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.

Lane's Thrift Store

Fern Duthie Cooper built this building in 1928 and rented it to R. F. Lane, who operated Lane's Thrift Store.  R.F. Lane lived in Moscow, Idaho and operated a chain of thrift stores throughout the region, having stores in Moscow, Palouse, Pullman, Colfax and Troy by 1929.  Later grocers there included Cody Rader, Paul Smith, Arvo Smith and a Mister Kite.

Suzanne Juline describes the arcitecture for the National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Troy Downtown Historic District as:

"Although the store front has been modernized, the upper level exhibits the original blonde brick and holds a recessed panel; the cornice is covered with a metal cap.  The upper part of the facade illustrates the transition from Italianate style to a less decorative, on-part, brick-front commercial building."

References:


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

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

The Palouse Republic, January 25, 1929, 1.

Arthur Snow House

The Snow family arrived as part of a wagon train on the Palouse from Tipton, Kansas in 1877.  The wagon train included the Snow, Holke, Clyde, Zeitler, Finney, Van de Walker and Hokes families.  Upon arrival in Moscow the families took refuge at 'Uncle' Billy Taylor's farmstead while the families found appropriate homesteads of their own.  Some of the families stayed as long as six months during this time.

Born in 1872, Arthur Snow was only five years old when he and his family crossed the plains to the Palouse.  As an adult he attended college at the University of Idaho and was part of the University football team in 1897.  Early in his farming career, Snow farmed in cooperation with three of his cousins.  Later Snow began farming his own operation, gradually purchasing more property until he owned 750 acres.  Mr. Snow constructed this house in 1918 with his wife Lella.  In 1931 Snow was elected to the Idaho State Legislature as a Republican where he served for six sessions.

The Snow brothers' combine.  Photo taken in 1905 on the Snow farm.

The Snow household, no date.

Arthur Snow obituary from the Spokesman-Review, October 29, 1947.

Arthur Snow became involved with the Soil Erosion Service (SES) in a soil erosion study.  Snow signed a five year cooperative agreement with the SES in September of 1935 to implement a contour plowing system in order to determine if strait line plowing was a factor in soil erosion. Snow was one of only 12 farm sites in the country to be involved as a major demonstration area for the SES.

Contour plowing on the Snow farmlands, no date, Image courtesy of Tom Hansen via http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/Moscow/Moscow_Farmfield_090135.htm

Map of SES study areas, 1933, Image courtesy of Tom Hansen via http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/Moscow/Moscow_Farmfield_090135.htm

Arthur Snow's son, Harold Snow moved into this house with his wife, Vivian, in 1947 following the death of his father.  Harold Snow also served as a Republican in the Idaho State Legislature.  In 1962 Harold Snow sold the farmstead property to a local veterinarian, James “Doc” Lucas, who also served in the Idaho State Legislature.

The house is an excellent example of Bungalow and Craftsman style architecture and illustrates the ability of prosperous Palouse farmers to incorporate modern styles and conveniences, like luxurious bathrooms, into their domestic buildings.



References:

Associated Press article no. 4144, New York.

History of Idaho: Personal and Family History, Volume III, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc., New York, 1959, p. 220-221.

Lola Clyde, Oral History Interview #1, December 2, 1974, Latah County Historical Society, Moscow, ID.

Julin, Suzanne, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Snow, Arthur, House, September 1, 2008.

Freeze Church

Over a hundred years ago, settlers journeyed to northern Idaho with high hopes.  As homesteaders, farmers and others migrated onto the Palouse Prairie, near Deep Creek.  The soil was fertile and forests were abundant, making it easier to cut lumber for new houses and barns.  One of the saw mills in Freeze was run by Mr. Strong, who furnished the lumber for this church and helped construct it.  In time, a mill churned out the materials for a blacksmith shop, a general store and a post office.  C.E. Freeze donated the land for the church and its spire rose above the farming town in 1899.  Also in 1899 John Starner came to Freeze and applied to become the postmaster for the area, ranging from Garfield, Washington to Princeton, Idaho.  John Starner became not only postmaster but also built a general store in Freeze. 

