The old Sandpoint High School has been a part of the community for 93 years. It is filled with memories of 31 years of graduations and the beginning of the famous Sandpoint Bulldogs.

The Spirit of Sandpoint High School

The founders of Sandpoint knew that a healthy community needed excellent public schools if it was to attract residents and businesses. The first school was established in 1886 and was moved from building to building including the depot and a saloon, In 1894 a one room schoolhouse was built by the Farmin family, founders of Sandpoint. By 1915 it was decided that city needed a modern high school, and planning began.

Sandpoint High School opened in 1922. Designed by Whitehouse & Price Architects of Spokane, the three-story building included a 525-seat auditorium and an indoor running track overlooking the full size basketball court. The classes at the new school included English, Math, Science, Social Studies and Home Economics. In 1954 Sandpoint Senior High became the Sandpoint Junior High School\Ninth Grade Center as new school was constructed to accommodate the growing number of students.

Sandpoint residents showed their school spirit by supporting the football program that was started shortly after the school opened. At first the team dressed in red and white was called the Sandpoint High School Football team. During a practice in 1932 an old, toothless, white bulldog named “Pat” from the neighborhood started coming to the field to watch the team play. The team adopted the dog as their official team mascot and the name “Sandpoint Bulldogs” was born. Jerry Kramer, an offensive lineman for the Green Bay Packers from 1958 to 1968 started his career as a Sandpoint Bulldog, graduating in 1954. Other notable graduates include humorist Patrick McManus, author of They Shoot Canoes, Don’t They?, and Marianne Love, author of Pocket Girdles and other Confessions of a Northwest Farm Girl, and her daily blog, Slight Detour.

During the 1970’s hundreds of students continued to walk the halls of this historical school, but the grand building was overcrowded and feeling its age. Plaster would rain down on students in the stairwells when they changed classes. The running track doors were chained for fear the track would crash down with the weight of everyone gathering there during lunch. Eventually in the 1980’s classes were moved to the Farmin Stidwell Middle School, the windows were boarded up and doors locked.

The old school was purchased by a private party in January 2000 and painstakingly remodeled to return her to her former glory. Today the old high school is home to several small businesses and the Sandpoint Events Center. The auditorium is available to rent for special meetings or events once again benefiting the community. Students, old and new, are welcome to roam the halls filled with memories of days gone by. The old Sandpoint High School lives on.

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The "Floating Village" near Bayview, Idaho has been part of the community's history since 1910. These homes are fully equipped for full time residents or vacationing families.

Float Homes of Bayview

The “Floating Village” at Bayview, Idaho has been a unique community for over 100 years. There are over 200 of the historical floating homes in Idaho with about 100 of them being in one central location of Scenic Bay on Lake Pend Oreille.

The float homes started appearing along the shoreline in the early 1900’s. The original homes were simple fishing shacks to shelter fishermen that came to the lake for the Kokanee salmon. The homes were connected to the shore by crude plank walkways. The shacks had been built on a deck covering large cedar logs that had been tied or chained together forming a type of raft. The homes could be moved from job site to job site along the lake.

As fishing, boating and vacationing on the lake became more popular, more float homes appeared in all of the marinas. Families would spend weekends and holidays on the lake in their homes. By the 1970s float homes had been built in all five marinas in the bay. Each home was unique from the others and no longer as mobile as in the past. Permanent docks stretched into the bay from shore and the float homes occupied boat slips along those docks. By 1991 due to environmental concerns the homes were required to be connected to the sewer system on shore creating a more permanent location.

New float homes are not allowed to be constructed. The last home that the state approved was in the 1970s. Home owners are allowed to remodel existing homes as long as they retain the original “footprint” meaning the existing flotation system of cedar logs. The homes could not be expanded in width, but a second story could be added. A few home owners realized the hard way that with a second story the home becomes unstable and could tip on its side. Several homes met this fate in January 2015 due to the heavy snowfall. Now plastic 55 gallon barrels called “totes” are put in a stainless steel cage and bolted to the logs under the home. This helps stabilize the home and supports extra weight.

Owning and living on a float home is not as cheap as it was in the early 1900s. Today, the home is considered personal property and the owner pays a personal property tax to the county like they would a car or motor home. The State of Idaho charges the marina about $250.00 for each float home on submerged land and that cost is handed down to the owner in the form of rent (moorage). This rent is determined by the square footage of the float home. The home owners were concerned that the marinas would unduly increase the rent to cover the state charges and make a profit. Another concern that arose was the threat of eviction in order to free up space for rental homes by the marinas. It is not an easy task to pack up and move a float home.

In 1995 the Floating Homes Association was founded to maintain moorage fees and prevent homes from being forcibly moved to a location with a lesser view. In 1998 Idaho passed the Floating Homes Residency Act (Title 55 Chapter 27) to protect the homes and owners from unfair moorage increases and evictions.

Setting aside the economic complications, waking up every morning to the sound of water lapping at your door and the ospreys welcoming the day would be truly awesome!

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When Farragut Naval Training Station was built near Bayview, Idaho in the 1940's, the soldiers were not the only new arrival. Idaho gained it's first submarine fleet that is still active today.

Idaho’s Submarine Fleet

During the middle of the night the small scale, unmanned sub glides through the cold, dark waters of Idaho’s deepest lake, Lake Pend Oreille. Idaho? Yes, for over 65 years the south end of the lake has been the premier testing ground for acoustic development of the Navy’s submarines. Many rumors have been sparked by the activity at the Naval Acoustic Research Detachment (ARD). “They are doing secret maneuvers in the middle of the night.” “They have a full-sized nuclear submarine there.” And my favorite: “They stirred up the ‘Paddler’!” (The monster that lives at the bottom of the lake).

The center was originally part of the Farragut Naval Training Station in 1942 just south of Bayview, Idaho. Soon after establishing the facility, the Navy found Lake Pend Oreille was the perfect testing area for acoustic related aspects of the submarines. The mission of the ARD is to help provide the Navy with a quiet running submarine at the least amount of money.

