Washington County Election Tampering
Lest you get your knickers in a knot over the preceding headline, please know that while the topic currently seems commonplace in the media, this event took place in 1879, almost 150 years ago in the remote, mostly uninhabited settlements along the Weiser River.
It involved the fledgling communities of Weiser, known then only as “Weiser Bridge,” and Salubria, known as “Upper Valley.” The foul deeds that occurred that long ago are now days looked on as amusing and somewhat humorous, but at the time it was serious business that led to hard feelings that lasted for years.
It all began that year when Washington County was split off from Ada County with a small portion of it coming from Idaho County. At that time, Thomas Gray of Indian Valley and William Allison of Salubria were members of the Territorial Legislature as representatives of Ada County. They presented the bill which created Washington County and provided for a board of county commissioners.
Among their first duties was to establish election precincts throughout the new county and appoint election judges.
This is where the chicanery began. The first election went off without a hitch and the first county officers were all elected. The election of officers created no more controversy than the usual political campaign. The red hot issue came over the question of where to locate the county seat and courthouse.
At this point in history there were only about 400 people combined in the area stretching north from Weiser Bridge into the Upper Valley. Both of the future communities at that time were beginning to flourish as more and more people were settling in for agriculture and mining opportunities.
In his History of Washington County, Frank Harris says that when the original bill authorizing the creation of Washington County was presented to the legislature, the southern boundary was placed several miles south of present-day Payette.
However, when Representatives Allison and Gray realized this area included twenty-five or so voters who would likely cast their vote for a Weiser courthouse location, they changed the boundaries. The bill was amended to move the southern boundary far enough north to eliminate the Payette Valley voters, thus giving Salubria an even chance to win the county seat.
The Weiser politicians then embarked on a plan of retaliation. A month or more before the election date to decide the location of the county seat, local ranchers began to import seasonal hired hands from Ada County who would become eligible to vote after 30 days residency. With these reinforcements, Weiser might muster sufficient strength to win the prize.
The only questionable precinct was the Heath Mining District near Brownlee. A dozen or so prospectors lived there and their votes combined with those from the upper valley would likely swing the election in favor of the Salubria location — unless someone could perform a miracle.
The miracle came in the form of George Hunt, emissary for the Weiser faction. The night before the election they sent Hunt to Brownlee Ranch armed with whiskey and campaign promises. When the voters showed up the next morning enroute to the polling cabin, Hunt went into action. He put on such a good party that 10 o’clock came before the group headed for the polling place.
As they walked along, Hunt reminded them that 10 o’clock was entirely too late to open the polls; that the law required they be opened at 8:00 a.m. and any election held at this hour would be illegal and their ballots would be invalid.
James Ruth, a local miner and election judge was carrying the ballot box and associated materials. When he heard this, he said, “If we can’t hold an election, what use are these damned things?” He threw the box and other supplies into Brownlee Creek and they floated down to the Snake River. No election was held on Brownlee that day and the Heath miner’s desire for a Salubria courthouse was nullified.
When the votes were counted, Weiser Bridge won by a vote of 117 to 106. The Salubria citizens never forgot this bit of trickery and for the next twenty years some bitter battles erupted over the county seat issue. However, more than 100 years later the courthouse is still at Weiser and presumably the issue is at rest, due in part to the eventual extinction of Salubria following the building of the P&IN Railway a few miles west and the resultant creation of Cambridge.
Some today speculate that the Washington County Fairgrounds being located in the upper valley at Cambridge instead of at the usual county seat location may have been a well-intentioned consolation prize offered from Weiser politicians designed to smooth a lot of ruffled feathers over the entire debacle.
Regardless, it’s nice to know that it all worked out and all parties seem to get along now days for the most part.