Ed Marsh Blacksmith shop in Freeze, Idaho, 1908.

Though the Palouse country originally beckoned to miners seeking their fortunes in the 1860 gold rush, farmers stayed on for the long haul.  Eventually Freeze boasted a population of 200 hardy souls, many of them crowding into the Freeze Church each Sunday to sing Rock of Ages and pray for good harvests.  The adjacent cemetery tells its own personal stories of Freeze, Idaho, and C.E. Freeze’s wife and daughter were buried there in those pioneer years.

The Freeze Church in Freeze, Idaho, no date, courtesy of Velda Starner Walker.

Once Potlatch Lumber Company constructed its giant white pine mill in 1905, the town of Freeze, its farms, businesses, and smaller mom-and-pop mills began to fade.  In 1907 the post office burned and in 1908 the store burned.  The destruction of these two structures combined with the emergence of the company town of Potlatch spelled the end of the line for the city of Freeze.  Yet believers used the chapel regularly until the 1980’s, enduring its lack of insulation and aging wood stove.  The standard joke of course was that you could freeze at Freeze!

General store and post office at Freeze, Idaho.  The Grocery store is the main building, the post office is the attached building on the right.  This photo was taken between 1899 and 1907.  Courtesy of Velda Starner Walker.

Over the years, the Freeze Church has been home to several congregations, and many weddings, funerals and celebrations have taken place there.  The building is so prominent that National Geographic featured it in its pages in June of 1982, and Country Woman magazine pictured the church surrounded by bright yellow canola blossoms on its 2003 calendar cover.  The building carries much historical significance and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sketch by Albert Clausen as he remembers Freeze, Idaho.

References:

Cook, Russ, "Early and Disappearing Communities in Latah County Idaho," (informally published, Latah County Historical Society, 1995).

Renk, Nancy, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Freeze Church, January 3, 1990.

Ross, Opal Lambert, Landed Gentry 1871-1978 (Farmington: Washington, Opal Lambert Ross, 1979), 14-21.

Rietmann Hotel

Ulrich Rietmann, a native of Switzerland, arrived in Latah County in 1890, and built the Rietmann Hotel - the first brick building in Troy - at the end of that decade.  Ulrich C. Rietmann was described in the History of North Idaho as: "energetic, capable, and progressive businessman and manages a first-class butcher shop in Troy, owns and leases the large brick hotel known as the Rietmann House, buys and sells stock of all kinds, has a fine farm near town, and also handles fruit, and operates a fruit dryer and cold storage plant, besides a number of large warehouses, being one of the leading men of the county and recognized by all as a power in the business world."  Ulrich Rietmann was born on the 4th of July, 1853 in Switzerland.  Mr. Rietmann was educated in Brazil where he also worked with his uncle who was a surveyor.  Mr. Rietmann moved to San Francisco in 1881 where he took up the butcher business.  In 1890 he sold all of his holdings in San Francisco and moved to Latah County where he became one of the leading businessmen of the county.

The Hotel Rietmann, 1908, Courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society 15-03-05.

The second floor of the Rietman Hotel provided lodging for workers and railway passengers, while on the hotel's ground level, various shops and offices offered an array of goods and services to locals and travelers through the years.  The Hotel also served as a community gathering spot, serving hot meals in the dining room and spirits in the Hotel tavern.

The Hotel Rietmann, no date, Courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society 15-03-06.

In 1911 Rietmann sold the hotel to Charles and Clara Tomson, who renamed it the Inland Hotel; it was also known as the Tomson Hotel.  In 1932, Clara Tomson sold the hotel to Pearl M. Field, who sold it to Joseph J. Berg in 1934.  Probably prompted by the end of the prohibition of alcohol, Berg and his wife Juanits opened a state liquor store in the rear of the building and reopened the Hotel tavern.  The hotel also operated the Inland Cafe.  The Inland Cafe had a kitchen that had one large wood stove for cooking and some smaller wood stoves for heating the hotel.  The Bergs were so reliant on wood heat that they purchased some timber land so that they would have a steady supply of firewood.  The Bergs would typically go out on Sundays to cut firewood and stock the supply at the hotel.  In the mid-1940s, the Bergs converted the hotel space to apartments, but retained the liquor store.