Lake Pend Oreille is 1,150 ft deep near the southern end. There is also a 4 mile wide channel running up the center near that area. The lake is 46 miles long. The steep tree-lined shoreline; the constant chilly temperature at 100 ft (39 F); the flat, muddy bottom; and little boating activity during the night makes this lake the perfect testing ground for acoustic (sound) studies on the vessels.

The center has a fleet of ¼ scale models: Dolly Varden, Kokanee, Pike, Whitefish, Steelhead. They also have two larger model subs: the Kokanee and the Cutthroat. These vessels are monitored during the tests by strategically placed hydrophones and recording devises on the lake bottom and shoreline. The data is gathered, analyzed and adjustments made where needed on the vessels. New concepts and ideas are tested here before being added to the fleet vessels.

The ARD has been an important part of the community of Bayview for many years. The mystery that surrounds the activities of the center adds to the local folklore and history. When you venture to the shores of Lake Pend Oreille near the southern end under the cover of dark to watch the “submarine races”, that may be literally what you see.

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The fire lookout started as a means of early detection of forest fires. Today its new role is as a week-end get-a-way.

Fire Lookouts – From Hermit’s Castles to Weekend Get-A-Ways
Fire lookouts once dotted maps of the American West. In 1905 President Theodore Roosevelt created the United States Forest Service (USFS) under the Department of Agriculture. The agency was responsible for protecting America’s forests. Forest managers quickly realized that the key to suppressing wildfires was to discover them while they were still small, and rangers were sent to the top of mountains to watch for smoke. The first lookouts were primitive, being a one man pup tent near a tall tree that was climbed to look for smoke. After the devastating fires of 1910 the Forest Service made early fire detection the priority. The Civil Conservation Corp (CCC) in the 1930s was responsible for the construction of more than 8,000 towers with panoramic views around the United States. This included 989 in Idaho, 639 in Montana and 656 in Washington. The high metal towers were discovered to attract lightning, and lookouts were fitted with grounding devices after a few lightning strikes resulted in the death of the spotters. The new model of towers changed the roles of the smoke spotters for the next 20 years. They now watched for smoke; mapped the location, size and other information of the fire using the Osborne fire finder, and reported the fire to headquarters via messenger, telephone line, or radio.

The life in a lookout was solitary and took a man or woman with a strong sense of humor. A spotter at the Squawman Lookout in northeast Washington once reported monkeys were throwing coconuts at the tower. A lookout on Timber Mountain on the Colville National Forest wrote a poem in 1948:
I like FS biscuits;
Think they’re mighty fine.
One rolled off the table
And killed a pal of mine.

I like FS coffee;
Think it’s mighty fine.
Good for cuts and bruises
Just like iodine.

I like FS corned beef;
It really is okay.
I fed it to the squirrels;
Funerals are today.

The need for fire lookouts declined during the 1940s with the arrival of air patrol and modern technology. During the 1960s and 1970s most towers were abandoned, and subsequently removed to restore wilderness values and to prevent vandalism. There are 17 lookout towers that remain standing in North Idaho, and only the Middle Sister Lookout tower in the Idaho Panhandle Forest of Shoshone County is still manned (with volunteers). However, the USFS has started a new program allowing people to rent a lookout for as little as $40.00 a day at www.recreation.gov. You may not have Wi-Fi or big screen television, but the views are breath-taking. Don’t forget your camera!

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Logging Companies used rivers and lakes to move logs from the logging camps to the mills. The brave men that guided the logs on the journey were called the River Pigs.

The River Pigs of Logging

The remote virgin forests of northern Idaho represented a fortune in timber--if it could be brought to market. In areas not immediately adjacent to a railroad, the fast-moving rivers offered an economical way to get timber to the sawmills. However, it was not as simple as it sounds. Logs would get stuck on rocks, lodge in bends in the river, or snag on the bottom. Untended, a single stuck log could quickly become a vast logjam, difficult to remove. The men who undertook the dangerous task of guiding the logs downstream were known as “river pigs.”

River Pigs had three roles: (1) the driver pushed, pried and pulled the logs off rocks and debris. (2) the rear (Sacking) crew searched for logs that were stuck along the way. And (3) the elite jam were in front of the flow of logs clearing any initial jams or obstacles. The tools of the trade for the river pig was a pair of sturdy cork boots with rows of spikes on the soles to help the driver to walk on the slippery logs, a 12 ft pole used to push logs, and a peavey. The peavey was a special tool consisting of a 30 inch to 50 inch handle with a metal spear on one end and a moveable hook slightly above the spear. It enabled the driver to grasp the log to move it downstream. The crews were ferried up and down the river by a large, flat bottom boat called a bateau, when they weren’t in the icy water directing logs.

A River Pig had to be remarkably sure-footed to move across the bobbing logs without falling in. Contemporaries often referred to River Pigs “waltzing” across the rolling logs in the white water. Their fancy footwork appeared graceful as they glided from one log to the next. It sounds dangerous and it was. One slip and a log driver could be drowned or crushed between a moving log and an immovable obstacle. But each day the brave men gracefully balanced on the moving timber insuring the progress to the mill. They were the key to a successful river drive.

North Idaho lumber companies utilized the creeks, rivers and lakes as modes of transport from 1900 to 1948. Timber was sometimes harvested in the winter when it could be skidded with oxen or steam donkeys across the ice and snow to the riverbanks. There it would be stacked waiting for spring run-off to sweep the logs downstream towards the mill. When multiple timber companies used the same drainage, the logs were either branded on the end or a mark was cut into the side allowing them to be sorted as they arrived downstream. Similar to cattle ranching on the open range, each company had its own unique mark that had to be registered through Idaho State.

