Legislature Authorizes Albion State Normal School [otd 03/07]

On March 7, 1893 the Idaho legislature passed a law to create Albion State Normal School, as they had authorized the Lewiston State Normal School earlier in the year [blog, Jan 6]. The Act required that land be donated as a site for the school (the offer had already been tendered) but did not appropriate any funds for construction.

Administration building, ca 1910. H. T. French photo.

Nonetheless, the school began classes in September 1894, using a structure built by volunteers. The 1895 legislature authorized issuance of construction bonds and a new administration building was completed the following year.

School enrollment grew steadily and, in 1901, the legislature provided funding for construction of a men’s dormitory. Officials called it Miller Hall, after Josiah Miller, who had donated the original plot of land. They added a women’s dormitory four years later. Over the next ten to fifteen years, Albion Normal acquired additional land and built more facilities.

When the school first opened, officials had to face the reality that Idaho’s rudimentary school system produced few students qualified for a standard curriculum. Thus, the institution not only had to provide a considerable array of high school classes, they even had to dip down to the seventh and eighth grade for some candidates.

That remained true even as late as 1914. Still, Hiram T. French wrote, “As fast as it is practical all studies properly belonging to the common school system are being eliminated, it being the aim finally to require a high school diploma for entrance.”

Cost cutters made a number of attempts to eliminate the institution or move it into Burley. In an odd turn, one attempt failed because of foresighted (but flawed) planning in its passage. The bill, originated by the state Senate, included (Idaho Statesman, June 2, 1922) a tax levy, “to provide funds for starting the new buildings at Burley.” The Idaho Supreme Court overturned the Act on a technicality: revenue bills must be originated in the House of Representatives.

In any case, the need for teachers was so great that the school thrived in the 1920s. Although enrollment fell early in the Great Depression, it recovered to peak in 1939.

Albion State Normal School, 1922. Albion Valley Historical Society.

By then, however, the Albion and Lewiston schools were out of step with the times. Most states had abandoned the two-year Normal School track in favor of a four-year teachers’ college approach. Idaho had two of just five Normal schools remaining in the entire country.

In 1943, Idaho reluctantly granted the Normals four-year status, the last state to make the move. Both schools began “acting the part,” and the legislature went along in 1947. Albion Normal became the Southern Idaho College of Education (SICE, with NICE in Lewiston).

After a dip during World War II, the postwar influx of G.I. Bill students provided several years of surging enrollment for the newly-name SICE. However, the old arguments against having so many four-year schools soon arose again. With three other four-year schools turning out teachers, the state could dispense with one.

In May 1951, SICE – once Albion State Normal School – held its final commencement exercise. The school had made an indispensable contribution to Idaho education, but it was doomed by its relatively isolated location.
                                                                                 

References: [French], [Hawley]

"Albion State Normal School: Historical Sketch," Idaho State University Manuscript Collection (online).

Keith C. Petersen, Educating in the American West: One Hundred Years at Lewis-Clark State College, 1893-1993, Confluence Press, Lewiston, Idaho (© Lewis-Clark State College, 1993).

Canal Company Executive, County Commissioner, and Farmer Arthur Goody [otd 03/06]

Commissioner Goody.
J. H. Hawley photo.

Prominent farmer and Jefferson County Commissioner Arthur James Goody was born March 6, 1871 in Cache County, Utah, 10-15 miles northwest of Logan.

His father, Arthur Joseph, had come to the United States from England in 1863, when he was in his early teens. The parents – Mormon converts – followed a year later and settled on land north of the Great Salt Lake. By 1870, Arthur Joseph had married and moved to the area where Arthur James was born.

In 1883, the family took up a homestead a mile or so east of Lewisville, Idaho. Lewisville, located 12-14 miles north of Eagle Rock (now Idaho Falls), was one of several towns founded after the Utah & Northern Railroad laid tracks through Eastern Idaho in 1879. Arthur James worked on the family farm until he was twenty-two years old. (Although not “technically” correct, newspaper accounts of the time commonly referred to Arthur Joseph as “Sr.” and the son as “Jr.”)

Then, in 1893, Arthur Jr. married and built a home in Lewisville. He also bought some unimproved farm land a mile south of town. With improvements to that tract, and purchase of additional acreage, Arthur soon developed a highly successful mixed-crop farm operation of his own.

Arthur participated heavily in local civic affairs, including eight years as a Jefferson County Commissioner. He also served sixteen years as a school trustee. Arthur spent four years on the Lewisville town board and, after the village incorporated in 1904, served a term as mayor.

