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More Paved Highways, Better Bridges Demanded by “Good Roads” Groups [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...
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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...
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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....
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Burke, Idaho, Ready for Almost a Century of Silver Production [otd 06/13]
On June 13, 1885, a group of prospectors met and “declared” the town of Burke. They picked a spot about six miles up Canyon Creek from Placer Center (soon to be Wallace), itself only a few months old....
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President Andrew Johnson Authorizes Fort Hall Indian Reservation [otd 06/14]
President Johnson, 1870-1880. Library of Congress. On June 14, 1867, President Andrew Johnson signed a very brief Executive Order that authorized two reservations “as recommended by the Acting...
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Oregon Treaty of 1846 Largely Settles U. S.-Canadian Border [otd 06/15]
President Polk. Library of Congress. On June 15, 1846, the United States and Great Britain reached an agreement that settled almost all the remaining disputes about the border between the U. S. and...
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Distinguished Federal Judge and Legal Educator Ray McNichols [otd 06/16]
Judge McNichols. Photo courtesy of University of Idaho College of Law. Federal District Judge Raymond C. McNichols was born June 16, 1914 in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. The family moved to Lewiston at some...
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Nez Percés Drub U. S. Army at Battle of White Bird Canyon [otd 06/17]
On June 17, 1877, a column consisting of U. S. Cavalry and a few civilian volunteers engaged Nez Percés warriors in the Battle of White Bird Canyon. This was the opening clash of the Nez Percés War,...
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Idaho National Guard Mobilized for Mexican Border Duty [otd 06/18]
On June 18, 1916, state authorities mobilized the Idaho National Guard for duty on the Mexican border. The Governor had received instructions from the Secretary of War under the National Defense Act,...
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Idaho Chief Justice, Businessman, and Educator James F. Ailshie [otd 06/19]
James Franklin Ailshie, Chief Justice of the Idaho Supreme Court, was born June 19, 1868 in Greene County, Tennessee, 50-70 miles east of Knoxville. He attended a "noted preparatory school" through his...
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Boise River Water Flows into the New York Canal [otd 06/20]
On June 20, 1900, a rude diversion structure turned water from the Boise River into the New York Canal. The diversion, though feeble, culminated nearly twenty years of effort to bring irrigation water...
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Sportsman, Animal Advocate, and District Judge Charles F. Koelsch [otd 06/21]
Judge Koelsch. H. T. French photo. Idaho District Judge Charles F. Koelsch was born June 21, 1872, in Mayfield, Wisconsin, about twenty miles north of Milwaukee. He graduated from high school at the...
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Irrigation Water Flows into East Idaho's Great Feeder Canal [otd 06/22]
On June 22, 1895, water was diverted from the Snake River into the Great Feeder Canal. The Diversion Dam, located about 20 miles northeast of Idaho Falls, supplied water to one of the most ambitious of...
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Ricks College (Brigham Young University-Idaho) President Hyrum Manwaring [otd...
President Manwaring. BYU-Idaho archives. Hyrum Manwaring, President of Ricks College (now Brigham Young University - Idaho) was born June 23, 1877, southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1890, the...
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Mountain Man and Western Explorer Jedediah Smith [otd 06/24]
Jed Smith, drawn ca. 1835 by a close family friend. Family archives. June 24, 1798 is one of two presumed birth dates* (the other is Jan 6, 1799) of mountain man and Western explorer Jedediah Strong...
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General Edward McConville: Civil War Veteran, Indian Fighter, and Philippines...
General McConville. Illustrated History. General Edward McConville was born June 25, 1846 in Jefferson County, New York, about seventy miles north of Syracuse. Histories of the day noted that he came...
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Sportsman, Conservationist, and Outdoor Writer Ted Trueblood [otd 06/26]
Ted Trueblood, angler. Trueblood Collection, Boise State University. Hunter, angler, conservationist, and writer Cecil Whittaker “Ted" Trueblood was born June 26, 1913 in Boise. He grew up on a farm...
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Mining Investor, Prominent Mason, and Judge Jonas Brown [otd 06/27]
Judge Brown. H. T. French photo. Early Western pioneer and prominent Idaho lawyer Jonas W. Brown was born June 27, 1825 in Coshocton County, Ohio, 60-70 miles northeast of Columbus. In 1851, after nine...
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Rancher, Mining Investor, and Probate Judge Frank Harris [otd 06/28]
Judge Harris, ca 1898. Illustrated History. Judge and state Senator Frank Harris was born June 28, 1854 in Placerville, California, 25-30 miles east of Sacramento. In the 1870s, he read law in two...
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U. S. Senator William E. Borah, the “Lion of Idaho” [otd 06/29]
W. E. Borah, ca. 1898.Illustrated History. Senator William Edgar Borah, celebrated "Lion of Idaho," was born June 29, 1865 in Wayne County, Illinois and later moved to Kansas. Tuberculosis cut short...
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Banker, Rancher, and U. S. Senator John Thomas [otd 06/30]
Senator Thomas. Library of Congress. On June 30, 1928, Idaho Governor H. Clarence Baldridge appointed banker and rancher John W. Thomas to fill the U. S. Senate seat vacated by the death of Frank R....
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Idaho Legislature Passes a Driver’s License Law [otd 07/01]
On July 1, 1935, after protracted debate, the Idaho legislature approved a law that required car and truck drivers to obtain a state license. Oddly enough, the licensing process did not require a...
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“Ironclad Oath” Loyalty Provision and Idaho Political Infighting [otd 07/02]
On July 2, 1862, the U. S. Congress passed what was called the “Ironclad Oath” law. The law required Federal officials and employees to swear, not just that they would not, but that they had never...
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President Harrison Makes Idaho Territory the Forty-Third U. S. State [otd 07/03]
President Benjamin Harrison, ca. 1897. Library of Congress. On July 3, 1890, President Benjamin Harrison signed the bill that made Idaho a state, the 43rd. The signing culminated one of the more...
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Major Pinkney Lugenbeel Picks Site for Fort Boise [otd 07/04]
Major Lugenbeel, ca 1880. U. S. Army Archives. On July 4, 1863 Major Pinkney Lugenbeel formally selected a spot to build a military encampment, which the U. S. Army initially called Camp Boise. A West...
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