Congress Approves Appropriation for Planning the Mullan Military Road [otd 02/05]

Governor Stevens. Library of Congress.

On February 5, 1855, Congress approved a $30,000 appropriation to plan the construction of a military road from Fort Walla Walla, Washington to Fort Benton, on the Missouri River. Major impetus for such a road came from Isaac I. Stevens, Governor of Washington Territory, with support from the U. S. Army’s Department of the Columbia. Stevens had the ultimate dream of a transcontinental railroad running along a northern route, ending on Puget Sound.

In theory, a northern route to supplement the Oregon Trail would encourage Washington settlement, one of the Governor’s cherished goals. But mostly he hoped that a rail line would make Puget Sound a commercial gateway to the Orient. A fast clipper ship could reach Shanghai three or four days sooner sailing from Seattle as compared to San Francisco … saving about a week on the round trip.

The Army’s concern arose from the growing unrest among the Indians of eastern Washington. Troops stationed in the region could be supplied more easily by a road that connected with the head of steamboat navigation on the Missouri River. But a railway was most likely years in the future, so they saw a military road as a practical answer to their supply needs.

Shortly after his appointment as Governor, in 1853, Stevens had lobbied hard for a survey of a northern route. Naturally, as a trained engineer and surveyor, he could lead the expedition on his way west to take office. The lobbying succeeded, and his party started from Minnesota in June 1853. The expedition completed the survey to Fort Vancouver five months later.

But funding to build the road was slow in coming. Then, two years after Stevens completed the survey, the general Indian unrest exploded into the Yakima War. In the ensuing conflict, the Army had to make do with the supplies they had, with re-supply via the Oregon Trail. The series of conflicts continued into late 1858, and served to emphasize the need for the road. Funds were provided just months after the uprisings were suppressed.

Lieutenant John Mullan led crews east from Walla Walla in the spring of 1859. Their route headed north-northeast until it was more or less even with the south edge of Lake Coeur d’Alene, where it turned east.  Skirting the lake, the road continued up the course of the Coeur d’Alene River and crossed into Montana.

John Mullan.
Center for the Rocky Mountain West,
University of Montana.

In his report for that period, Mullan described the crossing they used as “probably” the lowest they could find, and said that he had named it "Sohon's Pass" ... “in honor of Mr. Sohon, who made the first topographical map of it in our expedition.” That name appeared on maps for many years, but today’s designation – St. Regis Pass – replaced it by around 1900.

Of course, planners had grossly underestimated the cost of cutting a road through such rough country. By the time crews reached Fort Benton, in August 1860, expenses had escalated substantially. Washouts raised the price even further. In fact, part of the road had to be rerouted, including a major diversion to the north of Lake Coeur d’Alene. In the end, the road cost about $230,000, more than double the original estimate.

As it turned out, the military made very little use of the road – which is probably why no money was ever appropriated for routine maintenance. However, it has been estimated that as many as 20,000 civilians traveled the road the very first year after it was completed.

Later roads and rail lines followed the same route to serve the Couer d'Alene mining towns – Wallace, Kellogg, Mullan, and so on – and today's Interstate-90 highway follows much the same course.
                                                                                 

References: [French]

Randall A. Johnson, “Captain Mullan and His Road,” The Pacific Northwesterner, Vol. 39, No. 2 (1995). [Reprinted at HistoryLink.org ]

John Mullan, Report on the Construction of a Military Road from Fort Walla Walla to Fort Benton, Ye Galleon Press (May 1989).

“The Mullan Road,” Reference Series No. 287, Idaho State Historical Society (December 1964).

David Wilma, “Stevens, Isaac Ingalls (1818-1862),” Essay 5314, HistoryLink.org, Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History.

Idaho Developer and State Legislator Capt. John E. Yates [otd 02/04]

Idaho rancher and Boise banker and developer John E. Yates was born February 4, 1845 in Bristol, Maine, a coastal town about forty miles northeast of Portland. His father disappeared on a sea voyage when John was four years old, a fate that had overtaken several of John’s forebears and relatives. Despite that, Yates went to sea himself when he was sixteen. Ten years of experience gained him promotion to ship’s captain and the wherewithal to invest in the ships he commanded. 

Captain Yates. [French]

By 1873 he owned a share of the schooner Beckie E. Yates. Three years later, he was noted as part owner and captain of a barkentine that had just been launched. He continued at sea until about 1886, on routes around the Caribbean. Then, for reasons he never explained, he settled in a small town near DeKalb, Illinois, and married a local girl there.

In 1891, Yates began investing in Idaho livestock and in development projects in Boise. Five years later, he sold an estate in Bristol (he called it a “summer home”) and two years after that moved his family to Boise. By that time, he seems to have had “extensive sheep interests,” which were kept on range west of Payette Lake.

Captain Yates also owned considerable real estate in and around Boise. That included “one of the most attractive homes” on the outskirts of the city, and a fruit farm.

In the late summer of 1900, he helped organize the new Bank of Commerce. Other owners included such “movers and shakers” as Timothy Regan [blog, November 14], Tom Davis [blog, January 2], and Robert Noble [blog, October 19].

Six years later, after a broad reorganization, Yates became President of the bank. Then, in 1909, the firm was merged into the Idaho Trust & Savings Bank. The new company took over the former Bank of Commerce building, while Yates became owner of the structure the Idaho Trust had occupied. He was also named a Director of the “new” bank. The “Yates Building” became a prime business location in downtown Boise.

A year after the merger, Captain Yates saw an opportunity and broke ground for a new hotel just a block from the train depot at Front and Tenth streets. The “Hotel Bristol” – named for the Captain’s home town – formally opened in February 1911. The four-story structure contained around a hundred guest rooms, plus several lounges and sample rooms (spaces where salesmen could display their wares to business customers). It remained a prime location for rail travelers until a new train depot was built on the Boise Bench in 1925.

Hotel Bristol. Vintage postcard.

Yates also took an active role in the political activities of his new home. Starting in 1899, he served two years on the Boise City Council. In 1901, he was elected for a term in the Idaho House of Representatives. He became a member of the state Senate in 1911. During that term, he was chairman of the Committee on Banks and Banking.

For his terms in the House and Senate, Yates was a member of the Republican Party. However, in 1912 he ran for the office of State Treasurer on the Progressive or “Bull Moose” Party ticket. That attempt was not successful. Still, besides tending to his many business interests, Yates took a leading role in efforts to strengthen the Progressive Party in Idaho.

Captain John Yates survived a series of minor heart attacks in early 1914 but finally suffered a fatal one in March.
                                                                                 

References: [French], [Hawley]

“[John Yates News],” Whig & Courier, Bangor, Maine; Globe, Boston, Massachusetts; Idaho Statesman, Boise (October 1873 – March 1914).

Ben Ysursa, Idaho Blue Book, 2003-2004, The Caxton Printers, Caldwell, Idaho (2003).