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First Structures Completed at Naval Ordnance Plant in Pocatello [otd 07/10]
On July 10, 1943 workers completed construction of the first usable structures for the Naval Ordnance Plant (NOP) about three miles north of Pocatello, Idaho. The Navy had authorized the Plant in the...
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Labor Clash in Coeur d'Alene Silver/Lead Mines Kills at Least Twelve [otd 07/11]
On the morning of Monday, July 11, 1892, striking union miners and a crew at the Frisco Mine exchanged gunfire. This lead-silver mine is located about four miles northeast of Wallace, Idaho. The crew...
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Strong Earthquake Rocks Central Idaho [otd 7/12]
In the early afternoon of July 12, 1944, a quick double-punch of earthquakes hit south-central Idaho. Later analysis placed the epicenter about forty-two miles west, and slightly south, of Challis,...
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Stagecoach Robbery, and Murder, in Portneuf Canyon [otd 07/13]
On the afternoon of July 13, 1865, the stagecoach traveling south from the Montana gold fields towards Salt Lake City reached a point about ten miles southeast of today's Pocatello. They entered a...
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Fur Trader Nathaniel Wyeth Selects Old Fort Hall Site [otd 07/14]
On July 14, 1834, Captain Nathaniel J. Wyeth wrote in his journal: "Went down the river about 3 miles and found a location for a fort."This event occurred on Wyeth's second fur trading and trapping...
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Naturalist John Kirk Townsend Describes Fort Hall Area [otd 07/15]
Naturalist Townsend.Oregon Historical Society.On July 15, 1834, naturalist John Kirk Townsend described the site selected by Nathaniel Wyeth for the Fort Hall trading post [yesterday's blog].Townsend...
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Telegraph Line Links Eagle Rock (Idaho Falls) to the Outside World [otd 07/16]
On July 16, 1866, workers completed a new telegraph line from Utah into the stage stop at Taylorās Bridge. Matt Taylor and has partners had received a franchise for their toll bridge from the...
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Fruitland Physician and Army Medical Veteran Crispin Wright, M. D. [otd 07/16]
The biography of physician Crispin Wright in Frenchās History of Idaho states that he was born July 16, 1882 in Chatham, Virginia (about 43 miles southeast of Roanoke). That date may be off by a couple...
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Fur Trade and Real Estate Multimillionaire John Jacob Astor [otd 07/17]
J. J. Astor. Library of Congress.John Jacob Astor, who became Americaās richest man, was born July 17, 1763 in Waldorf (near Heidelberg, Duchy of Baden, before the creation of Germany). He was born...
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Trappers Clash with Indians at the Battle of Pierreās Hole [otd 07/18]
On July 18, the great mountain man rendezvous of 1832, at Pierre's Hole, was breaking up. The only Idaho location where the fur companies held their annual conclave, Pierre's Hole is known to us today...
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Genealogy & History: Cousin Connections to the Civil War
During research for one of my true crime articles, I discovered just how much data about veterans of the Civil War is available online. There are a great many sites, and one of the easiest to use is a...
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Shoemaker, Contractor, and Probate Judge Thomas A. Johnston [otd 07/19]
Versatile pioneer and Probate Judge Thomas A. Johnston was born July 19, 1848 in Ontario, Canada. At the age of thirteen he was apprenticed to a shoemaker. Around 1868, he crossed over into the U. S....
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Poor Roads and Blistering Weather Hobble Traffic to the Idaho Gold Camps [otd...
On July 20, 1863, The Oregonian reported, āIncreased facilities are offering daily for transportation to the Boise mines. We are informed that John Slavin & Co. have established a stage line to run...
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Ammunition Innovator and Manufacturer Richard, "Dick," Speer [otd 07/21]
Dick Speer.Beal & Wells photo.Lewiston industrialist Richard A. "Dick" Speer was born July 21, 1915 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. His father, who started out as a farmer and nurseryman, took up...
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Rexburg Banker, Business Investor, and Landowner Ross J. Comstock [otd 07/22]
Long-time Rexburg pioneer Ross J. Comstock was born on July 24, 1875 in a remote part of northeast Missouri. The Comstocks had been among the earliest emigrants to New England, settling in Connecticut...
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Gambler Patterson Shoots and Kills Ex-Sheriff Pinkham [otd 07/23]
Sumner Pinkham.Idaho City Historical Foundation.On Sunday, July 23, 1865, businessman and ex-sheriff Sumner Pinkham took a hired carriage from Idaho City to a resort about two miles west of town....
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Railroad Begins Narrow Gauge Track Conversion in Eastern Idaho [otd 07/24]
On Sunday July 24, 1887, multiple crews assembled at intervals along the 262 miles of narrow-gauge track between Pocatello, Idaho and Garrison, Montana. They worked for the Utah & Northern Railroad...
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Long-Time U. S. Senator Frank Church [otd 07/25]
Senator Church. Library of Congress.U.S. Senator Frank Forrester Church was born July 25, 1924 in Boise. He was a third generation Idahoan. His grandfather and namesake came to Placerville, Idaho in...
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Reynolds Distributes First Issue of The Idaho Statesman, in Boise [otd 07/26]
Statesman inaugural issue.On Tuesday, July 26, 1864, the first issue of the Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, a small four-column publication, came off the presses in Boise City. The newspaper debuted that...
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Construction Manager, Entrepreneur, and Prolific Bridge Builder James H....
Pioneer Idaho bridge builder James Hunter Forbes was born July 27, 1862 near Cincinnati, Ohio. His parents were both Scottish emigrants. With only a common school education, James began his working...
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