The era of the River Pigs came to an end before 1950 with the depletion of timber, pending law suits from land owners over damages, and environmental concerns. The river of logs created flooding to nearby farmland and altered the course of the rivers. Several land owners and farmers filed law suits against the lumber companies for the damage done. As governmental offices became more aware of the environmental impact of the river logging and especially the splash dams, regulations and restrictions were put into place. The last log drive on Priest River was in 1949 and the last log drive in Idaho was on the Clearwater River in 1971. Logging techniques modernized with the invention of trucks, heavy equipment and helicopters and the River Pig became a part of history.

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Logging for white pine in north Idaho required a new transportation method to get the logs from the mountain to the mill. Flumes, chutes and splash dams were the solution.

FLUMES, CHUTES & SPLASH DAMS

The demand for white pine lumber on the east coast between 1860 and 1900 caused a depletion of the evergreen along the east coast and into the Midwest. The soft wood pine was a premium building material and the rush was on to find more. Several timber men from the Midwest learned of the vast forests of white pine in North Idaho and took action buying land and timber rights from the Northern Pacific Railroad and the state of Idaho. They started lumber companies and mills at several locations in North Idaho. Coeur d’ Alene became a focal point for many of the companies.

The easiest timber to reach was along the banks of the lakes and rivers. The logs were dumped into the water and a steamer or tug was used to move them to a mill site. Logs were stamped with a mark indicating what mill they were destined for or what timber sale area they were from. It did not take long to deplete these areas and the operations moved to the harder to access timber. A new way to transport the logs from the harvest area to the mill was needed. The solution was flumes, chutes and splash dams.

Flumes and chutes were similar in design and use. Both were a “V” shape wood structure that led from the logging area to the loading area. The “V” shape took less wood and maintenance than the traditional box shape. The loading platform was either at the head of a railroad spur built up the valleys or a major waterway where steamers and tugs could move the logs to the mill. Flumes contained a water source and chutes relied on gravity and friction. Now and then the chutes would be greased to aid the log’s movement.

Splash Dams were another source to move logs down the mountains especially during low water seasons. A wooden dam was built across a creek so a reservoir would form. Logs were dumped in the water above the dam. The gates of the dam were opened a wall of water and logs crashed down the stream bed to the loading area. Many logs were damaged in this process and in later years the splash dams created an environmental problem by stopping the migration of local fish to breeding areas so they were removed or blown up.

During the early 1900’s there were more than 150 flumes and chutes in the Coeur d’ Alene National Forest and St Joe area. The combination of the crash of the lumber industry in the 1930’s, depletion of large stands of white fir and modernization of logging practices brought an end to the flume, chute and splash dam systems. But their history has been preserved in old photographs and even in the log flume amusement rides in our theme parks.

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Limestone is one of the popular mining products of the Lakeview and Bayview area. The limestone was cooked in kilns in Bayview to start the process of turning it into concrete.

Cooking Lime in Bayview, Idaho

Concrete is a key component to the building of America. But did you know concrete started in an oven with the burning of limestone? Some of these ovens or kilns can be found in the small lakeside community of Bayview, Idaho.

The first claim for limestone was located in 1881 near Lakeview and soon followed by 8 more during the next two months. The limestone created by remains of fossil invertebrates of the Cambrian Sea 550 million years ago was plentiful in the hills above Lake Pend Oreille.

The Gray brothers were among the first to discover the limestone quarries and formed the Cannon & Gray Lime Company in 1891 that operated north of Lakeview. They made crude kilns lined with stones and dug into the hillside with rock walls forming truncated cones.

By the early 1900s two companies from Spokane had consolidated most of the individual mining claims and formed two rival businesses. The International Portland Cement Company, built a plant, “The Cement,” in 1912 just north of Lakeview to crush the limestone before shipping it to Bayview and the kilns on the banks of Lake Pend Oreille. In 1921 they built another plant, “The Portrock,” just south of Lakeview. Both plants employed about 100 local men from the surrounding area. The Washington Brick and Lime Company of Spokane operated a plant near Bayview. Mining for limestone became a lucrative enterprise for the Spokane based companies.

Barges of loaded railroad cars were pushed by steamers to the docks in Bayview. From there the crushed rock was loaded into the kilns for processing. The men would alternate layers of wood and layers of limestone in the kiln. The wood was set on fire and the kiln door closed. The crushed limestone rock heated at about 1,000 degrees would chemically alter into Calcium Oxide. After cooling the reduced lime was raked out and shipped to Spokane by railroad for further processing and eventually turned into cement.

The 1930’s brought an end to the cement plants and lime kilns in the Bayview and Lakeview areas. A combination of a lack of market for agricultural lime, a change in the quality of the limestone from Lakeview, the lack of financial resources to improve plants and the onset of the Great Depression made the cost of lime production too expensive for the small companies. So the plants and kilns were abandoned.

Today the foundation of the cement plants and vacant kilns are a reminder to a once lucrative business in the mining history of North Idaho.

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The two mile long bridge spanning the mouth of the Pend Oreille River leads to Sandpoint on the north end. Today's bridge, as the 3 previous ones, offers panoramic views of the river, lake and mountains and is a key access point for people living south of the town.

The Long Bridges

Sometime around 1900, Tom Craig’s 2 ½ year old son accidently chopped his toe off. The family lived south of the Pend Oreille River and the only ways for the panicked father to get to the doctor in Sandpoint was by ferry, rowboat or the train trestle. Tom started running with his son across the trestle but had to jump to the side on a water barrel platform when a train approached. The train slowed, and Tom jumped on and rode into Sandpoint, where his son received treatment. This event highlighted the need to build a bridge to link communities on both sides of the river. Encouraged by farmer on the south side of the river, the Kootenai County commissioners began to plan for new bridge.

On December 1909 contractors Donovon & Pearson drove the last nail into the 10,360 foot wooden bridge built. Some claim that it was the longest wooden bridge in the world at that time. The Wagon Bridge, as it was called, had a drawbridge to allow steamboats to pass through and used one million board feet of local timber. The sturdy bridge was well used for 23 years but by 1930 the wood decking started falling and cars had to dodge the holes while crossing the bridge.

