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Boise Brewer and Capitalist John Lemp, Early Idaho Millionaire [otd 04/21]
Brewer, investor and eventual millionaire John Lemp was born in a small town about twenty miles north of Frankfurt, Germany, on April 21, 1838. His father died when he was twelve years old and, two...
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Watermaster, Irrigation Engineer, and Musician Forrest Sower [otd 04/22]
F. L. Sower. Beal & Wells photo.Engineer and irrigation expert Forrest Lindsay Sower was born April 22, 1887 in Battle Creek, Michigan. The family soon moved to Idaho, and Forrest graduated from...
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Banker, Idaho Governor, and Reclamation Manager D. W. Davis [otd 04/23]
Idaho Governor David William Davis was born April 23, 1873 in Wales. The family moved to the U.S. two years later, and the father found work mining coal in the districts northwest of Des Moines, Iowa....
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Movie, TV, and Stage Actor J.D. Cannon ... "McCloud" Co-Star [otd 04/24]
J.D. Cannon as western detective Harry Briscoein Alias Smith & Jones. ABC TV trailer.Long-time stage, movie, and TV actor John Donovan "J. D." Cannon was born April 24, 1922 in Salmon, Idaho. A...
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Prichard Tries to Hide Coeur d'Alene Gold, Sparks Rush Anyway [otd 04/25]
On April 25, 1882, Andrew J. Prichard* discovered an outcropping of rich gold-bearing quartz in the Coeur d'Alene River watershed. Prichard, and others, had unearthed signs of gold in the area before,...
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Major Lead-Silver Discoveries Spark Rush to Wood River Area [otd 04/26]
On April 26, 1879, Warren P. Callahan filed on a lead-silver claim at the base of the ridge a mile or so west of the present town of Bellevue, Idaho. This filing was a major milestone for what would...
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Governor Issues Proclamation to Protect Chinese from Attack [otd 04/27]
Gov. Stevenson. City of Boise photo.On April 27, 1886, Idaho Territorial Governor Edward A. Stevenson issued a proclamation that said, in part, "The life and property of our citizens, and those of the...
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Sportsman and Idaho Dentistry Pioneer Edward Maberly [otd 04/28]
Boise dentist Edward H. Maberly was born April 28, 1853 in England. Apparently his father and part of the family lived for a time in Illinois before 1855-1860. However, Edward did not arrive in the U....
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Angry Union Men Blow Up Wardner Mill, Kill One Non-Union Worker [otd 04/29]
On April 29, 1899, a train packed with perhaps a thousand angry union members rumbled along the tracks leading from Burke and Wallace into the Kellogg-Wardner area. They were headed for the...
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Railroad Touts Plans for Larger Passenger and Freight Terminals in Idaho...
On April 30, 1909, the Oregon Short Line announced that they would soon begin a substantial upgrade to the railroad facilities in Idaho Falls. This notice followed several years of steadily rising...
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Investor, Political Operative ... and Alleged Smuggler ... Alonzo Cruzen [otd...
A. R. Cruzen. Family archives.Boise capitalist Alonzo R. Cruzen was born May 1, 1858 in Oskaloosa, Iowa, about fifty miles southeast of Des Moines. In 1886, he opened a small town bank in southwest...
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Ninety-One Miners Killed in Sunshine Mine Disaster [otd 05/02]
On the morning of May 2, 1972, workers deep inside Idaho’s Sunshine Mine, 4 to 5 miles southeast of Kellogg, noticed smoke drifting in some of the tunnels. Not much concerned initially, the miners soon...
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North Idaho Rancher and Businessman Chester Coburn [otd 05/03]
C. P. Coburn. [Illust-State].Pioneer businessman and rancher Chester P. Coburn was born May 3, 1832 in central Vermont. He spent three years working in New York before, in 1852, he caught a boat for...
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Versatile Southeast Idaho Architect Frank Paradice [otd 05/04]
Long-time Pocatello architect Frank C. Paradice, Jr., was born May 4, 1879 in Ontario, Canada. Not long after, the family moved to Denver, Colorado. Frank Jr. graduated from high school in Denver and...
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Prospector Files Original Claims for Today’s Hecla Mining Group [otd 05/05]
According to the Illustrated History of the State of Idaho, “The original claims comprising the Hecla group were the Hecla and Katie May lode claims, located by James Toner on May 5, 1885.” The...
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Owyhee Mining Investor and Developer John Scales [otd 05/06]
John Scales. Commercial Directory.Owyhee silver mine developer John Scales was born on the 6th of May, 1840 in County Clare, Ireland. The family moved to the U.S. and settled in Maine when John was a...
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Irrigation Pioneer and Twin Falls Developer Ira B. Perrine [otd 05/07]
Ira B. Perrine.Grubb & Guilford, The Potato, 1912.Twin Falls area developer Ira Burton Perrine was born May 7, 1861 in Indiana. He followed relatives to the Wood River Valley in 1883 and briefly...
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Idaho Woolgrower, Businessman, and Legislator Fred W. Gooding [otd 05/08]
Fred Gooding. H. T. French photo.On May 8, 1856, woolgrower and state legislator Fred W. Gooding was born in Devonshire, England. Fred began work in a factory there at the age of eight, laboring in the...
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Grand Opening for Owyhee Hotel in Downtown Boise [otd 05/09]
On May 9, 1910, the Owyhee Hotel in downtown Boise opened for business. Naturally, managers touted their new establishment as the best, with the most modern features and richest décor in all the...
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Message Transmitted: Transcontinental Railroad Completed [otd 05/10]
On Monday, May 10, 1869, telegraph operators clattered a message all around the United States, East and West: “D-O-N-E”. That signaled the completion of the transcontinental railroad. The story of the...
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