Category Archives: HISTORIC Q&A
Fort Boise
Reed’s Post was built at the mouth of the Boise River near a traditional Shoshoni salmon fishery as early as 1813. The station that John Reed constructed in the early nineteenth century was subsequently rebuilt and used as a trading … Continue reading
Pin ItBench History: Morristown
Foote’s Folly. That’s what they called the attempt to dig the New York Canal when all the cool New York cash ran out and work was abandoned before the project could be finished. But the growth of the Bench District … Continue reading
Pin ItBoise and the Influenza epidemic of 1918
Question: Did the the Influenza Epidemic of 1918 hit Boise very hard? Answer: The epidemic known then as “The Spanish Flu” did find its way to Boise, most likely through military personnel and contact with those infected on trains. … Continue reading
Pin ItTerritorial Justice
Question: Was there any real sense of justice or safety in Boise’s earliest days? Or was it more like the Wild West we’ve immortalized in movies and television? Answer: Early territorial justice was, in fact, unstable and un-enforceable when Idaho … Continue reading
Pin ItCarpetbaggers . . . in Idaho?
Question: I’ve come across the term “carpetbagger” in reference to Idaho’s territorial politicians, but as I understand it, the term was applied by Southerners to post-Civil War Northerners who began arriving down south in order to fill the governmental vacuum, as the … Continue reading
No Liquor On Sundays
Question: When did Boise enact prohibition laws? Answer: In 1902, when Boise’s population was around 10,000, there were twenty-five saloons in operation in the city. They must have been doing very good business as they were open 24 hours … Continue reading
Pin ItOut Of The Rubble
Question: We’ve noticed some construction going on at City Hall, what’s going on? Answer: The construction downtown sure is hard to miss, isn’t it? Yes, City Hall is being renovated. The construction started this winter and all three phases are … Continue reading
“Aunt” Viney Moulton
Question: Do we know of any former slaves that fled the south and ended up in Boise? Answer: In 1867 Elvina Moulton, a former slave freed during the Civil War, arrived in Boise after traveling across the Oregon Trail with … Continue reading
Lovers Lane: Looking for a fairy-tale ending
Question: There are rumors and myths of a red light district that Boise pioneers called lovers lane, what’s the story? Answer: Lovers Lane is recognized by name on all of Boise’s maps, beginning shortly after the city’s conception, from 1864 … Continue reading
John West, “Mr. Fifteenth Ammendment”
Question: Boise was founded in 1863 at the outbreak of the Civil War, what was life in Boise like for blacks moving to Idaho at that time? Answer: When the City of Boise was founded in 1863 there were only … Continue reading
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