Many western mining camps resembled cut flowers with blossoms that soon faded. But the Boise Basin diggings and Boise City were like seedlings that took root and quickly grew into sustainable communities. Perhaps one reason was that there were a … Continue reading →
Summer is a time for traveling shows, and on August 18, 1902 Boise hosted a visit by Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. By all accounts the program put on by Colonel William “Buffalo Bill” Cody was spectacular and could thrill … Continue reading →
Fascination with fireworks was as prevalent in the early decades of twentieth century Idaho as it is today, to judge by newspaper reports. The most elaborate show in southwestern Idaho was held at the conclusion of the Western Idaho Fair. Many towns … Continue reading →
A tale of gold nuggets found by people from a wagon train might be called the story that founded Idaho. Gold was discovered in north Idaho in 1860, but it was the detection of mineral wealth in Boise Basin in … Continue reading →
Though Boise in 1911 would be a slow-paced community by modern standards, in one way it was more like a big city than it is today. Most people did not have automobiles at that time and had to interact with … Continue reading →
Anyone who has prospected around through the mountains in those days [the early 1860s] came in contact with hostile Indians, more or less, and I had several experiences of that kind. One in which I took a deep interest, is … Continue reading →
Boise’s Fire Station No. 1 in the year 1910 was about as complete a fire-fighting organization as one could hope to see. It was housed in a red brick building with a tower for drying the canvas hoses; the building … Continue reading →
A battle on the morning of January 29, 1863 between Northern Shoshone Indians and a regiment of army volunteers near Franklin, Idaho turned into a rout and a massacre of Native Americans worse than the episode at Wounded Knee Creek, … Continue reading →
The first Christmas in Twin Falls, Idaho was one of the most interesting holiday seasons the Magic city has known. Twin Falls was a decidedly new town in 1904. There were not more than 75 dwellings in the vicinity because the … Continue reading →
The people of our train were the first emigrants to arrive from the east, those people that were there having come from California and Oregon, or if from the east had sailed around the Horn and would have been insulted … Continue reading →