RonnieAdventure #0219 - Idaho, 2016 Part 1

Franklin, the oldest town in Idaho, was settled in 1860. The residents thought that they were living in Utah Territory; but then in 1872 a survey revealed that they were actually living in Idaho Territory, just slightly north of the Utah/Idaho border. When the residents were told that they would be in Idaho when the dividing line was drawn, they decided that it was probably a blessing because they thought that the Utah summers were too hot and they were looking forward to some cooler Idaho weather.

Preston is just a short distance up the road from Franklin and was made famous by the Napoleon Dynamite movie. For years the town even held a "Napoleon Dynamite Festival" each summer. I did not drive by Napoleon Dynamite's house because it is located down a narrow road and I was pulling a travel trailer; but I did drive by Pedro's house.

The Bear River Massacre monument is located near Battle River just outside of Preston. This is the location where Col. Connors and his men attacked the Shoshoni Indians without warning at sunrise on the morning of January 29, 1863. According to Chief Pocatello's life story, about 400 Indians were killed, which is the largest documented Indian massacre in the history of the United States.

The Box Elder Treaty had promised to pay the Shoshoni Tribe $5,000 worth of food and supplies each year if they would remain on the Fort Hall Reservation, but the money and supplies were never delivered. Because the emigrant's were killing all of the game in the area, the Indians were starving. To provide for his people, Chief Pocatello and his tribe left the reservation and started demanding that the emigrants pay a tribute for safe passage through the area. The emigrants complained to the government about the tribute and Col. Connors was sent to "punish" the Shoshoni Indians, especially Chief Pocatello. 

However, Chief Pocatello and a number of his men were out hunting on the morning of the attack and not in camp to defend his people; so the soldiers killed any men, women and children in camp they could find, resulting in a "massacre unrivaled in Western History."

The Red Rock Pass Geological Site north of Preston is the location where Lake Bonneville, which covered about 20,000 square miles 14,500 years ago, overflowed its natural dike. When the dike broke, the peak flow through this valley has been estimated to be one million cubic meters per second, or about "500 times the maximum discharge on the Snake River at Idaho Falls." Today, the Great Salt Lake in Utah is all that remains of Lake Bonneville.

The Oregon/California Trail Center in Montpelier is a "living History" center where visitors can participate in a "2,000-mile, five month journey" on the Oregon Trail. Period clothing is provided and master guides take participants on a tour that includes walking on part of the Oregon Trail and a simulated covered wagon ride. The tourist brochure states that it is "a dramatic recreation of the pioneers' journey from Missouri to Clover Creek. Located on the actual Clover Creek Encampment site, the center offers visitors a unique opportunity to experience pioneer life as it was more than a hundred years ago." Since we have been on numerous historic treks in the past, we we decided to skip the "journey" and just visit the museum.

A railroad history exhibit is located in the museum basement and on the upper levels of the building there was a (you guessed it) quilt show display for the summer months.

Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge is actually a large, shallow marsh, with very little open water because the Refuge is covered with dense vegetation, primarily bulrush and cattails. There is a wide variety of wildlife in the area and in recent years the Refuge has become an important nesting ground for Trumpeter Swans. The Refuge also hosts "the largest nesting population of greater Sandhill Cranes in the world."

There is a large hill next to the visitor center (you can drive to the top) that has a wildlife viewing scope and various information displays about the refuge. We could not see any wildlife through the viewing scope, but as we were leaving the Refuge there was a hawk sitting on a fence post and there were several Sandhill Cranes standing fairly close to the road.

Soda Springs was a favorite stop on the Oregon Trail due to the large number of mineral springs in the area where the pioneers could stop and rest for a few days. The town is also famous because it is home to the "World's Only Captive Geyser."  

In 1937, while attempting to dig a well for a swimming pool, the well driller hit a hot water geyser. The well was capped and placed on a timer, so the geyser now "erupts" to a height of over 100 feet every hour on the hour. Unfortunately, the day we visited the geyser, the timer was not working; thus, I borrowed a picture of the geyser from the web. 

Photographer Unknown

The old neo-classical Enders Building in Soda Springs was constructed in 1917 at a cost of $75,000. In 1997 the building went through a one million dollar renovation and is now used as a bed-and-breakfast hotel, museum, restaurant and gift shop. 

Located just down the street from the hotel is the Eastman Drug Store, Idaho's Oldest Drug Store (founded in 1884). They also have some nice painting on the side of the building and two old firetrucks in the parking lot. 

The Presbyterian Church was constructed in 1885 from dressed rock that had been purchased to build a railroad roundhouse. When the Union Pacific Railroad changed their plans, the dressed rock (valued at $1,000) was donated to the church.

The Dinkey Engine that was used to haul supplies to the Alexander Reservoir dam site in 1924 is now located in Corrigan Park. Unfortunately, the Dinkey did not get moved from the bottom of the reservoir in time and was trapped by rising water when the reservoir filled. It sat at the bottom of the reservoir for 52 years; then in 1976, the reservoir was drained for maintenance and Dinkey was recovered and restored by the Union Pacific Railroad. 

In 1861, while on a wagon trip west, one man's horses wandered off during the night. In the morning the wagon train left the family to find their horses and told them where they were going to camp that night. When the family did not arrive in camp, several men went back and discovered that the family had been killed by Indians. Because there was not time to construct caskets for the family members, the entire family was placed together in their wagon box and then the wagon box was buried. The grave is now known as the "Wagon Box Grave."

Adjacent to the cemetery is a Father Pierre-Jean De Smet statue and several informational displays. 

As a young man Pierre-Jean De Smet emigrated to the United States from what is now Belgium and joined the Society of Jesus, a Catholic religious order commonly called Jesuits. During his lifetime, Father De Smet traveled all over western United States establishing Indian Missions. He spent part of 1881 and 1882 in Soda Springs.