i n -
u e s t h e b u s i n e s s . T h e c r o p w a s p i o -
n e e r e d i n I d a h o o n W i l d e r f a r m l a n d b y
/ r s A u
Q P t
W I t D Q
A T R $ f
C A L D I N I "
' N A M P A
6 0 1 $ 1
A M M A N H o m e
r W a i $ A l l $
t h e B a t t s . R o g e r B a t t s t a r t e d t h e c r o p
o n 3 0 a c r e s w e s t o f W i l d e r i n 1 9 3 4 .
I d a h o h o p s s t i l l a r e g r o w n o n l y i n
C a n y o n C o u n t y .
A l s o i n 1 9 3 4 , b r o t h e r s P . G . a n d J o h n
B a t t h a d 2 0 a c r e s o f h o p s n e a r W i l d e r .
T h e b r o t h e r s d i s c o n t i n u e d h o p g r o w i n g
f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s , a n d t h e n r e t u r n e d t o
t h e b u i n e s s i n t h e 1 9 4 0 s , a c c o r d i n g t o
f a m i l y m e m b e r s .
E a c h o f t h e t h r e e b r o t h e r s h a d t h r e e
s o n s , w h o a l s o w e n t i n t o h o p g r o w i n g .
R o g e r ' s s o n s , D o n a l d , W e l d e l l , a n d
H a r o l d , s t i l l r a i s e h o p s , a s d o P . G . ' s
s o n s , B o b a n d V e r n o n .
W i l d e r a l s o h a s b e e n k n o w n f o r s t a g -
i n g o n e o f t h e m o s t s u c c e s s f u l b e n e f i t
a u c t i o n s f o r i t s s i z e i n t h e c o u n t r y . T h e
W i l d e r C o m m u n i t y A u c t i o n w a s s t a r t -
e d 2 4 y e a r s a g o t o a i d t h e N a t i o n a l
F o u n d a t i o n f o r I n f a n t i l e P a r a l y s i s :
I n t h e f i r s t 2 3 y e a r s , $ 2 4 0 , 4 8 5 w a s c o l -
l e c t e d . T h e 1 9 7 6 a u c t i o n , t w o w e e k s
a g o , g r o s s e d $ 1 7 , 3 6 5 u n o f f i c i a l l y . J i m
T r u e s d e l l , c o - c h a i r m a n w i t h G e o r g e .
V a n c e , s a i d t h e $ 1 8 , 1 0 0 t a k e n i n a y e a r
a g o w a s t h e r e c o r d .
F o r a c i t y o f 7 4 8 p e o p l e ( 1 9 7 0 c e n s u s ) ,
t h e a u c t i o n i s t o t a l c o m m i t m e n t . C i t i -
z e n s p i t c h i n t o h e l p w i t h t h e p l a n n i n g ,
d o n a t i n g , s e l l i n g a n d b u y i n g .
T h e S n a k e R i v e r U n i t e d W a y i s g i v e n
3 9 p e r c e n t o f t h e n e t ; A m e r i c a n H e a r t
A s s o c i a t i o n , A m e r i c a n C a n c e r S o c i e t y ,
a n d E l k s R e h a b i l i t a t i o n C e n t e r i n
B o i s e , 2 0 p e r c e n t e a c h , a n d M u l t i p l e
S c l e r o s i s A s s o c i a t i o n , o n e p e r c e n t .
N e a r t h e s o u t h e n t r a n c e t o W i l d e r , a t
t h e c o r n e r o f U . S . 9 5 a n d I d a h o 1 9 ,
C h u l a V i s t a A c r e s , a $ 1 , 7 9 5 , 0 0 0 , 8 0 - u n i t
( C o n t i n u e d o n P a g e 2 C , C o l . 5 )
Wilder
Dreamed of Rail Fame
(cuffflnued—from Page 1C)
project of the Housing Authority of the
City of Wilder (HACW), will open this
spring.
Frank Mercer, HACW secretary and
project manager, said tenants must be
employed in agriculture.