A second bridge built just downstream of the first was also constructed of wood. By this time the steamboat trade on Lake Pend Oreille had dwindled so there was no need for a drawbridge. Construction began in 1934, at the height of the Great Depression, and the project created employment for members of about 750 families in the area that needed assistance. Men were hired to log the timber, haul it to the mills, cut the lumber and build the bridge. Idaho governor C. Ben Ross visited Sandpoint in March 1934 for the dedication ceremony.

Idaho winters are hard on a wooden bridge, and by 1956 a replacement was needed. A new steel and concrete structure was constructed to the east of the second bridge and had a northern entrance in Sandpoint near the NPRR tracks and away from First Avenue. This change was unsettling to residents until they realized the highway would still pass through downtown Sandpoint. The cost, almost $12 million dollars,, was quite an increase from the $20,000 cost of the first bridge.

The fourth bridge--so far--was built in 1981. The third bridge was left as a walking and biking route. The Idaho Transportation Department completed a by-pass removing Highway 95 from downtown Sandpoint. Today Long Bridge fulfills its original function as the primary access point into Sandpoint from the south. It connects the rural communities and farms to the city and gives everyone breathtaking views of the lake, river and mountains that North Idaho is famous for.

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The Sandpoint City Beach was originally the meeting place for the Kalispel Indian Tribe. The residents of the newly developed city of Sandpoint improved the area that became the city beach.

Sandpoint’s Qapquape
Long before the Europeans invaded north Idaho, the semi nomadic hunting/digging/fishing Kalispel Tribe made the shores of Lake Pend Oreille their home. These “Canoe People” or “Lake Paddlers,” as they were called by neighboring tribes, established several special camps and meeting areas in Bonner County. One was the meadows at the mouth of the Clark Fork River (Nacemci) and another was the Qapquape or sandy place near the mouth of Sand Creek. Pow wows and gatherings were held in Clark fork until the 1950’s. However, the Sand Creek meeting place was not used after the 1930’s partially because of the recent arrival of Europeans.

Settlers started moving to the land around the mouth of Sand Creek in the 1890’s. Some sources indicate Sand Point (now Sandpoint) was named by David Thompson, a fur trader, when he passed through the area about 1809. But the name could have also been an adaptation of Qapquape. The town leaders realized this sandy point would be an ideal place to build a city beach and park to draw in tourists. The planning of this new beach started in 1915. The Northern Pacific Railroad leased the land to Sandpoint for the use of a public park in 1922. The plan was not set in motion until 1939 when Franklin D Roosevelt approved the request to have WPA (Works Progress Administration) fund the beach project for $61,949. Dredging equipment was brought in to move sand from the lake bottom to the beach site to raise the land above the high water mark. The fight began! In the fall the equipment moved the sand to the beach and in the spring the lake reclaimed the sand. It wasn’t until the 1950’s when the Cabinet Gorge and Albeni Falls dames were built and the beach flooding issue was solved.

From 1959 to present the local chapter of the Lions Club and the city of Sandpoint have improved the area with playground equipment, tennis courts, a beach club house and many other features. Today the 18 acre park hosts dances, art & craft fairs and the 4th of July fireworks. The one event still missing from the beach is the Kalispel Indian pow wows.

Lake Pend Oreille offers a variety of recreational activities including boating, swimming and fishing for the Kamloop trout and the Kokanee salmon. Much of that activity is focused in or around the city beach. The Sandpoint city beach has become the tourist destination that the early town leaders envisioned.

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Lakeview, Idaho was once a thriving mining town with a population of over 1,000 in 1890. Within 40 years the town became an isolated community of about 20 people.

Lakeview: Mining Camp to Vacation Home

The residents of the small community of Lakeview, Idaho lead a quiet life. The 10 to 20 families that make this area their vacation or permanent homes tend to use four-wheeler ATVs for local transportation. There are no stores, bars, schools or hotels in this isolated town. Mail and some supplies are delivered by boat – as it has been since the beginning. But life has not always been so carefree and quiet here.

The first nearby silver deposit was located in 1881 by Willuiam Bell, and the rush was on in search of silver, gold, lead and zinc. Over 20 claims and mines were located within 10 miles of Lakeview in a short time. By 1890 Lakeview’s population grew to at least 1,000 partially due to a false story run in San Francisco claiming gold was found near Lakeview. Seventeen saloons, a general store, the Lakeview Hotel, a post office and a log school house sprung up along Main Street by 1895. The town of Lakeview was platted by five mining men with hopes it would grow in the future.

Miners soon realized there was no gold to be find in the hills and a profit could not be made on the ore that was shipped by barge and tug boat across the bay to be processed at Bayview. They moved on to new rushes and the population dropped to 150 1903. In 1912 the Venzuwela and Swastika Mines began operation in the Chloride Gulch area. The Swastika Mining Company built the Swastika Hotel in hopes it would become a destination resort hotel. It failed to turn a profit and was closed in 1930. Lakeview continued to rely on the mining in the area when limestone was discovered in the immediate area. The International Portland Cement Company opened two cement plants near Lakeview and continued business until the market fell in the 1930s.

By 1950 businesses closed and the population of Lakeview dropped to 21. During the 1970s and 1980s professors from the Washington State College (Washington State University) and University of Idaho discovered Lakeview as a fishing destination. They established vacation homes and enjoyed summer breaks on the shores of the lake.

Today Lakeview is a peaceful, isolated community of a few year round residents and several summer homes. There are three methods to access this town: by boat, by a Forest Service Road over the High Drive area from Clark Fork (2 to 4 hour drive) or by Forest Service Road up the Bunco Road (a one hour drive) from Silverwood. Both Forest Service Roads are closed during the winter months limiting the access via AV or snowmobile only. If a traveler would seek to find an isolated, quiet area with breath-taking views, Lakeview is a must see destination. Surprisingly there is some cell service!

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On the side of the hill along US95 at Cocolalla Flats sits the iconic Valley Vista Ranch's big red barn. This barn has watched over the valley since 1949.

