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.

Cordelia Lutheran Church

This Cordelia Lutheran Church was built in 1883, seven years before Idaho became a state.  The church was built on one acre donated by Andrew S. Olson, an original member of the congregation.  The church bought an additional acre adjacent to the church for use as a cemetery, for which they paid the sum of $25.  This church was built by the Swedish Lutheran Augustana Synod and holds the reputation as the smallest Lutheran church in Idaho at only 18 x 24 feet. 

Cordelia Lutheran Church, c. 1940, Courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 25-06-48.

The Augustana Synod, founded in Wisconsin, sent Peter J. Carlson to establish Swedish Lutheran churches throughout the Pacific Northwest.  Trained as a carpenter in Sweden, Carlson personally designed and helped build 13 frontier churches, he also initiated the construction of many more.  The Greek Revival design of this church is similar to the first church Carlson constructed in the western territories at Astoria, Oregon.
 

Cordelia's first pastor, Peter J. Carlson, Courtesy of www.cordeliachurch.org .

The Cordelia congregation quickly shrunk to only one committed family by 1903 and services ceased between 1913 and 1920.  The daughter of Andrew Olson donated funds in May of 1948 to restore the church which had fallen into disrepair.  The church has faced possible sales, moving and demolition but remains intact at its original location.  The Cordelia Lutheran Church is currently owned by the Emmanuel Lutheran Church of Moscow and preserved by the Friends of Cordelia organization.  The church hosts summer concerts, weddings and festivals.

Cordelia Lutheran Church, c. 1980, Courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 25-07-02.

References:

Houser, Michael. Friends of Cordelia Newsletter, Oct. 1994, Volume 1 Number 2 “Cordelia Church is Built,” Private Collection.

Otness, Lillian W. A Great Good Country: A guide to Historic Moscow and Latah County, Idaho. (Moscow: Latah County Historic Society, 1983), 165.

Rognas, Liza R. United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Cordelia Lutheran Church, February 24, 1995.

Soncarty Barn

Located eight miles north of Potlatch, just off Highway 95, the Edward and Ida Soncarty Barn offers a well-preserved example of the Gothic arch roof style barn that came into style after 1915.  Round-roofed barns grew in popularity because they had less angles and cross braces, allowing more loose hay storage for a variety of farm animals.  The Soncarty barn duplicated the style of neighbor Durrell Nirk’s barn, and area residents believe Nirk originated the building pattern or purchased it, sharing the design with others.  Painted red and white, the Soncarty’s new barn was built on a rock foundation. 

The Soncarty Barn, courtesy of the National Register for Historic Places Inventory Nomination form, dated May 8, 2007.

The accompanying Soncarty farmstead, which includes a well maintained home and some outbuildings, accommodated the diversified style of farming prominent in north Latah County during the period from 1928 to 1955.  The area had many similar subsistence farmers, who worked off-farm and also raised both animals and crops to provide for struggling families settling the rolling hills of the Palouse.

As for the original barn owner, Edward Soncarty was born in 1885, grew up in Illinois, and later traveled to California, where he worked as a chef.  In 1909, he came to Latah County, where he labored as a farmhand, and later purchased the farmstead at a tax sale.  In 1916, he married Ida Bysegger, the 17-year-old daughter of a neighboring farmer.  After an elegant wedding, the Soncartys settled down to a simple life, with Edward working as a logger, thresher and auctioneer to supplement farm income.  As the family prospered, they added the barn in 1928.   Before the hayloft was filled with hay for the first time, neighborhood men gathered there to play basketball.  The attractive barn was used primarily to shelter cow-milking operations and provide space for draft horses; later Edward added a small sawmill operation in the hayloft.

The Soncarty Barn, courtesy of the National Register for Historic Places Inventory Nomination form, dated May 8, 2007.

The Edward and Ida Soncarty Barn was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the Latah County Historic Preservation Commission in 2008.

References:

Julin, Suzanne. United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form. Missoula, MT, May 8, 2007.

Bethany Memorial Chapel

This lovely country church was constructed by volunteer labor from Norwegian settlers. The Norwegians started settling in the early 1880s and soon established a town known as Taney.   This church was chartered as The Evangelical Lutheran Church when it was established in 1902. When the congregation decided to erect a building, they decided on all volunteer labor.  Construction of the church began in 1903 and finished in 1905.  This Gothic revival type church and its graveyard are nestled in among mature evergreens and rolling crop land on Bear Ridge out of Kendrick, Idaho.  The nave boasts lancet clear arched windows while the tower is adorned with a pinwheel patterned round window.  The altar area is a raised semi-circle with newel posts at the ends.  Pews were hand carved from Douglas Fir logs.  From the charming belfry to the gingerbread trim, this church is a treasure.  The church is used on Easter, Memorial Day, and Christmas with an occasional wedding or funeral ceremony.

Photo of the Bethany Memorial Chapel, date unknown, courtesy of Latah County Historical Society, 10-06-004.

 Photo of the Bethany Memorial Chapel from 1908, courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 10-06-005.

Photograph of one of the monuments in the Bethany Memorial Cemetery, c.a. 1980, courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 25-07-12.

Bethany Memorial Chapel and Cemetery, c.a. 1980, courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 25-07-14.

References:

Hibbard, Don. United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form. Boise, ID, August 4, 1978.

Julieta-Kendrick Heritage Foundation

Otness, Lillian W. A Great Good Country: A guide to Historic Moscow and Latah County, Idaho. (Moscow: Latah County Historic Society, 1983), 178.