Washington County
History
Washington County
History
Washington County was officially created on February 20, 1879. It was created from Boise County and contained all the area now included in both Adams and Washington counties. The county seat of Washington County is Weiser. When the county was established the Boise `Idaho Democrat' had this to say. "Throughout all it's wide borders there was neither Negro, Indian, Chinaman, doctor, lawyer, preacher or prostitute." The following summer of 1880 saw much immigration to the fertile valley west of Weiser. In 1881 Weiser began to grow at a rapid rate as it became known the railroad would be coming. The first court house was built in 1881 and the first one room school was built the same year.
Washington County now contains the small towns of Weiser, Midvale and Cambridge. It is predominately a farming area and is known for onions and sugar beets. Weiser is the home of the National Old Time Fiddlers Contest. Cambridge is the jumping off point for a spectacular trip to Hells Canyon on the Snake River.
THE 'HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY' WAS WRITTEN BY JUDGE FRANK HARRIS AND WAS A SERIAL IN THE WEISER SIGNAL-AMERICAN NEWSPAPER IN THE 1940'S. PERMISSION TO PUBLISH THIS ON MY WEB SITE WAS REQUESTED OF AND GRANTED BY THE WEISER SIGNAL-AMERICAN.
BIOGRAPHY - Names mentioned. Jeffreys, Hanthorn, Durbin, Ottman, Smith, Gray, York, Oaks.
Chapter 1 - Names mentioned. Allison, Gray, Brayman, Spoor, Haven, Jeffreys, Hunt, Ruth.
Chapter 2 - Names mentioned. Johnson, Jeffreys, Gray, Hart, Denney, Underwood, Wade, Mickey, Cuddy, McKenney, Dickerson, Smith, Allison, Haas, Williams, Galloway.
Chapter 3 - Names mentioned. Strahorn, Pence.
Chapter 4 - Names mentioned. Bakel, Basil, Brassfield, Cox, Deterle, Gray, Jeffries, Porter, Slade, Thompson.
Chapter 5 - Names mentioned. Barton, Coakley, Eoff, Glenn, Gorrie, Hubbard, Jewett, Kaufman, Kurkheimer, Lockwood, McCully, McGregor, Mitchell, Morehead, Perrault, Raum, Reavis, Shannon, Sommercamp, Stein, Townley, Watkins, Watlington
Chapter 6 - Names mentioned. Allen, Lewis, Kleinschmidt, Hauser, Hoiter,Whitcomb, Walker, Lockwood, Ruth, Summer, Weston, Shaw, Ford, David.
Chapter 7 - Names mentioned. Ford, Barton, Weston,Ruth, Heath, Grayson,Houlahan, Eckles, Anderson, James, Peck, Ottenheimer, Segoin, Boggs, Landy, Broderick, Huston, Darby, Duffy, Kelly, Flowers, Huntington, Wing, Sommer, Gorrie, Lang.
Chapter 8 & 9 - Names Mentioned. Calwhite, Huston, Van Sicklin, Darby, Kerfoot, Pence, Wing, Hirsh, Manning, Croker, Gray, Kennedy, Weaver, Mulloy, Patterson, Adams, Ladd.
Chapter 10 - Names Mentioned. Allen, Kleinschmidt, Old Frenchy, Morton, Walker, Tousley, Donart, Smith, Adams, Anderson, Wilson, Heath, Ruth, Simpson, Atwell, Summers, Eckles, Anderson, Peck, James, Huffman, Gilbert, Boggs, Landy, Wing, Gorrie, Sommer, Darby, Kerfoot, Landy, Dudgeon, Flynn.
Chapter 11 - Names Mentioned. Hunt, Logan, Harris, Olds.
Chapter 12 - Names Mentioned. Logan, Jeffreys, Galloway, Davis, Breshears, Kelly, Dickerson, Bryant, Sweet, Shaw, Neeley, Gendrix, Ford, Williams, Parker, Durbin, Haven, Livingston, Gray, McKenney, York, Muir, Monroe, White, Barton, Hendrix, McCullough, Smith, Monday, Linder, Hailey, Croseclose.
Chapter 13 - Names Mentioned. Haven, McCullough, Smith, Beckham, Monday, Durbin, Roe, Walker, Wilson, Linder, Shaw, Jeffreys, Galloway, Davis, Forest, Anderson, Lansdon, McGrew, Mitchell, Jewell, Pence, Ripper, Barton, Butterfield, Watlington.
Chapter 14 - Names Mentioned. Galloway,Jeffries, Flournoy, Cuddy, Hubbard, Shannon, Mason, Richardson, Dickerson, Butterfield.
Chapter 15 - Names Mentioned. Abernathy, Allison, Jewell, Mickey, Wilderson, Morris, Shoffner, Cuddy, Tyne, Buhl, Olsen, Grab, Barton, Thorp, Colson, York, Hickey, Haas, Reed, Saling, Anderson, Keithley, Wilkerson, McCaw, Wiggins, Surdam, McRoberts, Burger, Kilborn, Linder, Mackey, Shelby, Deaton, Towell, Macomb, Reavis.
Chapter 16 - Names Mentioned. Saling, Anderson, Elms, Sunner, Johnson, Galloway, Langley, Warner, Saling, Adams, Taylor, Hartley, Sater, Maxwell, Webb, Lansdon, Hitt, Murphy, Hannah, Powell, Taylor, Gilderoy, Ottman, Joslin, Michaels, Cronwall, Pedro, Tarter, Jackson, Logan, Langley, Jones, Calwhite, Michael, Lauer, Pence, Hinze, Kerfoot, Poteet, Fisk, Heyburn, Webb, Sallee,
Chapter 17 - Names Mentioned. Hawley, White, Spoor, McDowell, Hall, Anderson, Gray, Underwood, Wilkerson, Monday, Hailey, Gresclose, Lindsay, Stewart, Paterson, Adams, Woods, Price, Ward, Elledge, Stewart, Paddock, Sommer, Blouot, Summers, Bennell, Skrow, Wilkerson.
Chapter 18 - Names Mentioned. Winkler, White, Kessler, Mosser, Lovelace, Draper, Groseclose, Pickens, Young, Bramblee, Weddle, Clifton, Linder, Robertson, Kessler, Richardson, Moser, Peters, Wilkerson, Harpham, Moore, Basset,
Chapter 19 - Names Mentioned. Burtenshaw, White, Williams, Cooper, Clay, Jennings, Folsom, Branner, Cochran, Levander, Borah, Osborn.
Chapter 20 - Names Mentioned. Keithley, Ford, Mann, Phillips, Monroe, Jeffreys, Jenkins, Shaw.