Evan E. Filby's Blog: South Fork and More, page 60

Major Fire Devastates the Silver Mining Town of Wardner [otd 1/4]

On January 4, 1890, a major fire broke out in a laundry behind a popular restaurant in the village of Wardner, Idaho, about a mile south of Kellogg. The small fire department and “hundreds” of volunteers responded quickly, but for some reason they did not have enough water available to check the flames. This being the dead of winter, firefighters heaved snow as fast as they could. Unfortunately, that failed to stop the fire, which continued for four hours.
Mining Town Fire damage, 1893. Nation...

Businessman Peter Sonna Dedicates an Opera House for Boise City [otd 01/03]

On January 3, 1889, the Idaho Daily Statesman, Boise City, Idaho, headlined, “Dedication of the New Opera House under the auspices of the Boise City Board of Trade … ” The article went on, “The dedication … will take place in the above opera house, in Sonna’s new block … ”
Sonna Building. Boise Architectural Project.
The location reference was to a large construction project financed and planned by businessman Peter Sonna.

Born in New York City in November 1835, Sonna followed the gold rush to...

Boise Developers and Patrons Thomas J. Davis and Wife Julia [otd 01/02]

T. J. Davis. J. H. Hawley.On January 2, 1838, Boise pioneer Thomas Jefferson Davis was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father died when Thomas was a boy, so he and a brother were indentured to an Illinois farmer. According to Hawley’s History, in 1861 the farmer rewarded their years of labor by outfitting them for a trip to the Idaho gold fields.

Unscrupulous guides led their wagon train into impossible country in the Lemhi area. The scammers hoped the party would abandon their vehicles and sup...

Snake Brigade Leader Peter Ogden Laments Fur Trade Deaths [otd 01/01]

Peter Skene Ogden.
Oregon Historical Society. On New Year's Day, 1829, Peter Skene Ogden wrote in his journal, “One of the trappers left in charge of the sick man arrived with his horse fatigued and informed me that our sick man, Joseph Paul, died 8 days after we left, suffering most severely.”

Ogden was then leader of the Snake Brigade, a band of trappers and support personnel working for the British-Canadian Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). They had encamped in northern Utah or southern Idaho. Th...

Mining Investor, Legislator, and Federal Marshal James Crutcher [otd 12/31]

James Crutcher. Illustrated History.On December 31, 1835, U. S. Marshal James I. Crutcher was born in Shelby County, Kentucky, east of Louisville. In 1860, James followed the rush to the gold fields of Colorado. After two years there, he tried his luck in Elk City, Idaho. Crutcher spent a few months there, made a quick trip into Oregon, and then returned to settle in the Boise Basin.

Crutcher was deputy sheriff in 1865, during the excitement that followed the shooting of Union man Sumner Pink...

Ex-Governor Frank Steunenberg Assassinated, Fire Destroys Post Falls Sawmill [otd 12/30]

Governor Steunenberg. University of Utah.On December 30, 1905, an assassin’s bomb murdered former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg. The resulting investigation, arrests, and trials had worldwide significance in the management- labor conflicts of the time.

Labor union support helped elect Steunenberg to two consecutive terms as governor. However, when union activists blew up the ore mill at Wardner and two men were killed [blog, Apr 29], the governor declared martial law. Although Steunenberg w...

Award-Winning Children’s Author Carol Ryrie Brink [otd 12/28]

Author Brink. Publisher photo.Writer Caroline Ryrie was born December 28, 1895 in Moscow, Idaho. Misfortune dimmed her early years. When she was five, her father died of tuberculosis.

The following year, her maternal grandfather, Dr. William W. Watkins, was shot to death on the streets of Moscow. Watkins was the first President of the Idaho State Medical Society, and I mentioned his murder in my blog about the Society [Sept 12]. That killing, plus a failed second marriage, was blamed for the s...

New Home Dedicated for Neglected Children in Boise [otd 12/27]

On December 27, 1910, a new, larger building was dedicated for use by the Children’s Home Finding and Aid Society. This ceremony was the culmination of over three years of effort, and continued a tradition that went back over half a century.
Children’s Home. ca. 1918. J. H. Hawley.
Records as far back as 1660 in Massachusetts describe how governments in the U.S. grappled with the problem of orphans and other homeless children. Orphanages proved costly and not very effective. In 1853, New York...

Canal Builder and Idaho Falls Mayor Joseph Clark [otd 12/26]

Mayor Clark. Idaho Falls Post-Register.On December 26, 1837, future Idaho Falls Mayor Joseph A. Clark was born in Randolph County, North Carolina, south of Greensboro. The family owned slaves, but Joseph’s father so opposed the institution that he freed them and later moved the family to Indiana. After graduating from a small Indiana college in 1862, Joseph began a career as a civil engineer.

Starting in 1872, Joseph served five consecutive terms (10 years) as county Surveyor for Hendricks Cou...

Civil Engineer and Western Dam Builder John Savage [otd 12/25]

Jack Savage. National Academy of Sciences.On December 25, 1879, world-renowned civil engineer John Lucian Savage was born on a farm about twenty miles south of Madison, Wisconsin. After graduating from Madison High School, “Jack” enrolled at the University of Wisconsin. During two summers while he was in school, he worked as a draftsman for the U. S. Geological Survey.

Jack graduated in 1903 and was offered a teaching position at Purdue University. More interested in field work, he joined the...