Supermarket Innovator and Self-Made Millionaire Joe Albertson [otd 10/17]
Joe Albertson, 1985. Albertson’s, Inc.Supermarket innovator Joseph A. “Joe” Albertson was born October 17, 1906 near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The family moved to a homestead west of Caldwell when Joe...
View ArticleNewspaper Publisher Ben Read, Lurid Headlines Attract Readers [otd 10/18]
Ben Read. J. H. Hawley photo.Idaho Falls newspaperman Benjamin Harrison Read was born October 18, 1888 in Palco, located about 25 miles north of Hayes, Kansas. His father, a storekeeper, moved the...
View ArticleRailroad Developer, Sheep Rancher, and Investor Robert Noble [otd 10/19]
Englishman Robert Noble was born on October 19, 1844 in Cumberland County, a sparsely-populated region on the border with Scotland. The family moved first to Canada when Robert was ten years old. They...
View ArticleThe Louisiana Purchase, and Oregon Country Compromise [otd 10/20]
An interesting coincidence happened On This Day. President Jefferson.National Archives.On October 20, 1803, the Senate approved a treaty authorizing the acquisition of Louisiana from France. President...
View ArticleCattlemen Chided for Missing Opportunities, Railroad Optimism on Camas...
The October 21, 1879 issue of the Idaho Statesman (Boise, then the Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman) editorialized about the opportunities being neglected by many Idaho stockmen: “During the present summer...
View ArticleIdaho Falls Gets Hydropower, William Jennings Bryan Stumps Idaho [otd 10/22]
Early spillway photo from Idaho Falls Power – History.On October 22, 1900, Idaho Falls Mayor Joseph A. Clark initiated "official" municipal operation of a 125-horsepower hydroelectric plant. A...
View ArticleColonel Edgar Heigho: Railroad Manager, Businessman, and Military Adviser...
Edgar Heigho. H. T. French photo.Railroad manager, business investor, and adviser on military affairs Edgar Maurice Heigho was born October 23, 1867 in Essex, England. He came to the U. S. as a young...
View ArticleSettlers Surge into Bruneau Valley, Stock Thieves Then and Now [otd 10/24]
The October 24, 1868 issue of the Owyhee Avalanche, published in Silver City, Idaho, commented favorably on the prospects for settlement in the Bruneau Valley. They had been informed that “several...
View ArticleRancher and Mayor Amasa Rich and the Paris Tabernacle [otd 10/25]
Apostle Rich, ca 1875. LDS Institute photo.On October 25, 1856, Amasa M. Rich was born in San Bernardino, California. His father, Charles C. Rich, had led the establishment of a Mormon settlement...
View ArticleHardware Retailer William Sweet and Boise Baseball [otd 10/26]
William Sweet.J. H. Hawley photo.On October 26, 1870, Boise businessman and booster William N. Sweet was born 30-40 miles south of Des Moines, Iowa. He was fatherless at birth, his father having died...
View ArticleLivestock Brand Laws, Rustling, and Modern Brand Inspection [otd 10/27]
On October 27, 1883, the Owyhee Avalanche said, “In as much as it is currently reported around the county, that there are horse, cattle and other thieves infesting our borders, we would recommend to...
View ArticleVolstead Act (Prohibition) Causes Turmoil in Idaho, Death at Caldron Linn...
On October 28, 1919, Congress passed the Volstead Act to provide a framework for the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Prohibition, as it has always been known, did not...
View ArticleFrontier Lawman, Rancher, and Business Leader Ed Winn [otd 10/29]
Sheriff Ed Winn.Bonneville County Historical Society.Frontier marshal, sheriff, and businessman Ed F. Winn was born October 29, 1857, about 35 miles south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Having learned...
View ArticleIdaho Pathway to Montana, Critic and Modernist Poet Ezra Pound [otd 10/30]
On October 30, 1864, successful miners founded what they called “Crabtown,” after one of the “Four Georgians” who had discovered gold in Montana’s “Last Chance Gulch.” The town grew rapidly, and...
View ArticleFlagrant Voter Fraud in Idaho Territory’s First Elections [otd 10/31]
Governor Wallace. J.H. Hawley photo.On October 31, 1863, the brand new Territory of Idaho held its first elections. The Territory had been created six months earlier because of all the prospectors who...
View ArticleFormer Toponis Railway Station Fully Linked to Gooding Brothers [otd 11/01]
Governor and U. S. Senator Gooding.Library of Congress.James H. Hawley’s History of Idaho, asserts that Gooding, “the county seat of Gooding County, was founded on November 1, 1907, by Frank R....
View ArticleWallace Creates New Fire Brigade After Destructive Downtown Fire [otd 11/02]
On November 2, 1890, the citizens of Wallace, Idaho convened a public meeting and created a new fire brigade to replace their old fire department. By organizing Wallace Hose Company No. 1, the town...
View ArticleIdaho Supreme Court Justice Sullivan … and Women's Suffrage [otd 11/03]
Justice Sullivan. Illustrated History.The state of Idaho’s first Chief Justice, Isaac Newton Sullivan, was born on November 3, 1848, in Iowa, midway between Waterloo and Dubuque. After high school he...
View ArticleBoise Mayor, Merchant, and Prominent Mason Charles Himrod [otd 11/04]
Mayor Himrod. H. T. French.Boise merchant and Mayor Charles Himrod was born November 4, 1842, in Burdett, New York, about 55 miles southwest of Syracuse. After completing basic country schooling, he...
View ArticleReverend William Judson Boone and the College of Idaho [otd 11/05]
Boone statue on College of Idaho campus.William Judson Boone, D.D., first and long-time president of the College of Idaho, was born November 5, 1860, in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, 15-20 miles southwest...
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