CLEARWATER COUNTY
The History of Idaho, The Gem of the Mountain, by James H. Hawley, Volume I, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1920:
"A county called Clearwater was created by the Legislature in 1899, but because of certain defects in the act that county was never fully organized. On February 27, 1911, Governor Hawley approved an act creating the County of Clearwater from the eastern part of Nez Perce County. It is bounded on the north by Shoshone County; on the east by the State of Montana; on the south by Idaho and Lewis counties; and on the west by Latah and Nez Perce counties. The northern half of the county is devoted to lumbering, grazing and mining. In the valleys of the Clearwater River and its tributaries are rolling prairies of rich soil, where wheat yields from thirty to fifty bushels to the acre. Some of this land is irrigated and here general farming is carried on with great success. A large part of the Clearwater National Forest, which contains 822,700 acres, lies in this county and many ranchmen along the boundary of the reserve take advantage of the grazing opportunities offered by the Government.
"The act creating the county assigned it to the second judicial and fourth senatorial districts and designated Orofino as the county seat, although that town is situated on the Clearwater River near the westem boundary. far from the center of the county. It was in this county that gold was first discovered in Idaho and the early history of the mining camps is given in another chapter.
"Two lines of railroad pierce the county, both in the western part. A branch of the Northern Pacific follows the Clearwater River, passing through the towns of Ahsahka, Orofino and Greer. and Elk River is the terminus of a branch of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul system. with stations at Jersey and Neva. Away from the railroads the villages of Dent, Fraser, Pierce City. Teakean and Weippe are important trading points for farming communities. In 1918 the property valuation was $9,374,290."
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