History Corner

As repercussions of the economic “Panic of ‘93” continued, the U.S. Government faced dangerously low gold reserves and turned to private financiers (famously J.P. Morgan) for a gold loan to stabilize the currency system. Confidence began to very gradually return, but more economic shocks were yet to come.

The school at Council, still north of the present town on Galena Street, had 47 students. Only one teacher, Dora Black, is mentioned. That’s a lot of kids for one teacher. I don’t know if they were all in one room. Dora reportedly rode a horse six miles each way to and from the school.

It must have been around this time that a stage station and hotel was established at Lick Creek, along the road from Council to Bear. Charley Anderson had moved there from the Salubria area and likely was the one to establish that facility. It was located where the current OX Ranch headquarters buildings stand.

At the end of March, the mail was being transported from Council to Upper Dale via horseback, and from there to Bear with a sleigh.

The present town of Council continued to develop. George Loe established a barber shop “three doors south of the Moser hotel.”

That summer, sugar cane became a popular crop in the Council Valley area.

The May 24, 1895 Salubria Citizen reported that Emma Edwards designed the new U.S. half dollar. Here we have a classic historical myth – one that I have inadvertently repeated, as it is a myth that has become accepted as fact in a number of publications. Emma Edwards (she later married a man named Green, so she is now remembered as “Emma Edwards Green”) was an artist living in Salubria and had designed the Idaho State Seal, which is still in use today. She is the only woman to design an official U.S. state seal.

However, Emma never designed a U.S. Coin – half dollar or otherwise. She did enter a contest with her design for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition commemorative half dollar, but the winning designer was Charles E. Barber, Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint. His design was then used for what became known as the “Barber Half Dollar,” which was minted from 1892–1915. Citizen editor Lorton said the woman on Emma’s coin design was patterned after a young local lady.

That May, Kleinschmidt’s failed steamship Norma was taken down the Snake River through Hells Canyon to Lewiston. Weiser Signal., May 30, 1895: “The steamer Norma which left Huntington a few days since to shoot the rapids of the Snake for the lower country, had a portion of her stern wheel torn away by a hidden rock, after going six miles, and had to lay by for repairs.” The Signal later said the Norma arrived at Lewiston “in a badly wrecked condition.” It was eventually repaired and used on the Columbia River.

In June the Signal reported that Dr. Sherwood, who owned what later became known as “Starkey” hot spring, was “working on roads to his hot springs. There are two roads leading to the Hot Springs, one up the Weiser river and the other by Mr. Biggerstaff’s.” “Biggerstaff’s” of course referred to Tolbert Biggerstaff’s stage station on top of Fort Hall Hill. The old road still went down to the river from there, and one could evidently get a wagon to the hot springs from that direction. However, it would be a struggle for years after this to get a decent road built to the hot springs.

Weiser Signal, June 27, 1895: “The artist took the picture of Isaac McMahan’s store-room with all the freighters and people in front, Saturday.” It isn’t clear exactly when Isaac McMahan and John Peters built this store, but it must have been shortly before this.