THE VALLEY VISTA RANCH BARN

Nestled on a slope between the hillside and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad tracks at Cocolalla Flats is the large Valley Vista Ranch barn. This 65-year-old barn has been a local landmark since its construction.

Charles and Marian Mase relocated from Montana to the Cocolalla area in the early 1900’s. Mase was an engineer by trade and quickly found work running the trains at the ice house on Cocolalla Lake. In 1909 he filed for a homestead on some property near Cocolalla. The ice harvesting business ended in the late 1920’s with the invention of the refrigerator. Mase resorted to farming and in 1929 purchased the property where the barn now sits.

Charles and his two sons, William and Frank, became accomplished barn builders for the area. However, the Valley Vista Ranch barn was not erected until ten years after the death of Charles in 1939.

After the death of their father, William, his wife and his brother, Frank, continued to live on the land in Cocolalla Valley as dairy farmers. Early 1949 in between farm duties they cut trees from the property and hauled the logs to a field near the railroad tracks. A man that operated a portable sawmill was hired to cut 78,000 board feet of lumber from those trees. The boards were stacked to dry and a neighbor hauled the lumber to Coeur d’Alene for planing. The Mase brothers started construction in the spring of 1949 and the barn was completed by late summer. The 32 x 120 foot barn is long and narrow with a gambrel roof and flaring eaves. The loft is large enough to store 250 tons of loose hay.

Though the ranch was sold in the 1980’s, the new property owners have kept the the barn in it’s original style. In March 2010 the Federal Highway Administration and Idaho Transportation Department planned upgrades on US 95 through the corridor from Chilco to Sagle. There was a possibility that the Valley Vista Ranch would be affected. An Environmental Impact Statement was completed and on June 30, 2010 the decision was made to use a route that will avoid the Valley Vista barn, Cocolalla school and Bond farm that are all considered part of our history.

Today the large red with white trim barn sits proudly on the hill overlooking Cocolalla Flats and the valley beyond.

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Cocolalla Lake was once an ice farm producing 200 pound blocks of ice that were in high demand by the Northern Pacific Railroad.

Ice Harvesting on Cocolalla Lake

Driving past Cocolalla Lake in North Idaho during the winter, the traveler will see several fishermen huddled over a hole in the ice fishing. There is no indication that this popular lake was once a famous ice producing area in the early 1900’s. Before the convenience of freezers and bags of ice at every store, ice was a natural product, harvested from winter lakes and transported all over the world.

Cocolalla Ice & Fuel Company owned by E. J. Bower was located at the southeast section of Cocolalla Lake. The business incorporated in 1903 and ran until 1929 when it was replaced by the development of the mechanical ice maker. By 1921 it was the largest ice company west of the Mississippi River.

Harvesting ice from the lake was not an easy task. Teams of horses would drag a scraper to clean the fresh snow off the ice to produce the favored “blue ice” (ice with little or snow on its surface). More teams of horses would pull a “marker” that cut the ice 1” deep creating an indentation for a plow that would cut the ice 5” to 6” deeper. Once the large chunks of ice were free, the horse teams pulled them to the water box where a worker used a needle bar to break the cakes into smaller blocks of 100 to 200 pounds. The blocks were moved by a conveyor belt from the bank to the ice house and loaded onto the waiting refrigeration cars of the Northern Pacific Railroad.

Cocolalla Ice & Fuel Company’s ice plant employed 300 men and used 60 horses during the season. The plant held two bunk house, a barn, a blacksmith building and the 700’ long x 20’ high ice house that held 32,000 tons of ice. Sawdust from local sawmills proved to be a great insulator, and protected the ice over the warmer months.

Lake ice and the railroads revolutionized American agriculture and economy by creating a transportation system to move fresh fruit and vegetables from regional areas throughout the nation quickly and inexpensively. It wasn’t until the 1950’s when mechanical refrigeration cars replaced the ice filled cars.

Today nothing remains of this once large ice factory on the bank of Cocolalla Lake. The company and the traditions of cutting ice have become past history in many communities in the Pacific Northwest.

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The Northern Steamboat was a 102 foot propeller driven double decker steamer that plied the waters of Lake Pend Oreille from 1908 until 1930 when it was destroyed by fire.

The Northern Steamer of Lake Pend Oreille

All aboard! The well-dressed group of Sandpoint socialites gathered their box lunches and ventured onto the open decks of the impressive steamer, The Northern. Today’s excursion will be a picnic lunch at one of the small communities along the eastern shores of Lake Pend Oreille. Normally the vessel made a daily trip from Sandpoint located at the northern tip of Lake Pend Oreille to Bayview at the southern tip of the lake. Many dignitaries enjoyed the views across the large lake from the spacious decks. But none were as famous as the unexpected visitor, President Theodore Roosevelt, in early April 1911.

Roosevelt had stopped to spend the day in Sandpoint. After speaking to a group at the Central School and having lunch at a local restaurant, the president was escorted to the Sandpoint city dock for a tour of Lake Pend Oreille via a steamboat.

The Northern was one of the over 100 steamboats that plied the waters of Lake Pend Oreille between 1866 and 1930. The 102’ screw propelled steamboat was built in Sandpoint by the Northern Navigation Company at the present day site of the Sandpoint City Beach in 1908. It was a double deck vessel that housed a ballroom for dancing and live entertainment, an orthophonic (electric powered) phonograph, and seating on the stern for picnics.

While The Northern excelled in entertainment and excursions around the lake, it’s primary role was transportation of mail and freight. The Northern Navigation Company was awarded the U.S. mail contract between Sandpoint, Hope and Bayview. During the early 1900’s the only mode of transportation to many of the communities was by water. Stops were made for mail and freight at Lakeview, Granite Creek, Bayview, Midas (now Garfield Bay), Glengary and Hope.