Arthur took an active interest in various irrigation projects. That included working with his father on some of the precursors to the Great Feeder Canal, which went into operation in 1895 [blog, June 22]. Later, he served on the Board of Directors of the Little Feeder Canal Company (Idaho Register, May 23, 1902). Four years after that, he represented Lewisville at a national Irrigation Congress held in Boise (Idaho Statesman, July 22, 1906).

In the spring of 1909, Arthur Sr. moved to Idaho Falls. (His wife had died three years earlier.) Not long after, Arthur Jr. bought his father’s ranch property and thereafter ran both operations. Under the title “Crops Fine at Lewisville,” the Idaho Falls Times reported (November 7, 1911) a remarkably productive year for his farms. On his original property, Arthur raised wheat, oats, alfalfa, sugar beets, apples, and raspberries. On the other, he raised more hay, grain, and sugar beets, as well as potatoes, plumes, prunes, and currants.

Headgates, Great Feeder Canal.

Early in the Twentieth Century, farmers had begun to form cooperatives under various titles like “Farmers’ Society of Equity.” They hoped to present a united front in dealing with banks, shippers, and farm product buyers. The Idaho Falls Times reported (January 21, 1913) an organizational meeting in Lewisville, at which Arthur was selected as President of the local chapter. He was associated with the group when it became the Intermountain Farmers Equity.

Besides his farm interests, Arthur held stock in a regional mercantile company. By 1920, he was President of the Great Feeder Canal Company, a position he held for many years. He passed away in September 1943. In 1990, the original Goody homestead qualified as an Idaho Century Farm, being still owned by a descendant of Arthur Joseph Goody.
                                                                                    
References: [Hawley]

Louis J. Clements, Centennial Farm Families, Upper Snake River Valley Historical Society, Rexburg, Idaho (March 1991).

Mary Jane Fritzen, Eagle Rock, City of Destiny, Bonneville County Historical Society, Idaho Falls, Idaho (1991).

John L. Powell (Ed.), “Great Feeder Canal Company,” Records Collection, MSS 31, Arthur Porter Special Collections, BYU-Idaho (January 23, 2002).

Gold Rush Fuels Murray Building Boom [otd 03/05]

The Lewiston Teller for March 5, 1885 published a glowing report from a correspondent in the new town of Murray, Idaho. The observer first noted that people in the entire mining district exuded confidence. At a settlement 3-4 miles west of Murrayville (Murray's original name), the reporter "counted eleven buildings under construction."

Placer mining, Murray area, 1884. Note miners in foreground.
University of Idaho Archives.

Miners were running large placer rigs on streams throughout the area. While the strikes were not spectacular, they provided solid returns and fueled hopes for more.

The Teller correspondent wrote, "Murray is fast building up and assuming the air of a mining metropolis, and property here has a value outside of what is justified by present appearances."

Around 1880, Andrew J. Pritchard and two other prospectors had worked their way up the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River. They found color on what came to be called Prichard Creek, deep in the Coeur d'Alene Mountains, 5-6 miles from the Montana border.  (It’s not clear when the “t” was dropped, but current maps show the stream with that spelling.)

Pritchard tried to restrict the news to a few favored partners while he continued to look for better prospects. He made a major find in 1882 [blog, Apr 25], but – as usual – the news leaked out.  By 1883 thousands of miners had rushed into the region, especially along Prichard Creek. All the early claims had been staked and filed, so late-comers pushed further up every likely looking stream.

Murray got its start in January 1884 and grew rapidly. At the same time, the population of Pierce City, the original county seat for Shoshone County, had dwindled to perhaps a few dozen souls. A notion to split the county was quickly squelched, but just before Christmas the Territorial government decided to locate a new county seat. The Act called for an election the following summer.

According to one pioneer, perhaps 2,500 people spent that winter in Murray and the nearby mining camps. Other reports suggest that 4 to 5 thousand were scattered throughout the Coeur d'Alenes.

Murray, Idaho, ca 1888.
The Sprag Pole Inn and Museum, Murray.

The Teller correspondent of March 5th went on, "Real estate changes hands daily and business prospects are bright. Two shingle mills are the latest improvements and parties are daily in search of business locations. There are twelve stores where goods of all kinds can be procured, three drug stores, several restaurants and a hotel."

The reports seems to have been accurate. At the election on June 1, 1885, Murray easily won the county seat, garnering 1,075 votes to 457 for Delta. The Illustrated History said, “Add to these two votes cast for Beaver (the former name of Delta), two for Eagle and one for Littlefieid, and we have a total vote in the county of 1,537.”

