History Corner

Before we get into 1897, I need to include a few notes about 1896.

Wilhelm Röntgen’s discovery of X-rays became public in early 1896, triggering global scientific excitement. Newspapers reported the breakthrough in January, and the first U.S. X-ray photograph was taken the same month.

Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity In March, Becquerel identified spontaneous radiation from uranium salts—an accidental discovery that opened the door to nuclear physics.

U.S. Supreme Court “Plessy v. Ferguson” decision –On May 18, 1896 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld “separate but equal,” legally entrenching racial segregation for decades.

Utah became the 45th state, after the LDS Church renounced polygamy.

Henry Ford built and test- drove his first automobile. Ford’s Quadricycle made its first successful run on June 4.

Alexander Popov demonstrated the first known radio signal transmission on March 24, marking a foundational moment in wireless communication. By only the next year (1897), a long distance transmission (11.8 miles) took place.

Klondike Gold Discovery. Gold was discovered in the Yukon on August 16, 1896 sparking the last major North American gold rush. the stampede of prospectors did not begin until July 1897, when news finally reached Seattle and San Francisco. The news soon reached central Idaho, and accounts of local men joining the gold rush started to appear.

In November 1896, Frank Steunenberg was elected Idaho governor. He ran on Populist promises of fairness for workers, which won him support for the Western Federation of Miners union in northern Idaho. He will soon double-cross the union – an act that will result in Steunenberg’s murder and the “Trial of the Century.” This will be central to the stories in my May 5 presentation at the New Meadows depot.

1897

The population of Council in 1897 was 62 people. Washington County population was 3,836 and of course included what later became Adams County.

Horse racing was becoming the rage in the upper country. Both Meadows and Council had race tracks. The July 20 Signal reported: “Council has completed all arrangements for her big racing tournament, and has raised $750 in purses. Council has one of the best tracks in the state. Under the management of Manager (John) Hancock and Secretary John O. Peters, it is sure to be a success.” All races in the 5-day tournament “will be run under the Pacific Blood Horse Rules.”

By 1897 economic conditions were finally easing from the disastrous “Panic of ‘93.” A smelter was badly needed in the Seven Devils Mining District, and almost every issue of the Signal gave reports of plans for one. It seems that a smelter at Helena might have been considered at first, but the poorly-laid plans for a smelter caused a lot of confusion and delay. Smelter equipment was ordered and arrived at Weiser in July, but it sat on the train cars on a side track for two months while the owners debated where the smelter was to be built and by what route to get it there. (This reminds me of the saying, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any route will get you there.”)

One idea was to float the 25 tons of equipment down the Snake River and then haul it up the Kleinschmidt Grade. One idea was to leave it at the foot of the Grade to avoid the arduous task of taking it nearer the mines. The idea finally took shape to take it to a meadow not far up Indian Creek from Arthur Huntley’s ranch. Finally, in October, construction on the smelter started at that last-mentioned location above Huntley’s. By the end of the month, the name “Cuprum” appeared in a newspaper as the name of the smelter’s location. Construction was not expected to be completed until the following March.

For the first time since the economic crash, new investment in the mining district came through. The Peacock, Helena and White Monument claims were sold to new investors Isaac E. Blake, formerly president of the Continental Oil Company, and ex-Mayor Franklin Edson of New York City. Typical of the exuberant optimism of the day, the new owners announced extravagant plans, including converting the Kleinschmidt road into a narrow gauge railroad to transport ore to the Snake River. If actually accomplished, this unrealistic fantasy would have resulted in what would have been the steepest railroad in the world, with impossibly-sharp turns.

From the lower end of this railroad, the ore was to be taken to Huntington, Oregon via a new steamship, “smaller than the one previously built, which proved unsuitable for the river.” This ship would actually be built and named the “Mabel.” And, just like its predecessor, the Norma, it too would fail.

Five years before the Caswell brothers started the Thunder Mountain gold rush of 1902, the August 12, 1897 Signal reported: “The Caswell brothers who have been working a placer mine 60 miles east of Warren for the last years, passed through Council during the week going to Boise with their gold dust. They expect to return in about a week and buy a year’s supplies here and have them taken into Warren by team and pack from there.” The next week, the Signal reported the brothers’ earnings from their sale of 85 ounces of gold dust at $12.65 per ounce. This would have equaled $1,075.25, which in today’s dollars would be around $40,000.

Be sure to put my May 5 presentation on your calendar. New Meadows depot, 7:00 p.m..