The Northern’s 20 year reign on Lake Pend Oreille came to an abrupt end on Saturday, November 12, 1927due to a fire. The fire department responded but by the time the pressure pump could be started the vessel was a total loss. No other steamboat was able to fill the void left by The Northern. The arrival of the automobile, roads and trains created a cheaper and faster way to move people and freight causing the decline of the use of the steamboats. Today the mail is still delivered by the U.S. Postal Service to the east side of the lake by Scott Bjergo in his 22’ Duckworth boat.

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The 110 year old large, white house at the corner of First Avenue and US95 in Sandpoint has been known as the McFarland House for decades. But the house was actually built by Ignatz Weil, a businessman who took control of the land from an estate.

The McFarland House

The three story white house at the corner of First Avenue and US 95 has proudly welcomed travelers into Sandpoint since early 1900. This landmark known as the McFarland House is one of the oldest buildings left in Sandpoint and one of the few that has been owned by only two families in its 110 year existence.

The land occupied by the home was originally own by Jack Waters, a single rancher that arrived in 1881 with the construction of the Northern Pacific railroad. He staked a claim of 160 acres in the southeast section of present day Sandpoint where he cut hay on the banks of the Pend Oreille River and Sand Creek. His house and farm buildings were located at the site of the McFarland House. A small community of ranch hands sprung up around the Water’s claim. It was referred to as Whistletown because the trains headed onto the trestle that crossed the river would stop and blow their whistles prior to crossing the bridge.

Waters lived on this property until he was accidently shot in the arm while walking by the Williams & Long slaughterhouse. He was transported to Spokane to have the arm amputated and died in that city on April 29, 1892.

Ignatz Weil, a local businessman, became the executor of the Waters estate and took possession of the property for services rendered. Weil later filed a homestead patent on the property in 1901 which later became the Weil Addition to Sandpoint. The North Idaho News dated January 29, 1904, reports that Weil was to have a “Fine residence” built on the hill near his current home during the summer months. The new home for his beloved wife, Irene, was completed during the summer of 1905.

In 1929 Weil became a victim of the stock market crash and lost the residence and property. Leroy D. (L. D.) McFarland purchased the home from the Bonner County National Bank shortly afterwards. McFarland owned and operated the McFarland Pole Company (McFarland Cascade) specializing in cedar poles until he passed the legacy to his son, Robert. The house has remained under the ownership of the McFarland companies and has been a rental property for many years.

The 5,575 sq ft home consisting of two stories, an attic, and a basement has been occupied by the McFarland Pole yard office, a dentist, a florist, an attorney, a bed and breakfast, a title company, a catering service and finally a private family. The building was restored in 2007; however, very few alterations were made from the original structure. Throughout the years a garage and paved driveway were added, the house was repainted and the screens of the sun rooms were replaced by glass windows.

The McFarland House continues to welcome visitors at the entrance to the south end of Sandpoint. It remains one of the oldest structures in town.

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During 1890 to 1892 several Italian men came to the Priest River area to work on the Great Northern Railroad. Shortly after arriving they found the area just east of Priest River was ideal for farming. The men sent for their wives, families and brides from Italy and started what is known as the Italian Settlement.

The Italian Settlement – Unique Community near Priest River

Come to America to work on the railroad! The call went out to several foreign countries by the Northern Pacific Railroad and the Great Northern Railroad in the late 1890's. Many jumped at the chance to follow their dreams – the American Dream. Men from southern Italy took up the call to work on the Great Northern Railroad. A small group of men temporarily left their wives and families in Grimaldi, Italy to seek their fortune in northern Idaho arriving between 1880 and 1891. They worked as “gandy dancers” making railroad ties and laying track until 1892 when the Great Northern Railroad track through this Bonner County was completed.

The valley east of Priest River reminded some of the men of their homes in Italy and they decided to settle here. The open land provided an ideal setting for small farms, growing hay and raising livestock. The men also found work in the timber industry – logging, mill work and river pigs. Several homesteaded land east of Priest River and it soon became known as the Italian Settlement which was shorted to The Settlement.

Married men sent for their wives and single men sent for brides. The six Naccarato brothers, some of the first to arrive in the area, would build a cabin each year for one of the brothers. Once the home was completed, the owner would send to Italy for his wife and children.

By 1900 the community grew with over 50 families living in the area. The community was close net, keeping the old traditions and language alive within its borders. Some of those traditions were growing plentiful gardens, raising pigs, making Italian sausage, and the craft of butchering. Charlie Naccarato built a big earthen oven where his wife, Marie Theresa, baked bread as she did in Italy. The community shared the use of this oven in the early 1900’s.

The families built a school and church to bring the community together for school functions, weddings and picnics. While Italian was frequently spoken in the homes, the schools taught in English. The school was consolidated with Priest River in 1939 and in 1951 St Anthony’s Mission Church was consolidated with the Catholic Church in Priest River. The church was torn down that year; however, the school is still used as a community center and is the host of the annual picnics in August.

Like many of the small, rural communities, the Italian Settlement has slowly disappeared from its heyday. Farming and ranching was no longer profitable so families found work in other careers. Children grew up and moved away, land and homesteads were sold, and elders passed away. The Evergreen Cemetery stands in testament of the hundreds of hearty families that once made the settlement their home. Today rural homes are spread out over the community, but few are owned by the original descendants and little farming is done. The Italian Settlement will remain a part of the county history and a reminder of the ethnic diversity of Bonner County.

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Senacquoteen (Crossing the River) was a popular camping site and crossing for the Kalispel and Kootenai Indians. When homesteaders moved into the area, it became an important ferry crossing and the county seat.

Seneacquoteen – The Lost County Seat for Kootenai County

Seneacquoteen is a farming community on the Pend Oreille River with a unique history including being one of the first European settlements in North Idaho in the late 1800’s. However the actual occupation of this area occurred thousands of years before the arrival of the white immigrants. Members of several Salish tribes such as the Kootenai and Kalispel occupied a seasonal camping ground on the shores of the river for thousands of years. Sin-yak-wa-teen and its various alternative spellings meant “crossing of the river”. The meadows offered camas, the river provided fish and the surrounding woods were teaming with wildlife to sustain the American Indian population.

