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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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Boise Brewer and Capitalist John Lemp Begins His Rise to Millionaire Status
Around this date, July 15, 1863, prospector John Lemp decided that the area near the new Army post on the Boise River needed a little more time to develop. He had arrived at the spot a week earlier...
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Idaho County Pioneer Association Holds First Organizational Meeting [otd 07/16]
The first organizational meeting of the Idaho County Pioneer Association was held on Saturday, July 16, 1887. Within a few weeks, the group adopted a constitution, elected officers, and recruited its...
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Wild West History Association Roundup: Amazing Idaho History Event, and More
The 2013 Roundup (Annual Conference) of the Wild West History Association came to Idaho last week, continuing into Saturday. With talks at the Riverside Motel in Boise, and a tour of Idaho City, the...
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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 America’s 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 Pierre’s 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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Some Idaho Mining Areas Doing Well, Territorial Census Commenced
News printed in Lewiston’s Golden Age made its way into The Oregonian for July 18, 1863. The items included good news from the Boise Basin: For the summer, three partners on one claim had “twenty yeast...
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Railroad Town of Burley Incorporated [otd 7/19]
The town of Burley, Idaho, was incorporated on July 19, 1909. The town had grown explosively since being platted four years earlier, and many businesses supported the growing farm population. That...
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Wool Grower, Banker, and Public Servant Ralph Hunt [otd 07/20]
R. S. Hunt. Hawley photo.Rancher, banker, and state legislator Ralph Stephen Hunt was born July 20, 1869 in Weber, Utah. To the age of about 25, he worked as a ranch hand at various locations in...
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Poor Roads and Blistering Weather Hobble Traffic to the Boise Mines
On July 20, 1863, The Oregonian reported, “Increased 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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Army Establishes Fort Lapwai on the Nez Percé Indian Reservation [otd 07/22]
According to Idaho State Historical Society records, a troop of Oregon Volunteer cavalry established Camp – later Fort – Lapwai on July 22, 1862. The location selected was near the mission established...
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Gambler Patterson Shoots and Kills Ex-Sheriff Pinkham [otd 07/23]
Sumner Pinkham.Idaho State Historical Society.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. Locals...
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Governor William Wallace Makes His First Appointment, a Territorial Auditor
As noted before, the President of the United States, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appointed the Governor, Secretary, Chief and Associate Justices, Attorney, and Marshal for Idaho...
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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 and third-generation Idahoan Frank Forrester Church was born July 25, 1924 in Boise. In 1942, he started school at Stanford University, but left to...
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Idaho is Rich in gold, but Reduced Water Flow Hampers Mining
The San Francisco Evening Bulletin reprinted several items published in the “up-country” on July 25, 1863. Thus, The Dalles Mountaineer reported that Augustus N. Grenzebach, “a well known citizen of...
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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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Methodist Minister Performs First Religious Service in Idaho [otd 07/27]
Nathaniel J. Wyeth, 1840.Illustration for Harper’s Magazine,November 1892.On July 27, 1834, Captain Nathaniel J. Wyeth was working at his new Fort Hall site [blog, July 14]. In his Journal he recorded...
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Easterners Learn About General Patrick Connor’s Work in Idaho Territory
On July 27, 1863, many Eastern newspapers – like the Boston Herald – reported on the activities of General Patrick Connor in Idaho Territory. The items all began, “Gen. Connor has transmitted to the...
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