History Corner

Salubria Citizen, Feb 21, 1896: “The inhabitants of Washington county are getting rich faster than anybody in the world. There will be more millionaires right here in this county within the next two hundred years than anywhere else on earth.”

Regardless of the standard newspaper hyperbole of the day, the U.S. and world economy was still struggling to recover from the Panic of 1893. Unemployment reached 20% in some states. Deflation hurt anyone who was in debt, especially farmers. The Populist Party started gaining influence as the country pushed back against the inequities of the Gilded Age. Core Populist issues in 1896 centered on economic reform, political democratization, and resistance to corporate power. The platform listed the damage from corporate monopolies—especially railroads, banks, and industrial trusts—that were corrupting government and exploiting workers and farmers. They demanded reform and regulation.

George M. Winkler, Art Wilkie and Hannibal “Seven Devils” Johnson were prominent Populists in this area.

In a Signal article, Arthur “Frenchy” David said that there were 10 or 12 patented mines and hundreds of prospects in the Seven Devils Mining District “owned by men who are not able to develop them.” It took money to develop the infrastructure necessary to mine copper, and investors willing or able to risk their fortunes were evidently hard to find during this time.

In April, John “Scotty” Atwell was so depressed about his financial problems that he drowned himself in Monroe Creek near Weiser. Atwell was one of the men that Levi Allen had battled in court over rights to the Peacock Mine claim.

On April 29, 1896 the “Council Valley” post office changed its name to “Council.” By this time, the settlement was often being called “Council” in area newspapers, even though it was not officially a town.

In June, Frank and Amy (Warner) Smith opened a store at Bear. They had already established a post office there in either 1890 or 1892, so the Bear Post Office was almost certainly placed in their new store. It’s not clear which of them was the official postmaster.

In July, Gilbert Smith (State Senator who lived in Meadows Valley) killed a huge bear that measured 9 1/2 feet from tip of nose to end of tail. A bear this size could well have been a Grizzly.

In August, Meadows Valley pioneer Tom Clay was found dead in Goose Creek. He had married Elizabeth Osborn (whose husband, William Osborn, was murdered in the opening violence of the Nez Perce War in 1877) and they had 4 children together.

In the summer and fall of 1896 Isaac McMahan and John Peters partnered in building a new store south of the town square in Council. In this third store to be established in what was now being called “Council,” they planned to carry the largest stock of goods anywhere between Salubria and Grangeville. (That’s the store in the photo a couple weeks ago.)

In October the Citizen reported that Deputy United States Marshal Cal White of Meadows had a man in custody for counterfeiting $10 gold coins. This man turned out to be one of several men who were creating fake gold coins near Pollock. The intriguing story of this counterfeiting gang and how they were caught is the subject of a fascinating book by Dennis Howard, which will be on the market soon. I highly recommend it.

Off and on all year, the subject of the lack of a road down the Little Salmon River was broached in the Citizen and the Signal. There was said to be a 27 ½ mile gap where only a pack trail existed.

In November the Citizen reported that over 20,000 head of sheep had passed through Salubria in one week, coming down from the upper country.

On November 15, 1896 Bill and Rebecca Glenn had a baby boy named Isaac. Everyone would call him “Ike,” and he would live near Fruitvale all his life.

In 1896 the seeds of what would become a huge political / criminal story in Idaho were being sown. Governor Frank Stuenenberg gave C.O. Brown exclusive rights to map Idaho timber land so the state could manage it instead of letting lumber companies exploit it without limits. By the time auditors would later discover that only 18.5% of the land Brown mapped was growing timber, it would too late; timber companies will have grabbed up the timberland, through means both legal and illegal.

On May 5 I will be giving a presentation at the New Meadows depot in which I will tell this story that involved a violent murder and “The Trial of the Century,” pitting Clarence Darrow against Senator William Borah. I will also cover how some of the men involved in this national scandal founded the Boise-Payette Lumber Company, which became the Boise-Cascade Corporation.