David Thompson, a fur trader and explorer, camped at Seneacquoteen on November, 13, 1811. He was followed by Major John Owen, a fur trader, in 1855; the boundary commission, surveyors in 1859; an American surveyor team in 1860; and a British surveying team in 1861. The American survey team established a supply depot at the site that would in 1863 be a ferry landing of Thomas Forde. Forde made a profitable living in the ferry business in 1864 when the gold rush to the Wild Horse country of British Columbia began. Many a miner would cross the river at Seneacquoteen and follow the Lake Indian Road along the river and north through Bonners Ferry and into British Columbia.

Seneacquoteen grew to a bustling community from 1864 to 1866. Indians continued to camp in the meadows and along the shoreline. Miners and supply trains passed through on their way to the gold fields. On December 22, 1864, the settlement became the first official county seat for the newly formed Kootenai County. In 1865, the first steamboat, the Mary Moody, to ply the waters of Lake Pend Oreille was built at the popular river crossing. By the end of 1866 Seneacquoteen consisted of 2 stores, 2 saloons and a hotel.

The year of 1881 brought the decline of this little community. The required 50 registered voters were not present so the county seat was moved to Rathdrum. The gold rush declined creating less traffic from miners and suppliers. The natives still frequented the seasonal campground; however, their numbers were also decreasing. In 1880 the Northern Pacific Railroad construction crews camped near Seneacquoteen. When construction of the railroad was complete, it had bypassed the small community taking away valuable business. The ferry continued to serve the local farmers until 1957.

Today all that is left of this early settlement is a quiet community cemetery, the remains of the ferry landing and an old rail fence. But the memories will endure.

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The Cedar Street Bridge is the home of a mall of unique shops. This structure was the result of Scott Glickenhaus's dream to save the auto bridge and fashion it after the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy.

The charming boutique shopping mall known as Cedar Street Bridge is just the most recent in a series of historic crossing here. The city of Sandpoint and the Northern Pacific Railroad depot have been separated by the waters of Sand Creek since the station was constructed in 1884. The history of the bridges at this location are a view into the changing transportation needs of this northern Idaho community.

The original bridge at Cedar Street was a low foot bridge consisting of stacked logs and decking. The first mention of a bridge was in the memoirs of Mrs. L. D. Farmin of the foot bridge that was destroyed after the winter of 1893 spring runoff. Their son took advantage of the situation by using a small rowboat as a water taxi. The Kootenai Hearld newspaper (September 22, 1894) reported Baldwin & Sadler, bridge contractors from Sandpoint, were to build a bridge across Sand Creek (Mill Creek) high enough to avoid flooding. Work began in November 1895.

In 1903 Farmin offered to sell the bridge to the Village of Sandpoint trustees. They declined stating the price exceeded the value of the bridge. So he paid the $1,598 required by A. P. Gillies of Missoula, MT to build a new bridge which was completed in 1906. Prior to the completion of the bridge Farmin and the village trustees came to an agreement and an 80 foot piece of land spanning the creek was deeded to the city for $400.

A new bridge was constructed in 1933 allowing automobiles to access the train depot. This upgraded structure was well used until 1971. At that time the Bridge Street Bridge located 800 feet to the south was modified to re-direct some of the heavy traffic from Cedar Street Bridge and allow easier access to the new city beach. A large part of the “heavy traffic” was teenagers “cruising the beach”, a popular pastime of driving around town and circling the beach using the bridge.

In 1971 the Cedar Street Bridge was blocked to all traffic because the structure was not safe. By April 1980 the city flagged it as condemned. Scott Glickenhaus, a local businessman, leased the condemned bridge from city for $1 a year. He completely replaced the Cedar Street Bridge with his version of the “Ponte Vecchio” covered bridge in Italy. Glickenhaus used huge tamarack timbers in a post and beam fashion for the frame work. An outside walking path continued to connect the west and east banks of Sand Creek.

The Cedar Street Mall Bridge spans 400 feet across Sand Creek from the intersection of First Avenue and Cedar Street to the base of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad depot. Tourists gather to explore the unique shops featured in this mall.

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Cabinet Landing on the banks of the Clark Fork River was a rough construction camp for the Northern Pacific Railroad. This tent city of over 3,000 people became a ghost town over night when the construction moved up the line.

Many small communities sprung up along of the Northern Pacific Railroad as the tracks were laid down in 1882 only to become ghost towns a few years later. Cabinet Landing is one such vanished town.

Cabinet Landing began as a steamboat landing at the base of the Cabinet Rapids on the Clark Fork River. During the gold rush in the Wild Horse country of British Columbia in 1866, miners arrived at Pend d’ Oreille City at the southern tip of Lake Pend Oreille where they boarded the Mary Moody steamer for a cruise up the lake and ascending the Clark Fork River to this steamboat landing. At Cabinet Landing the miners would walk around the rapids and catch a steamboat to continue the journey north to the gold fields.

Prior to the arrival of the miners French Canadian trappers passed through the area and according to legends gave Cabinet Gorge its name because it resembled kitchen cabinets. An archeological survey completed in 1985 found evidence that the meadows and river bank at this location were a popular hunting and fishing location for Native American tribes as far back as 6700 BC.

During the 1860’s gold rush to Canada, Cabinet Landing consisted of two houses, a large shed for mules and horses, and a saw mill. With the arrival of the railroad construction, the community exploded into a large settlement. Per the Weekly Missoulian , dated May 19, 1882, the settlement was the center of the railroad construction and was comprised of 6 stores for white men, 3 stores for the Chinese, 2 Chinese laundries and wash houses, 6 eating places, 2 lodging houses and between 16 to 20 saloons. The population grew almost overnight to approximately 4,000 people. Tents and shacks lined the hillside. Shortly the saloon houses grew to 33 and the town became wild and wooly. A satellite community grew up on the opposite side of the river to houses the supervisors, elites and their families in a calmer, cleaner camp. The railroad brought in Chinese and Japanese workers from their home countries to work as laborers for the company. By early June Cabinet Landing housed 2,600 Chinese laborers, 1,400 white laborers and 535 horses.

