Potlatch

At the dawn of the twentieth century, Potlatch, Idaho stood out as the new frontier for the Weyerhaeuser’s latest logging and lumber mill ventures, and by the early 1900s, a lumber mill and company town were built. Within a few years, the sawmill would be hailed as the largest white pine mill in the world.  Although white pine was coveted because of its strength and ability to float, mill interests had seriously miscalculated the area’s river flows.  Consequently, the abundant white pine could not be floated to the mill, but was instead hauled to the Potlatch Lumber Company mill by the company’s own short line railroad, the Washington, Idaho and Montana Railway.

Potlatch, Idaho April 17, 1906, image courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 12-01-02.

The Company Town era earned Potlatch national recognition, and the company store, the Potlatch Mercantile, rivaled any major department store in Seattle.  Baseball, too, was a big item, and in 1914, the American and National Leagues All-Star teams stopped for an exhibition game at the bustling mill town.  The community was praised for its fine schools, cultural aspects, work ethic and spirited citizens.  Surrounding towns such as Princeton, Harvard and Onaway also contributed to the robust business climate and neighborly lifestyle.  Farming, logging and milling provided mainstay jobs in the area.

Aerial photo of the Potlatch mill in Potlatch on September 19, 1955, image courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 12-01-20.

But in 1981, the mill whistle sounded its last blast, and by 1983, the renowned sawmill at Potlatch was completely dismantled.  Despite predictions of the town folding, the little community has survived, and agricultural crops such as barley and timothy hay contribute to the current economy, along with the state-of-the-art Bennett Lumber Products mill at Princeton. 

References:

Petersen, Keith C., Company Town: Potlatch, Idaho, and the Potlatch Lumber Company. (Pullman, Washington: Washington State University Press, 1987).

Potlatch Historical Society.

White Springs Ranch Museum and Archival Center

White Spring Ranch Museum and Archival Center (WSR) is a century farm owned by the non-profit organization, Lorang Farm Restoration. WSR includes a house, a log cabin, a curio museum, and a grove surrounded by 300 acres of farmland. This site is a historical treasure trove resembling a community attic with archives and objects gathered and saved by a family willing and able to restore, preserve, and share these histories. This material explains how pioneers John and Mary Lorang moved across the country and bought this site where they worked and raised ten children. WSR tells the story of four generations of one family, the Lorangs, who believed there existed historical value in everyday artifacts. The Lorangs were not famous people nor political or social leaders. They were a family who documented a reflection of the simple farm, providing chronologies of life, work, entertainment, and current events in a rural Palouse town during a span of over 130 years.

White Springs Ranch house, image courtesy of the White Springs Ranch Museum and Archival Center.

 WSR is a significant historical site because of the historical memory found in the written word, the oral histories, the artifacts, and the buildings. Every piece of paper found was used to jot down notes, grocery lists, ledgers, ideas, poems, and stories and every piece of paper was saved. Thus, the archives, which are one of the largest in the area includes; references to world wars, romance, the American West, the Palouse region of Idaho and Washington, Genesee news and history, agricultural history, architectural history, as well as sources of entertainment and daily activities of pioneer residents on the Palouse.

Restoration work at White Springs Ranch, image courtesy of White Springs Ranch Museum and Archival Center.

WSR offers research opportunities, interpretative material, and staff offers historical knowledge and enthusiasm. Museum hours: Tuesday and Sunday 1pm – 5pm or by appointment. Contact: Diane Conroy 208-416-1006.

White Springs Ranch at sunset, image courtesy of the White Springs Ranch Museum and Archival Center.

 References:

Lind, C.E. (2011).  White Spring Ranch and Archive Center Development Plan. Unpublished. University of Idaho.

Welcome to Deary

 Settled in the 1880’s largely by Scandinavians, this area was originally called Anderson.  In 1907, Potlatch Lumber Company General Manager William Deary had the town platted and a post office was established on September 12.  Although Deary was named after the Canadian timberman, William Deary never did live in the town.  Officially incorporated in 1912, Deary became an important stop along the Washington, Idaho and Montana Railway line.

Deary, Idaho with Potato Hill in the background, ca. 1910.  Courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 04-01-002.

By 1914 the community had two churches, a bank, hotel, weekly newspaper and four sawmills.  Additionally, it boasted a new two-story school and a dozen other businesses.  A devastating fire in 1923 burned every building on the west side of Main Street except the bank.

Main Street in Deary, Idaho with Potato Hill in the background, ca. 1910.  Courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 04-02-003.

Main Street in Deary, Idaho, ca. 1919.  Courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 04-02-008.

Through much of its history, Deary has been dependent on timber and farming as the mainstays of its economy.  The prominent hill north of town is a well-known geological landmark dubbed Potato Hill – or Spud Hill. With an elevation of 4,017 feet above sea level, Spud Hill is a volcanic vent of undetermined age.  Townspeople and students have been known to have races up its steep sides as part of an annual ritual.

Main Street in Deary, Idaho after the 1923 fire.  Courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 04-02-004.

References:

Conoly, Cort, Idaho for the Curious: A Guide (Backeddy Books, 1982).

