Idaho - AHGP/Washington County/

ESTABLISHED 1879
COUNTY SEAT Weiser
Washington County is named for the first president of the United States. Donald Mackenzie and six companions passed through what is now Washington County in 1811 en route to Astoria. Later fur brigades trapped and explored the Weiser River. Settlers began taking up land in the county in the 1860's after gold was discovered in the Boise Basin. Thomas Galloway built a log cabin on the present site of Weiser in 1863. The earliest settlement in Washington County Thomas Galloway built a log cabin on the present site of Weiser in 1863. The earliest settlement in Washington County was Weiser Bridge in 1863. R.P. Olds began operation of a ferry across the Snake River west of Weiser. A freight line from Umatilla to Olds Ferry was established in 1866. A steamboat, the Shoshone, operated in the late 1860's between Olds Ferry and a point on the Snake River to serve Silver City, but business was poor and the venture was abandoned. The Oregon Short Line came through the county in 1884 with a station at Weiser. Mercury mines exist in the county, and the principal industry is agriculture. "The Idaho Almanac," 1977 Edition, State of Idaho. almanac map :: location :: topo map from imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas

Historic Post Offices
1919 Preliminary Report on Mining Districts in Adams and Washington Counties
Hawley's 1920 History
Walker-Big Flat Cemetery

News
1892, John Cuddy and son Ed selling hogs
1905, Jan. Old Weiser Ferry put out of business by bridge
1914, Salubria business listings from Polk's 1914 Business Directory (follow link for rest of county)

Photos
1893, Street in Weiser, "Idaho, Gem of the Mountains," by Herbert C. Gregg, offical souvenir of the World's Fair - archive.org
Knights of Pythias Lodge Hall, built in 1904. "Knights of Pythias Lodge Hall/Pythian Castle, 30 E. Idaho St., Weiser. "The Pythian Castle is an interesting and unique structure. The Weiser Signal described it as "the finest of its kind in the West. " That claim is not far from the truth, for its imaginative styling makes it a significant structure among American lodge halls. "The Weiser lodge of the Knights of Pythias was formed in 1897. It was preceded by two other fraternal organizations, the Odd Fellows and Masons. Being the newest fraternal order, the Knights of Pythias desired to have a meeting hall superior to others in the area. The resulting Pythians' lodge hall stands as a reflection of the tastes and aspirations of a newly emerging business class in Weiser. "The building was designed by Tourtellotte and Company, the foremost architectural firm in southern Idaho at the time. The cut stone for the front was supplied by Roberts and Sheff and quarried at Sand Hollow, near Weiser. The stone was hauled to town and hand cut on the site to fit. The mason work was contracted by Hamilton and Reader of Weiser, and the total cost of the building was $9,000.00." - (added to National Register of Historic Places, 1976) National Register of Historic Places application
Weiser about 1909
Weiser Depot about 1909"Constructed in 1906, the 1-1/2 story depot is composed of a concrete foundation, partial concrete basement, exterior brick walls with a pressed-brick veneer laid in a common bond, cast-stone trim, and an asphalt shingle roof. The depot is rectangular in plan measuring 98' x 26'. The design is based on standard plans drawn by the engineering department of the Oregon Short Line for the Weiser, Payette, Ontario (Oregon), and Caldwell depots. Each depot differs slightly in detailing and building materials. The design of the Weiser Depot is typical of a combination station, which served as both a freight and passenger station. . . Weiser was chosen again over Salubria as a depot site, and the OSL tracks reached the area on January 5, 1884. However, the first train disappointed Weiserites by stopping short of the town by about two miles (near the area now called Lower Crystal Springs). - National Register of Historic Places application
Wagon Bridge across the Snake River, about 1910
1915, Weiser Apple Orchard postcard (from waterarchives.org)
Landscape (with sheep) in Washington Co., pre-WWI (printed in Germany)
Weiser High School
Weiser Roundup

Links
Mann Creek, Idaho, by Bob Hoffman; includes family genealogy, plus info on other Mann Creek settlers
Weiser, Idaho, by Oregon Short Line Railroad, c. 1910, at archive.org
Weiser Museum
Washington County Historical Markers at hmdb.org
Washington Co. at genealogytrails
Washington Co., IDGenWeb
Washington Co. USGenweb Archives

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