However, even then the seeds of change had been planted: To the south, prospectors had discovered rich lead-silver veins, and these turned out to represent the true wealth of the Coeur d'Alenes. "Placer Center," soon to become "Wallace," was founded a few months after Murrayville. It was destined to overshadow all the earlier camps and towns.

While Murray bloomed and then began a slow decline, Wallace and the other silver towns prospered. Thus, in 1898, another election moved the county seat from Murray to Wallace, where it still is.
                                                                                 
References: [French], [Illust-North]

"Counties and County Seats," Reference Series No. 10, Idaho State Historical Society (July 1991).

President Lincoln Signs Law to Create Idaho Territory [otd 03/04]

On March 4, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill that created Idaho Territory, splitting it off from Washington Territory. The signing culminated a period of intense political wrangling that first heated up in late 1858, after the Yakima Indian War. When Oregon became a state in February 1859, Washington Territory was left basically as a catch-all for the area north of Utah and west of (vaguely) the Rockies.

Gold pan with nuggets amidst black sand.
National Park Service.

The bickering and horse-trading greatly intensified after Captain Elias Pierce’s party discovered gold along the Clearwater River in the fall of 1860 [blog, Oct 2]. Ignoring the boundary of the Nez Perce Indian Reservation, prospectors poured into the region.

Washington Territorial officials quickly created Shoshone County to provide an administrative structure for the Idaho mining districts. The county encompassed the region between near-future Lewiston and the Continental Divide, and south from the Canadian border to some amorphous boundary down towards Utah Territory.

As more prospectors arrived and spread south, the legislature split Shoshone County along the Clearwater River. The area to the south became Nez Perce County, with Lewiston as the seat. And still the eager gold seekers pressed on, making more gold discoveries in the Boise Basin (a high mountainous plain northeast of Boise City, which did not yet exist).

By the end of 1862, the population centers for Washington Territory had shifted dramatically … from the Puget Sound area to the gold fields of (future) Idaho and Montana. And the imbalance grew worse with every day that passed. Alarmed, political leaders in Olympia knew they had to shed all those voters that could challenge their control of the Territorial legislature.

“Not so fast” politicos in Walla Walla and Lewiston said: Let’s keep the Territory intact, but move the capital to our more central location. Even Vancouver had a dark horse in the running. Located on the preferred wagon road between coastal Washington and the interior, they had hopes of winning the capital as a compromise candidate.

After much maneuvering, the contest became a face-off between Olympia and Lewiston. A complete description of their respective agendas is beyond the scope of this article, but the Olympians got what they wanted. The split placed the border just west of Lewiston. That retained the maximum area for the future growth of Washington's population and economy, but dumped all those prospector votes. It was well they did. At the first census, completed in September of 1863, Idaho Territory had nearly three times the population of Washington Territory.

Combination of three U. S. General Land Office maps,
Territorial period.

Lewiston, of course, also won by being designated capital of the new Idaho Territory. Their triumph would be short-lived, however.

As then defined, the Territory was a "geographic monstrosity" - encompassing all the future states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. That gave it an area substantially larger than Texas ... actually, more than Texas and Illinois combined. Nearly 700 direct miles separated Fort Laramie, on the North Platte River, from the capital at Lewiston. That’s roughly equivalent to the distance from Philadelphia to Chicago, but there were no connecting roads to speak of.

Idaho's structure soon changed drastically: Less than 15 months after its founding, Congress reduced it to its present size plus a chunk of Wyoming west of the Continental Divide. Eight months after that, Territorial legislators moved the capital from Lewiston to Boise.
                                                                                 

Reference: [B&W], [Illust-State]

"The Creation of the Territory of Idaho," Reference Series No. 264, Idaho State Historical Society (March 1969).

Commission Created to Oversee Idaho Capitol Construction [otd 03/03]

On March 3, 1905 Governor Frank Gooding signed an Act to create a "Capitol Building Board." For some years prior to this, state officers and citizens had begun to find the old Territorial capitol building inadequate to the needs of a new and growing state.

Old Territorial/State capitol building, ca 1898.
Illustrated History of the State of Idaho.

Before 1884, the Territorial legislature apparently met in various hotels where they could find enough rooms, and Territorial offices were at scattered locations. That year, legislators reviewed Territorial finances and concluded they could finally build “suitable quarters for the territorial government.” The legislature met in its new capitol building in 1886.