Wilder Public Works Supervisor
Glenn Osborn said the city annexed 30
acres at the location in 1974. He said
the city has drilled a 12 -inch, 525 -foot
well at the housing site.
Wilder has adequate water and sew-
age facilities, the supervisor said. A
city -wide sewer system with a three.
Pond lagoon on seven acres northeast
of town was completed in December,
1972.
Rodrigo Rodriguez was appointed a
city councilman last week to complete
the unexpired term of John Bechtel,
who was elected mayor in November.
Elected councilmen in November were
Joe Tabor, Sr., and Roger Howell. Son-
ny Sarceda, the other councilman, is
president of the council this term.
Glenda Chase is city clerk.
The plat for the Wilder townsite was
field with the county recorder June 16,
1911. Olover Wisbey had sold the south
40 acres of his homestead earlier in the
year to Arthur Binford, who contribu-
ted it for the town.
Probably the oldest continuous busi-
ness in town is Blackie's Barber Shop,
operated by Alvin Black, who has had
the shop for about 45 years.
Across the street is the Morfitt Store,
Inc., which has been in business since
1935. The store founded by J. C. Morfitt
now is operated by his daughte;,and
son and their spouses, 0. E. Od Uelen -
Durham and Carl and Leila Morfitt.
The original Golden Gate store was
built on the southwest corner of Laura
Starcher's homestead, now the proper-
ty of Donald Hume. The store opened
in November, 1909. The building was
moved in 1912 and converted into a pri-
vate home.
Other businesses include Earl Fogg's
theater in the summer, the Wilder
Market, Colson's Market, Jiggs' Bar-
ber Shop, a beauty shop, a drug store,
two restaurants, a drive -in restaurant
in the summer, Bank of Idaho, Wilder
Building Center, Wilder Repair Shop,
service stations and a self- service laun-
dry.
W ilderness water, belongs
ly Rocky Barker
'he Idaho Statesman
Residents and businesses
-om Yellowpine to Leadore
rho sunk wells after 1980 may
o longer have a right to use the
later after an Idaho Supreme
Burt decision Friday.
All future water development
may be prohibited in the
Salmon River basin upstream of
the Frank Church -River of No
Return Wilderness if the most
sweeping water rights decision
h a decade holds up.
The court ruled that the Unit -
Td States reserved the water in
ind flowing through the Frank
hurch -River of No Return, the
5elway- Bitterroot and the
3ospel Hump wilderness areas
rnd the Hells Canyon National
2ecreation Area from the dates
hey were officially protected.
The Snake River above Hells
;anyon was specifically ex-
�mpted. And the 1.1 million -
cre Selway- Bitterroot and
06,000 -acre Gospel Hump
Wilderness areas he at the top of
le watersheds with hardly any
evelopment upstream.
But the 2.4 million -acre Frank
hurch -River of No Return
tretches across central Idaho
vith thousands of farms,
comes, mines and businesses
ieveloped upstream since it
vas protected by Congress 19
rears ago. Since all of the water
ivailable for use in 1980 was re-
erved for the wilderness, none
vas left for development up-
tream, including groundwater,
he state's highest court ruled.
"Ninety -six percent of my leg -
slative district is owned by the
ederal government," said an
.ngr v and frustrated Rep.
. enore Hardy Barrett of Challis.
First they took our land, now
hey're taking our water."
Justice Cathy Silak, writing
or the 3 -2 majority, said Judge
Daniel Hurlbutt was correct
vhen he ruled Dec. 18, 1997,
hat Congress implied wilder -
ress areas reserved all rights to
mdeveloped natural flows of
water and that Congress specif-
cally reserved the right to the
lows of all Snake River tribu-
aries within Hells Canyon.
"Because removing water
Idaho Supreme Court ruling
will affect businesses, cities
The decision affects water in the drainages upstream of the Gospel
Hump, Selway Bitterroot and Frank Church wilderness areas. Only water
in tributaries of the Snake River that orginate in the Hells Canyon area
are affected. Water in the Snake River when it enters this area is not
affected, including the agricultural areas of southern Idaho.
