Evan E. Filby's Blog: South Fork and More, page 50

Army Pathfinder John C. Fremont at The Cedars on the Snake River [otd 9/28]

John C. Fremont, ca 1861-1865.
Matthew Brady photo, Library of Congress.On September 28, 1843, an expedition led by Second Lieutenant John C. Frémont reached a point along the Snake River that would later be called “The Cedars.”

In August, Frémont’s command had explored the area around the Great Salt Lake, and then turned north into Idaho. At various times he sent men, including famous guide Kit Carson, to Fort Hall for provisions. In the 1830s, Carson had trapped much of northern Utah and sout...

Boise Developer, and County and State Treasurer John Eagleson [otd 9/22]

Businessman and financial expert John W. Eagleson was born September 22, 1869 at Cadiz, in eastern Ohio. The family moved twice while he was a youngster, first to central Iowa and then to eastern Nebraska. After high school, he spent two years at the University of Nebraska, but then followed the family to Boise in 1891.
John Eagleson. [Hawley]
John first worked in his father’s lumber business, along with his younger brother Charles, who was still in his teens. Early-on the family took part in...

Governor, U. S. Senator, and Wool-grower Frank Gooding [otd 9/16]

Idaho Senator and Governor Frank R. Gooding was born September 16, 1859 in England. He was 8 years old when his parents emigrated to the U. S. and settled in Michigan. In 1877 Frank moved to California and then, within a year or two, to Ogden, Utah. There, he worked at the Union Pacific (UP) depot.

Two factors then perhaps combined to draw him to Idaho. First, by 1879, the UP had decided to extend a branch rail line across Idaho. At about that same time, silver was discovered in the Wood...

Caldwell Banker, Newspaperman, and Developer Albert Steunenberg [otd 9/11]

A. K. Steunenberg.
J. H. Hawley photo.Newspaperman and banker Albert Keppel Steunenberg was born September 11, 1863 in Knoxville, Iowa, about twenty-five miles southeast of Des Moines. After high school, “A.K.” – as he was later known to friends – served an apprenticeship as a printer, advancing to journeyman class after a few years.

He also showed a talent for more than the mechanics of the trade, developing solid abilities as a writer and editor.

He moved to Caldwell, Idaho, in 1886. Although...

Indians Attack Utter Wagon Train, Survivors Resort to Cannibalism [otd 9/9]

On September 9, 1860, a wagon train rumbled along the Oregon Trail, leaving its campsite on the western side of Castle Creek (about 30 miles west of today’s Mountain Home, Idaho). Most of the emigrants were from Wisconsin, and the nominal leader was Elijah P. Utter*.
Attack on circled wagons.
Retouched still shot from an old Western movie.
Having gotten a late start, the train was well behind the last of the “normal” groups when it reached the Fort Hall area. From there, a party of dragoons prov...

Boise Banker, Businessman, and School Advocate Horace E. Neal [otd 09/07]

Boise businessman Horace Edwin Neal was born September 7, 1859 in Van Buren County, Iowa, about 100 miles southeast of Des Moines. He was still a small child when the family moved to a farm near the Missouri River in southeast Nebraska. Horace pieced together several years of college classes, taught school for three years, and then worked for several years in Kansas and eastern Colorado.
H. E. Neal. [Illust-State]
Horace and a younger brother, W. Scott Neal, moved to Boise in 1890 and started a...

Opening Day for Boise Junior College, Precursor to Boise State University [otd 9/6]

On September 6, 1932, Boise Junior College greeted its first students, 41 men and 37 women. BJC can actually trace its roots back to 1892, when the Episcopal church started St. Margaret's School. For forty years, St. Margaret's offered a “classical education” to girls in Boise.
Opening day, BJC. Boise State University photo.
By 1910, Boise was the largest city in Idaho. Other towns like Caldwell and Nampa further skewed the state’s population toward the Boise River valley. Yet, for reasons too...

Emigrant Elizabeth Porter on the Oregon Trail [otd 9/3]

On Saturday, September 3, 1864, Oregon-bound pioneer Elizabeth (Lee) Porter wrote in her diary, “Morning: 12 head of cattle gone, found 5 head. Hunted all day for the rest but found no cattle. Beautiful valley here and lots of ranches. We are four miles below the city.”

Boise City, established little more than a year earlier, was already a thriving community of over sixteen hundred residents. It was, in fact, by far the largest town they had seen since leaving the vicinity of Omaha. The family...

Ray Hunt: Legendary Trainer of Horses (and Riders) [otd 8/31]

Tribute photo. Richard Beal’s Blog.Renowned horse trainer Ray Hunt was born August 31, 1929 in Paul, Idaho (about 4 miles north of Burley). A few years later, the family moved to Mountain Home. A child of the Great Depression, he knew the hard, grinding farm labor of that era. His father also raised work horses, which he hired out to farms and ranches in the area. Ray learned to ride bareback and dreamed of becoming a cowboy.

He got his chance the spring when he was twenty years old. The famou...

Educator, Cultural Promoter, and Purple Heart Winner Sofia (Demos) Adamson [otd 8/24]

Youthful Sofia Adamson.
LifeInLegacy.comEducator and philanthropist Sofia (Demos) Adamson was born August 24, 1916 in Pocatello, Idaho. Her parents were Greek immigrants. The family later moved to Los Angeles, where Sofia’s mother reportedly “became the first Greek actress to perform in a Hollywood motion picture.”

Sofia’s father died in 1928, so her mother turned to dressmaking and other sewing work to support the family. Sofia began her life of service early, being identified with many extrac...