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Major Fire Devastates the Silver Mining Town of Wardner [otd 1/4]
On January 4, 1890, a major fire broke out in a laundry behind a popular restaurant in the village of Wardner, Idaho, about a mile south of Kellogg. The small fire department and “hundreds” of...
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Silver City Merchant and Postmaster M. M. Getchell [otd 1/5]
Meserve Getchell.Directory of Owyhee County.On January 5, 1868, Postmaster Meserve M. Getchell was born in Baring, Maine, on the Canadian border and perhaps 25 miles inland from the Bay of Fundy. Mr....
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Lewiston Normal School Receives its First Students [otd 1/6]
On Monday, January 6, 1896, Lewiston State Normal School – today’s Lewis-Clark State College – opened its doors to receive its first students. That event was a key milestone on the long path to...
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Fur Trader and Pioneer Cattleman Johnny Grant [otd 01/07]
Johnny Grant.National Park Service photo.On January 7, 1833, John Francis “Johnny” Grant was born in Alberta, Canada. At the time, his father, Richard, was a clerk working for the British-Canadian...
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Outdoorsman, Writer, Photographer, and Game Warden Otto Jones [otd 01/08]
Outdoorsman Otto Jones. J. H. Hawley photo.Photographer and journalist Otto M. Jones was born January 8, 1886 on a ranch near Dillon, Montana. Two years later, his father sold the Montana property and...
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Boise Builder, Real Estate Developer, and Mayor Walter E. Pierce [otd 01/09]
Mayor Pierce. City of Boise.Boise Mayor Walter E. Pierce was born January 9, 1860, in Bell County, Texas, between Waco and Austin. Indian unrest in that area forced the family to move to Kansas, where...
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Town of Franklin Accepts Being in Idaho and is Formally Incorporated [otd 01/10]
Lorenzo Hill Hatch. Family Archives.On January 10, 1873, the Idaho Territorial legislature passed a “special act” to incorporate the village of Franklin. The Act defined the boundaries of the town,...
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Noted Microbiologist and Vitamin B-12 Researcher Dr. Mary Shorb [otd 01/11]
Dr. Shorb. University of Maryland.Dr. Mary Shorb, noted microbiologist and vitamin B-12 investigator, was born January 11, 1907 in Wahpeton, North Dakota, about 35 miles south of Fargo.The family moved...
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Boise’s Dr. Mary E. Donaldson: Pioneer in Medicine and Elder Care [otd 01/12]
Dr. Donaldson. H. T. French photo.Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, M.D., was born Mary Craker on January 12, 1851 in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, about forty miles northwest of Madison. After graduating from high...
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Engineer, Developer, and Boise Mayor Ernest G. Eagleson [otd 01/13]
Ern Eagleson. J. H. Hawley photo.Engineer and Boise Mayor Ernest George Eagleson was born January 13, 1864 near Cadiz, Ohio, 30-35 miles southeast of Canton. The family moved to Iowa and then...
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Miner, Builder, Real Estate Developer, and Ferryman John Silcott [otd 01/14]
Ferryman Silcott. J. H. Hawley photo.Clearwater ferry operator John M. Silcott was born January 14, 1824 in Loudoun County, Virginia, just west of Washington D. C.. The family moved to Ohio about four...
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Wanderer, Painter, and Sculptor Charles Ostner Gets Paid [otd 01/15]
Artist Ostner. J. H. Hawley photo.On January 15, 1869, the Idaho legislature appropriated $2,500 to reward artist Charles L. Ostner for the equestrian statue of George Washington he had recently...
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Geologist, Mining Engineer, and State Mine Inspector Robert Bell [otd 01/16]
Inspector Bell. J. H. Hawley photo.On January 16, 1864, mining engineer Robert N. Bell was born in Yorkshire, England. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1877-1880 and worked first on a farm in Wisconsin....
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Iconic Lawyer, Boise Mayor, Governor, and Historian James H. Hawley [otd 01/17]
Lawyer Hawley. Illustrated History, 1899.Lawyer, Governor, Mayor, and Historian James Henry Hawley was born in Dubuque, Iowa, on January 17, 1847. His mother died when James was an infant and he grew...
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Freighter, Lumber Man, Rancher, and Mining Investor Josiah Hill [otd 01/18]
On January 18, 1844, Coeur d’Alene pioneer Josiah Hill was born in New Brunswick, Canada. Like others in that part of the country, his father was from the state of Maine. Clipper ship in Cape Horn ice,...
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Teacher, Rancher, and Nez Perce County Commissioner Charles Leeper [otd 01/19]
Charles Leeper.Illustrated History photo.Nez Perce County pioneer Charles A. Leeper was born January 19, 1850, in Marion County, Indiana, on the outskirts of Indianapolis. Some time before 1870, the...
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Mining Investor, Attorney, and Boise County Prosecutor Harry Fisher [otd 01/20]
Attorney Fisher. H. T. French photo.Attorney Harry Leroy Fisher was born January 20, 1873, on a farm in Daviess County, Missouri, 40-60 miles east of St. Joseph’s. He taught school there and also for a...
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Visionary Developer Benjamin Shawhan and New Plymouth [otd 01/21]
Benjamin P. Shawhan, cofounder of the town of New Plymouth, Idaho, was born January 21, 1862, in Keokuk County, Iowa, about thirty miles southwest of Iowa City.East Hall, Morgan Park Military Academy....
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Large Cattle Drives Ravage Idaho Range and Herds, Railroad Needed [otd 01/22]
On January 22, 1881, the Idaho Statesman described the substantial herds being driven over Idaho rangelands, both from the states to the west and by in-state stockmen. Counts taken on the main trail in...
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Church Leader, Suffragette, and Temperance Advocate Rebecca Mitchell [otd 01/23]
Activist Mitchell.J. H. Hawley photo.Mrs. Rebecca Mitchell was born January 23, 1834, in Macoupin County, Illinois, 30-50 miles south of Springfield. Little is known of her early life. After she was...
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