However, after nearly twenty years of use, the old structure was showing its age and simply not big enough. The 1905 board, which met as the Capitol Building Commission about two weeks after the signing, consisted of the Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, and "two competent citizens." One of the citizen representatives was former Boise Mayor Walter E. Pierce, a prominent real estate developer. The other was Judge James H. Beatty, of the Federal Court for the District of Idaho.

The Act allowed the board to plan for an expansion of the existing building or to purchase land for a totally new structure. After considering various options, the Commission decided to build a new, larger structure, but basically retain the old location.

The bought the old Central School next door – it had been built before the Territorial capitol itself – and closed the street between the two to create a larger continuous tract. The Commission then accepted a “Neoclassical” architectural design submitted by J. E. Tourtellotte and Company. Per the request for proposals, the submittal included plans for a full structure, but one that could be built in stages. They would start with the central section and add larger wings at some later date.

Idaho capitol, ca 1915 – Note the lack of full wings. [Hawley]

Site clearing and excavation work began about three months after the Board was created. The foundation for the dome section with stubby half-wings was basically sandwiched between the old capitol on the right and Central School on the left. Due to lack of funds, construction stretched out for nearly seven years. But finally, writing in an “editorial” voice, James H. Hawley's History said, "in the summer of 1912 the building was so far completed that Governor Hawley removed his offices from the old building to the new quarters provided for the chief executive."

Seven years passed before work could begin on the extended wings included in the original design. In the summer of 1919, crews began the demolition of the former school building and the old capitol – necessary to make room for the two additions. Construction did, however, go much faster than the original project; the capitol had its new wings by the end of 1920.

Capitol with wings, artist’s concept, ca 1913.
City of Boise.

Over its many years of use, the capitol building underwent numerous modifications, sometimes with unfortunate results. A modernization project in the 1960s, while necessary, has since been particularly criticized for its lack of sensitivity to historic preservation.

Fortunately, a recent substantial renovation and face-lift corrected some of those earlier “sins.” To preserve the outside appearance, designers gained new space by adding wings underground. The structure re-opened to the public in January 2010.
                                                                                 

References: [French], [Hawley], [Illust-State] “Capitol Annex Begins to Topple Under Assault,” Idaho Statesman, Boise (June 18, 1919).

"Idaho State Capital," Reference Series No. 133, Idaho State Historical Society (December 1964).

"Moments in Idaho History," Idaho State Historical Society web site.

Restoration – Preserving the People’s House, Idaho Capitol Commission, Boise.

Civil War Veteran, and Soda Springs Developer George W. Gorton. [otd 03/03]

Cavalry veteran and far-sighted businessman George Washington Gorton was born March 3, 1846 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He traced his lineage back to Samuel Gorton, one of the original (albeit controversial) founders of Rhode Island. His great-grandfather, Thomas Gorton, was a captain in the Rhode Island regiment that fought in the Revolutionary War battles of White Plains, Trenton, and Princeton.

George W. Gorton [Illust-State]

George’s parents moved from Rhode Island to Scranton a year or two before he was born. In the summer of 1863, Gorton, aged seventeen, joined the Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment. During George’s early Civil War service, the regiment mainly scouted and raided near the coast to the east and south of Richmond, Virginia.

But then they joined the breakthrough at Petersburg in 1865. The regiment played a significant role in the cavalry pursuit that, on April 9, put troops on the Lynchburg Road west of General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. A regimental history said, “The Eleventh had the honor of opening the attack in the final battle.”

Confederate attacks soon drove the lightly-armed cavalrymen back. However, their delaying action allowed heavy formations of Union infantry to arrive, cutting off the only escape route. Lee’s formal surrender followed a few hours later.

After the war, Gorton drifted west and, in 1870, he was living in Malad City, Idaho. He had a job with the company that operated the famous Oneida Salt Works, which reputedly produced “The purest in the world!” He married in 1877 and moved to Soda Springs and, by 1880, was a supervisor at the salt works.

Gorton had taken an early interest in local politics. Thus during the 1880s, he served on the regional Grand Jury, and at various times as County Commissioner, Treasurer and Assessor. Also, in 1888, he was elected for one term in the Territorial House of Representatives. Late the following year, he was appointed a Deputy U. S. Marshal.

When he left his position with the salt company is not clear, but in 1889 he purchased the inventory and property of a defunct Soda Springs mercantile firm. The business prospered under his management and Gorton was able to broaden his real estate investments. Sadly, in late 1890, a diphtheria epidemic hit the family and four of the couple’s daughters died in a period of two weeks.

George continued his interest in local politics and again served as County Commissioner around 1893-1894.

Multi-Station Shearing Machine. Library of Congress.