Otness, Lillian W. A Great Good Country: A guide to Historic Moscow and Latah County, Idaho. (Moscow: Latah County Historic Society, 1983), 13-14, 81-82.

Troy Garage

This building was constructed in 1916 when Olson and Johnson Company (Olaf Olson and August Johnson) built this garage.  Just one year later the garage was sold to W. M. Duthie who later sold it to Lloyd and Linnie Chaney. 

Troy garage as a Ford sales and service center, ca. 1918, coutesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 15-03-014.

This building has been used as an automobile garage and sales store continuously since 1916.  Due to it's easily identifiable shape and location on main street, the garage has become one of the more photographed sites in Troy during the early 20th century.  Here are some of the photographs of the garage throughout the history of Troy.

Photograph of a parade in Troy in 1921, notice the garage with the Ford sign in the background.  Courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 15-02-07.

Photograph of a parade in Troy, ID, courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 15-02-09.

Fourth of July parade in Troy in 1929, notice the garage in the background, courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 15-05-018.

References:

Dorothy Anderson, Troy City Historian.

Julin, Suzanne, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Troy Downtown Historic District, August, 30, 2009.

Latah County Historical Society.

Troy Post Office

W. M. Duthie built this building in 1913, and the Post Office occupied it from 1913 until 1942.  The building was vacant during World War II; in the 1950s the first floor housed a bakery and cafe while the second floor provided rented rooms.  In 1955 Virginia Johnson operated Virginia's Cafe at this location, which was well-known for its home cooking. 

The Troy Post Office sits second building from the left, this is part of the 4th of July parade in Troy, ID in 1929.  Image courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 15-05-18.

On one fourth of July Bing Crosby, the famous singer and movie actor, was eating at Virginia's Cafe when a drunk started to harass the waitress.  Bing Crosby told him to leave her alone and when the drunk said something like "Who's gonna make me?"  Bing Crosby stood up to show him, once Mr. Crosby stood up the drunk recognized him and sat down to finish his meal in peace.

Bing Crosby, image courtesy of The Internet Archive, archive.org.

References:

Dorothy Anderson, Troy City Historian

Julin, Suzanne, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Troy Downtown Historic District, August, 30, 2009.

Troy Hospital

This house was built in 1905 by Oscar Larson, a prominent businessman.  When a young Dr. Charles Meyers arrived in Troy, he purchased the house to make it into a five-bed hospital from 1926 to July 12, 1942.  Dr. Meyers employed his sister, Julia Meyers to work as one of his first nurses.  Located on the first floor were his offices, surgery, a two-bed ward, a kitchen and bath.  The second floor contained a second two-bed ward, a single patient room and a room for a nurse.  Since this house had been a home before a hospital it had a kitchen, which was operated by Esther Sandquist and Ella Olson.  These ladies not only cooked for patients and nurses but stoked the Monarch Stove so that the nurses could sterilize the surgical instruments in the oven.

Dr. Meyers cared about the community of Troy a great deal.  Here is an excerpt from the History of Troy edited and compiled by Stella E. Johnson that tells an exceptional story of his character:

"Doc enjoyed taking the boys [his sons, Fritz and Jackie] fishing with him.  When Burl and Alice Trout were expecting a child he had refused the invitation of some of his friends to go fishing.  When they returned to show him their day's catch.  He said "I caught a bigger trout today."

Dr. Meyer's sons Fritz and Jackie are the two young men at the left end of the engine, Troy Fire Department and their engine, 1930s, Courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 15-06-011.

Several old-timers in Troy remember having their tonsils removed here.  Children and adults alike took place in what became known as "tonsil Tuesday," and it is said that on Tuesdays there was so many people getting their tonsils removed that "the whole town smelled of ether."

References:

Anderson, Dorothy, Troy City Historian, interview with Zachary Wnek, Moscow, ID, 06/09/2014.

Johnson, Stella E. History of Troy. (Troy, ID: Stella E. Johnson, 1992), 27.

Julin Suzanne, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Troy Hospital, July 25, 2010.

Troy Drug

In the early 1950s, the wooden building located at this location burned when the owner of a bar a few buildings down informed his bartender to burn his wooden, false front bar in order to collect on his insurance policy.  The bartender did as he was told and set the bar ablaze.  Before long the fire could not be contained, the fire ended up enveloping the block from the middle of the block, where the bar was, to the end of the block.

Troy Drug Store, no date, Image courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 15-03-04.

This one-part commercial building, faced with blonde brick, was constructed in 1953 to house C. Arthur Johnson’s Troy Drug.  C. Arthur Johnson worked with C.V. Johnson while he attended Washington State University to gain practical experience in the field.  C. Arthur Johnson bought the drug store and moved it to this location.  C. Arthur Johnson operated his drug store in Troy for 35 years.  Arthur's brother Kenneth was also a pharmacist, working in Pullman, WA before buying his own store in Palouse, WA.



References:

Anderson, Dorothy, Troy City Historian.

Johnson, Stella E. History of Troy. (Troy, ID: Stella E. Johnson, 1992) 216-217.

Julin, Suzanne, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Troy Downtown Historic District, August, 30, 2009.