The Inland Hotel in Troy, ID, photo taken between 1920 and 1930, Courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 15-03-43.

In 1958, the Bergs transferred the ownership of the building to their son and daughter-in-law, Norman and Hazel Berg, who owned the building until the early 1990s.  During that time, the cafe was affectionately known as "Norm's."

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.  The nomination for the register reads in part: "Troy (Vollmer) Sanborn maps reveal that the end section was added to the building sometime between 1901 and 1905.  This is also evident becase of the detail differences between this portion of the building and the original portion; the newer portion lacks the continuous belt courses, has no decorative cornice, and the parapet wall is lower.  The building retains good integrity."

References:

History of North Idaho: An Illustrated History Embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai, and Shoshone Counties State of Idaho (Western Historical Publication Company, 1903) 661.


Johnson, Stella E. History of Troy. (Troy, ID: Stella E. Johnson, 1992), p. 147-149.

Krahe, Diane and Suzanne Julin, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Hotel Rietmann, May 22, 2001.

Sullivan Building

The early history of this building can best be told through the life of Louis Phersson Wallner.  Wallner was born in Jamtland, Sweeden in 1867 and immigrated to America in 1888.  On December 21st, 1896 he married Sara Effie Culbertson.  Mr. Wallner was a keen businessman operating The Golden Rule, a general merchandise store from 1902 to 1915 and several saloons in Troy, Deary and Nora.  Wallner had three children, two of which lived into adulthood.  In 1917 Louis Pherson Wallner died at the age of 50.

A Photograph post card of Troy, ID from 1908.  Image courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 15-02-04.

C.A. Sullivan built this structure in 1906, the opening tenants were a meat market and Louis Wallner's Golden Rule mercantile.  As time went on Christie's Pioneer Store moved into the northern side while a bakery and restaurant occupied the southern space.  For a time, Washington Water Power leased the southern portion of the building and built a shop in the rear of the building.  By the 1940s the second story had been converted into apartments.  Eldon Strom bought this building in 1945 for use as an electrical and plumbing shop.

Louis Wallner (third from the left) pictured at Henry H. Christie's saloon in Troy, Idaho, c.a. 1900.  Image courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 15-03-28.

References:

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

Johnson, Stella E. History of Troy. (Troy, ID: Stella E. Johnson, 1992) 323.

Johnson's Drug

Mr. William M. Duthie built this building in 1916 which was originally occupied by the C. V. Johnson drugstore until 1942.  C.V. Johnson's drug store operated as more than simply a drug store, C.V. Johnson's daughter, Bernice Johnson Oliver, remembers the store as a social center and variety store.  Bernice recalled this about her father's store:

"He [C.V. Johnson] had a telephone put in the front of the store for the customers' convenience.  The daily paper was put out, much the same as the mail, and people could simply come in and find the paper under their name and pay with their monthly bill.  He handled a full line of chocolates, box chocolates, candy bars and penny candy, as well as making fresh popcorn everyday.  The drug store also had good gift merchandise: perfumes, leather goods, cut glass, etc. ... All kinds of pens, Kodaks , and stationary were for sale, and he could and did fill prescriptions. ...  There were a few nights in my childhood when the phone didn't ring or someone would come to the door with a prescription.  Dad was always more than willing to go to the store for whoever needed help."

After the C.V. Johnson moved out of this space in 1942 the main floor of the building was vacant for a decade until Willard Dyer established Moon's Grocery in 1952. The second story of the building served as a dental office for Dr. Elmer Sylvester Peterson from 1933 to 1955.  "Doc" as he was known was very involved in the community serving on the school board and city councils for several terms.  Dr. Peterson was also the beloved girls basketball coach at the Troy High School, he coached there from 1926 until at least 1952.  Legend has it that Dr. Peterson coached so long that he coached the daughters of some of his former players.


References:

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

Johnson, Stella E. History of Troy. (Troy, ID: Stella E. Johnson, 1992) 25-27, 216.