Besides Gorton’s Wholesale and Retail Supply Store, and real estate, George also invested in the sheep industry. In the spring of 1896, he and a partner purchased a “sheep shearing machine,” and had it set up on a ranch north of Soda Springs. The system they bought contained twenty-five shearing stations, where the shearers used mechanical cutters powered by a central steam engine.

Before that, there had been a great deal of interest in the technology, which had been in use for many years in Australia. Various prototypes had been demonstrated around the United States, without much success. Gorton’s acquisition was certainly the first purchase of a commercial unit (made in England) in Idaho, and quite likely in this country.

Sadly, Gorton’s health began to deteriorate the following summer. His doctor suggested a “rest cure,” first in Boise and then in San Diego, California. While this “bought some time,” George passed away in San Diego in January 1899. His body was returned to Soda Springs for burial.
                                                                                 

References: [Illust-State] Samuel P. Bates, History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, Vol. III, Pennsylvania State Printer, Harrisburg (1870).

Samuel Greene Arnold, History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Applewood Books, Carlisle, Massachusetts (1859).

“[News Items for George W. Gorton],” Blackfoot Register, Blackfoot; Idaho Statesman, Boise, Idaho; Salt Lake Herald, Utah (July 1868 – January 1899).

Progressive Men of Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, Fremont and Oneida Counties, Idaho, A. W. Bowen & Co., Chicago (1904).

Hatch Act of 1887 Authorizes Agricultural Experiment Stations [otd 03/02]

On March 2, 1887, the U. S. Congress approved the Hatch Act of 1887, named for William Henry Hatch, U.S. Representative from Missouri and chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture. The Act authorized grants to support agricultural experiment stations in the states. In most cases, such stations would be set up and administered by the "land grant" colleges spurred by the Morrill Act of 1862.

Agricultural experiment plots. Library of Congress.

In Idaho, leaders established an on-campus experiment station at the University of Idaho (UI) even before classes began – although several years passed before they had land for experimental plots. Professors in the new Agricultural Department offered to answer questions from farmers and ranchers across the state. People could even send in samples of insect pests from their fields, and University experts would try to recommend ways to combat the infestations.

However, an early attempt to form "substations" – and thereby qualify for more Hatch grants – failed miserably in the 1890s. Apparently, the University simply didn’t know enough about how to staff the stations with experts suited to local needs.

In 1898, they replaced that effort with a program of traveling institutes, which proved extremely useful, and popular. In little more than a decade, the team of experts and their demonstration paraphernalia required a train of six rail cars to transport them around the state.

The program benefited the presenters as well as the attendees: Traveling faculty observed first-hand those areas and agricultural products that needed more help than they could provide.

After awhile, the university made the extension service a separate adminstrative unit. Before this, the UI President not only ran the University, he was head of the College of Agriculture, which also operated the experiment station. The President recommended (Idaho Statesman, December 28, 1902) that, “the two departments should be divorced and the presidency of the university and agricultural college should not be coupled with the responsibility for the work of the agricultural station.”

With that change, and what they learned from the institute program, the University reactivated the substation system in 1906. The first of the new stations, near Caldwell, soon settled into long-term studies of irrigation techniques and tests of crop varieties suitable to Idaho’s climate and soil.

Administrators remained flexible, however; in 1914 H. T. French described a station near Gooding that no longer existed when Hawley published his History in 1920.

Potato cellar, Aberdeen Experiment Station, 1932. UI archives.

Guided by experience and changing conditions, administrators developed a policy whereby each station was designed to address specific regional farm and ranch issues. Thus, the Sandpoint Station, established in 1912, focused on crops that would grow well in the cooler, wetter climate of North Idaho. That same year, the Aberdeen Station began testing potatoes, grains, forage crops, and other plants suitable for irrigated or dry farming in that area.

The Stations also tied into truly international efforts. Hawley noted that “United States Consuls and special agents” of the U. S. Department of Agriculture had been instructed to search the world for plant varieties suited to Idaho’s high altitude and arid climate. He wrote that, “Farming is being reduced to a science and crop failures will soon become a thing of the past.”

Today, the University of Idaho maintains twelve research and extension centers spotted across the state, along with the main campus Center. Their work encompasses all areas related to farming and ranching: water use, soil conservation, animal and plant breeding, pest and disease control, animal care, and even food safety and innovation.
                                                                                 

References: [French], [Hawley]

Keith C. Petersen, The Crested Hill: An Illustrated History of the University of Idaho, University of Idaho Press, Moscow (1987).

University of Idaho Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station Home.