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Geography Makes Idaho Territory Ungovernable, Should be Split
On February 24, 1864, news from proceedings in Washington, D. C. included a note that the Territory of Idaho had petitioned Congress to split the region.More details on this event have been posted on...
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Six Miners Killed in Sudden Mining District Fire [otd 02/25]
On Tuesday, February 25, 1902, about three o'clock in the morning, the residents of the connected Standard Boarding and Lodging houses slept quietly. Most of them worked for the Standard Mine, located...
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Idaho Supreme Court Justice George Stewart [otd 02/26]
Idaho Supreme Court Justice George Harlan Stewart was born February 26, 1858 in Connersville, Indiana, about fifty miles east of Indianapolis. He was something of an intellectual prodigy: George leaped...
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Pocatello Brewer and Soft Drinks Bottler Robert Hayes [otd 02/27]
Robert Hayes.J. H. Hawley photo.Pocatello businessman Robert J. Hayes was born February 27, 1861 in Oswego, New York. The family moved to Chicago about six years later. Hayes struck out on his own at...
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John R. McBride, U. S. Representative and Chief Justice for Idaho Territory...
Judge McBride.Photo from findagrave.comOn February 28, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln – just 45 days before he was shot by John Wilkes Booth – appointed John Rogers McBride as Chief Justice of the...
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President Ulysses S. Grant Creates Yellowstone National Park [otd 03/01]
Geyser cone, Fire Hole Basin, 1871.W. H. Jackson photo, Library of Congress.On March 1, 1872, President U. S. Grant signed the bill that authorized creation of Yellowstone National Park.As far back as...
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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. The Act authorized grants to support agricultural experiment stations in the states. In most cases, such stations would be set up...
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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...
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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...
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Gold Rush Fuels Murray Building Boom [otd 3/5]
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...
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Lewisville Farmer, County Commissioner, and Canal Company Executive Arthur...
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,...
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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...
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Indian Leader, Teacher, and Idaho Senator Joseph Garry [otd 03/08]
Joseph Garry intraditional Indian regalia.Beal and Wells photo.Prominent American Indian leader Joseph Richard Garry was born March 8, 1910 near Plummer, Idaho. (Plummer is about 25 miles south of Post...
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Stricker Log Home at Rock Creek Burns Down [otd 03/09]
On March 9, 1900, the Rock Creek home of Herman Stricker and his family burned to the ground. In some ways, this was a mixed tragedy-blessing.Rock Creek. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.Even before white...
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Colonel Judson Spofford: Civil War Veteran, and Idaho Developer [otd 03/10]
Civil War veteran and Idaho developer Judson Spofford was born March 10, 1846 in Derby, Vermont, two or three miles from the Canadian border. He enlisted in the 10th Vermont Regiment in July 1862. The...
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Act Signed to Create Academy of Idaho, Today’s Idaho State University [otd...
On March 11, 1901, Governor Frank W. Hunt signed an Act to establish an educational institution in Pocatello. Incorporated in 1889, the town had grown explosively and topped 4,000 citizens in the 1900...
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State Authorizes Precursor to Idaho State Historical Society [otd 03/12]
On March 12, 1907, Idaho's government authorized the "Historical Society of Idaho Pioneers" to become a state-supported entity called the "Historical Society of the State of Idaho." The enabling act...
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Idaho Legislature Creates State Highway Commission [otd 03/13]
On March 13, 1913, the Idaho legislature established the State Highway Commission. They thus joined a nationwide trend to raise highway planning and construction to the state level. Prior to that,...
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Militia Organized Again, Then Becomes the Idaho National Guard [otd 03/14]
In an interesting coincidence, two different March 14 dates are significant for the Idaho National Guard. On March 14, 1889, Idaho Governor Edward A. Stevenson sent a letter to the...
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Boise Saloon Keeper and Capitalist Madison Smith [03/15]
Madison Smith. H. T. French photoBoise pioneer Madison C. Smith was born March 15, 1839 in Richmond, Missouri, about 35 miles northeast of Kansas City. The family moved West in 1851, crossing Idaho in...
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