HELLS
CANYON
WILDERNESS''
Water rights
granted after
1975
GOSPEL HUMP
WILDERNESS
Water rights
granted after 1978
are affected
are RIGGINS Sa /moo
affected • `- '" n Ripe
qW
r
0/
1
SELWAY
BITTEROOT
WILDERNESS
Water rights
granted after 1964
Q— are affected
BURG •
t
•YELLOW PINE
o�
Arrows LL
indicate E
river flow r° in
WARM
LAKE
FRANK CHURCH
RIVER OF NO RETURN
WILDERNESS
Water rights granted
after 1980 are affected
necessarily impairs the natural
state of the wilderness lands,
Congress must have intended to
reserve all unappropriated wa-
ter," she wrote.
The state is considering all its
options, including asking the
court for a rehearing or appeal- '
ing the decision to the U.S.
Supreme Court, said Deputy At-
torney General Clive Strong .
By overriding the state's water
rights distribution process,
which is based on the concept that the
oldest right is the most senior, the de-
cision has implications across the
West.
"If taken to its logical conclusion,
the decision greatly expands the fed-
eral government's control over the
waters of Idaho," Strong said.
Justice Gerald Schroeder and Jus-
tice Wayne Kidwell, writing in their
dissenting opinions, said the U.S.
SALMONi
o4e CHAT
STANLEY
1 m�
Q
S�o4�,
�m
3�.
9�
LEADORE
AREA
NBoise
AIL
auprem e court has ruled that the fed-
eral government can only reserve the
amount of water necessary to meet
the purposes of the designated area
for which they were reserved. But
Silak, Chief Justice Linda Copple
Trout and Justice Jesse Walters, re-
jected their position.
"A claim to the entire natural
stream flow is permissible where it is
proven that the entire natural flow is
necessary to accomplish the purposes
of the reservation," Silak wrote.
The decision left unclear whether
the decision stops development
across the vast areas of the Salmon
River basin outside the wilderness,
Strong said. A similar case, where
Hurlbutt ruled the United States re-
served water rights for federally des-
ignated wild and scenic rivers, is
awaiting an Idaho Supreme Court
ruling.
Since the entire river corridor run-
ning through the wilderness is pro-
tested as wild and sceni•he mg•
that case will settle the issue unless
the U.S. Supreme Court overrules the
Idaho court.
Former Sen. James McClure, who
was deeply involved in the writing of
all the legislation designating the
wilderness areas and Hells Canyon
except for the 1964 Wilderness Act,
said the court was ignoring the intent
of Congress to preserve the status quo
in terms of water rights and state and
federal powers.
"I think the decision is incredible,"
he said. "It goes against the will of
Congress."
Chris Meyer, a Boise attorney who
represented Potlatch Corp. and sever-
al mining companies who will lose
their water rights under the decision,
said the court challenges the idea that
Congress must expressly vote to over-
rule a state constitution. Kidwell
agreed.
"Our issue was not so much about
water rights as but about the way the
government works," Meyer said.
"The decision allows Congress to
duck the issue and let the court fill in
the blanks."
The court case came out of the
decade -long effort to legally prove all
water rights in the Snake River basin
in Idaho. Hurlbutt formerly was the
judge who ruled on the validity of
each water right in the region. The ef-
fort, called, adjudication, is expected
to continue for up to another decade.
Not everyone in Idaho is upset with
the decision. John McCarthy, public
lands director of the Idaho Conserva-
tion League, said the decision will
help keep the waters clear in Idaho
for everyone and slow down growth
in the fragile ecosystems that sur-
round and include the wilderness.
"The Supreme Court had taken a
very strong and very sound stand to
protect the wild character of our
wilderness and put it above the pollu-
tion that comes from agriculture and
mining," McCarthy said.
Jared Ferrell, who retired to a small
ranch in North Fork near Salmon,
worries he will have to give up the
well he uses for drinking water and
even flushing the toilet. With timber,
mining and ranching waning in the
region, tourism, second home devel-
opment and luring retirees like him is
important to the future of the region's
economy.
"That's the only thing we have left,"
he said. "If we can't get water, we
won't have anything."