This boom was brief, and as railroad construction work moved on the community declined. By 1910 the Idaho State Gazeteer reported a population of 100. By 1916 the population had dropped to 75.

In 1951 the Morrison Knudsen Corporation started construction on the $47 million concrete gravity-arch hydroelectric dam at Cabinet Gorge on the Clark Fork River above the site of Cabinet Landing. The 208 ft high 600 ft long dam was complete in November 1952.

The community of Cabinet became a small rural community with a post office and school until the 1950’s. The school at Cabinet closed in 1952 and the post office closed in 1954. A fish hatchery, a cemetery and several rural homes are all that remain of this once bustling community.

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All aboard! Men and woman have gathered at the Gothic style Sandpoint train station since its opening in 1916 to greet friends or family and to travel to other destinations.

BURLINGTON NORTHERN STATION

In 1882 the Northern Pacific Railroad rumbled to a stop in Sandpoint, Idaho. The arrival opened a trade route for timber from North Idaho to the east coast and freight to the west coast. Passengers arrived and small communities sprung up along the tracks. The railroad was a driving force behind the settling of North Idaho.

The original station sufficiently handled the needs of the growing community. The wood frame combination freight house and passenger depot was built on the east side of the tracks between the railroad grade and Pend Oreille Lake. Sandpoint had sprung up along both sides of the Northern Pacific tracks. The town was built from the plentiful timber supplies of North Idaho, and it burned to the ground in 1892, again in 1894 and yet again in 1900. In each fire, many of the businesses were destroyed. By 1914 the majority of the town moved to the west side of Sand Creek leaving only the depot, a few businesses and the “Restricted District” or Red Light area on the east side of the creek. The depot was moved to the west side of the railroad tracks at the base of Cedar Street Bridge.

In 1915 a prosperous and growing Sandpoint decided a fancier depot was needed, so as to impress arriving travelers. Rounds Construction Company of Seattle disnged the current o ne-story brick building, the only gothic-style railroad depot in Idaho. The brick gables at the ends of the roof are accented by arched, pointed windows and topped with stone spheres. The dormers and bay window are off center, adding to the character of the building. The depot contained a waiting room, ladies restroom, a smoking compartment for men and several offices. The outside was lighted by cluster lights and 8 posts with large candle power along the brick platform.

The construction company used 70,000 “common” bricks from the Anderson Brick Company west of Sandpoint and 1,200 bags of Lakeview cement, 16,000 “facing’ bricks and the deep red roofing tile from Spokane. The interior featured white enameled brick, heavy oak timber and terrazzo flooring. The wood plank platforms were replaced by Lakeview cement.

According to the Pend Oreille Review November 10, 1916, the new depot opened for business without furniture that had not arrived.

The depot has served the community for a century and is the last standing structure of the original town of Sandpoint. With the Sand Creek Bypass, Amtrak felt the depot would be compromised and considered abandoning this depot and building a new one outside of town. Instead, Amtrak and Idaho Transportation Department reached an agreement to refurbish the depot and keep it open. The depot was restored in 2014 and reopened on May 29, 2015. The Amtrak’s Empire Builder passenger train stops daily at the Sandpoint depot at 11:49pm, departing at 2:37 am. The building is not open to the public; however, a covered platform is provided for passengers.

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A typical day for a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse was not easy to define. They were challenged to teach grades 1 - 8 in the same class room. Teachers taught all subjects and learned quickly about Murphy's Law. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

How does a young, single woman prepare herself to teach in a one room, country school house? When this question was asked of Nellie F. Ramsey Garrison, an 86 year old retired teacher of Bonner County schools, she smiled, laughed and said there is no amount of training that can prepare you for the unexpected things that can go wrong.

Nellie was 22 when she started teaching in Bonner County. She had attended Eastern Washington College of Education for a little more than a year when she was contacted by the local school district in Bonner County. The school year was to and there were several schools without teachers. Nellie soon found herself at the Morton School where she would teach from 1949 until 1952 when the school was consolidated with Sandpoint and closed.

The original Morton school (also known as Fern School) was built around 1905 land donated by James Campbell. The white wood frame school house with a bell tower was the social center for the community from 1910 to 1930. In 1925 a new two story cinder brick school was built, with the main classroom on the second floor and a ground floor large enough to play basketball, hold dances and host programs on a little stage.

The new Morton school also had a bell tower with a bell. However Nellie found that a hand bell would get the attention of the students just as well. The building had two rooms that were set aside for bathrooms, but no running water. One of the students would bring water to the school every other day on the family tractor and the students used two outhouses on the back of the property. This worked well until one summer when squirrels filled both outhouses to the brim with pine cones forcing Nellie to contact the Central Office to have them cleaned before they could be used.

Deep Idaho snows made getting to school in the winter a challenge. When there were too many snow days, bored students called their teacher to beg her to open school. During a Christmas Program one year the power went out. Several of the men shoveled the snow away from the windows, pulled their trucks up engines running and lights shining brightly. The Christmas Program was a success!

Miss Ramsey was required to teach all subjects. She was thankful that there were plenty of good books to use. In place of a PE Class the group would take nature walks up the mountain behind the school during the afternoons. There was never a dull moment at the old Morton school.

The school was sold in the mid 1970’s to the Rochioli family and was rented out to several other families. In January 1987 the renters were out of town and a fire started in the wall. The cinder block structure reacted like a furnace and because there was no local fire district, the old school house burned to the ground.

Nellie’s teaching career expanded 33 years. After that first class of 7 students, she taught their children and grandchildren before retiring as the Language Arts (English) teach for the 8th grade classes in Sandpoint. But nothing brings the quick twinkle in her eye and smile to her face like remembering the good old days of the Morton school.

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