Evan E. Filby's Blog: South Fork and More, page 121

Irrigation Developer, Idaho Governor, and U. S. Senator James Brady [otd 06/12]

Senator and Governor James H. Brady.
Library of Congress.U. S. Senator and Idaho Governor James Henry Brady was born June 12, 1862 in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. According to the biography in J. H. Hawley's History, Brady graduated from Leavenworth Normal School and then taught for three years while studying law. From this statement, one can infer that young James was a intellectual prodigy. Leavenworth Normal School closed after the 1876 year.

Very young professionals, including lawyers, of...

Prolific and World Famous Bridge Designer David Steinman [otd 06/11]

D. B. Steinman.
Boston College collections.David Barnard Steinman, considered one of the greatest bridge designers of all time, was born June 11, 1886 in New York City. He grew up almost literally in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge, which turned his thoughts in that direction. The first in his family to attend college, he received a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1911.

Even before the doctorate was finished, the University of Idaho hired Steinman as a civil engineering instructor. A techni...

Boise Basin Mines Thriving, but Water Becoming a Problem

On Jun 10, 1863, a miner wrote a letter from Placerville, from which portions were later extracted for publication in the San Francisco Evening Bulletin. The writer began, “Plenty of gold; it beats California in 1849. Gold is taken out by the pound, and new discoveries are made every day.”

One claim went on the market on a Saturday for $4 thousand, with no takers. Then, the following Tuesday, “The owners took therefrom 11 pounds in one day’s work.” They were apparently then offered $15 thousan...

Intermountain Good Roads Association Meets in Boise [otd 06/10]

On Tuesday, June 10, 1913, the Fourth Annual Convention of the Intermountain Good Roads Association opened in Boise. Convention sessions ran through Thursday evening, with such topics as "Good Enough Roads for the Traffic." Thursday morning, former Idaho Governor James H. Hawley spoke on "Good Roads and Their Relation to Mining."
Mud is the enemy. National Archives
On Friday, the convention offered a tour to the Arrowrock Dam site. The dam was then about two years from completion. At this fourt...

Treaty Reduces Nez Perce Indian Reservation

For this particular date, my regular "On This Day" article does double duty, being also relevant for the Sesquicentennial.

Treaty of 1863 Reduces Nez Perce Reservation, Sows Seeds of Trouble [otd 06/09]

On June 9, 1863, U. S. government negotiators concluded a treaty with the Nez Percés Indians. That treaty substantially reduced the "official" reservation, and promoted tensions that would bear ill fruit many years later.
Nez Percés Chief Lawyer, ca. 1861.
University of Washington Special Collections.
By 1845-1850, white settlement between the future border of Idaho and the Cascade Mountains had significantly intruded on native tribes there. This resulted in series of clashes, the “Cayuse War,”...

Lewiston Still Optimistic about Its Role, Plans a Road South

On June 8, 1863, The Oregonian published a report that began, “The Lewiston people were greatly rejoiced last Tuesday, at the arrival of a party from Boise, bringing $50,000 worth of gold dust, who came through from the mines in forty-six hours travelling time.”

Lewistonians considered the amount of gold fairly impressive, but they “greatly rejoiced” because the shipment suggested the town was still “relevant” in terms of the mines. The article went on, “They reported good roads, free from Ind...

Silver City Volunteers Battle Bannock Indians at South Mountain [otd 06/08]

On June 8, 1878, a loose column of Silver City volunteers moved generally southward along South Mountain Creek. Angry Bannocks led by Chief Buffalo Horn were trying to join possible allies in Oregon. Common sense said they might head west over this broad, rugged saddle between the Silver City Range and South Mountain.
High plateau between Silver City Range and South Mountain.
IdahoSummits.com, Dan Robbins.
Many factors combined to cause the Bannock War. Most stemmed from the failure of white off...

Boise Basin Mines Hard to Reach, Rough When You Get there.

On June 7, 1863, a miner who identified himself as “Hal” wrote a letter to The Oregonian from Placerville, Idaho Territory. He had started from Walla Walla “in company with three others.” A good part of his letter described the route they took to reach the Boise Basin, heading first south to the Umatilla River in Oregon. He gave estimated distances as they then turned east over the Blue Mountains. (His guesses do not appear to be particularly accurate, however.)

As they neared Idaho, the group...

Farm Equipment Dealer and Agricultural Developer Sylvester Hill [otd 06/07]

Agricultural pioneer Sylvester Hill was born June 7, 1855 in Dekalb County, Illinois. Bolstered by a business school education, he first worked as a traveling salesman for the Deering Harvester Company. The Deering company was one of several farm equipment firms competing for business in the Midwestern grain fields.
Reaper-binder, ca. 1881. National Archives.
Sylvester spent seven years on the road selling. He then became Assistant Manager and then Manager for the Deering interests in Minnesota...