St Anthony High School - Tattler Yearbook (St Anthony, ID)

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THE TATT LER Early Days in St. Anthony (Continued) [Continued From Page Ten] fords or ferries, a bridge was built at this point in the year 1887 and traffic was there- by centralized to this point. In the year 188t tlie townsite was platted and a Post Office officially established as St. Anthony. Prospects and a few large cattle compan- ies appeared at this time to be the only support of the town unless the irrigation project proved a success. A small log cab- in was bu It to serve as the office of the Canal Company, and to supply those who were doing jdie construction work on the canal with the necessities of life a store room was built and a small store opened, where it was possible to buy flour, salt- side, sugar, ‘ ' Bull Durham” tobacco and overalls and shoes in sufficient quantities to sustain life and self respect. Lastly a residence was built Not until the year 1890 did a family take up its abode at St. Anthony, and not until some time late in 1891 did a second family land in St. An- thony. At this time a man and Iris wife from Pennsylvania were lured west by the glowing accounts of a real estate boom in a town not far distant, but landed there on a day when a large portion of the soil was in motion. Disgusted at the outset, they remained only a short time and moved on to St. Anthony, becoming the first im- migrants to the new town. The rush of homeseekers then subsided until late in the year 1892, when a man from North Idaho located Here with his family and opened the first general store. Along with this homeseeker came a building boom. The old store building roof was raised and a two-story building made, thus giving a hall of sufficient capacity to allow its pop- ulation and that of the surrounding coun- try to congregate in one room. The popu- lation of the town, it might be said, was three families, about twelve persons. The present town of Roberts, then Market Lake, was the nearest railroad point and Blackfoot was the county seat. At the out- set mail arrived three times a week from Idaho Falls by stage, provided the stage was able to negotiate the ford on the South Fork of the Snake River. Shortly after the establishment of the Post Office, about the year 1891, a star route was established from Market Lake, via Rexburg, and daily mail reached here. By the fall of 1892 the the town had arrived at a point where its importance was too great to be so far from a county seat and it was decided by the residents, one in particular, that this should be a t ountv seat of a county to be carved ut of Bingham County The Legislature of 1893 was accordingly “approached” early in the session and after 60 days of strenu- ous effort Fremont County came into being with St. Anthony named as the County Seat “pro tempore” and until the general election of 1894. The county officials took their offices early in 1893, and county gov- ernment began in the front end of the gen- eral store and in the hall above, being later transferred to a three room shack located near the site of the present court house. At the time the county was divided and the county seat located here, the town had grown to about live or six business houses and as many residences. The business of the town consisted of a general store, a saloon, and a lumber yard. In the year 1894 the question of the permanent loca- tion of the county seat was voted on at the general election and St. Anthony was chosen the permanent seat of government for six years. At the end of that time the matter was again voted upon and the same result was achieved. Before the time for another test of this question the city had erected in conjunction with the county and in accordance with an election promise the present substantial courthouse, and the question of the county seat became settled. During the time the foregoing events were transpiring the farms had been pro- ducing mere abundantly each year and it had become a settled fact that the, dreams of the founders of the town were not idle ones. The town was still thirty-five miles from a market and there was little incent- ive to large production when it had to be hauled thirty-five miles over a bad road to market. A railroad became a necessity and in the year 1898, after long hard work, the Oregon Short Line officials were convinced that a road through the valley could be made to pay. In the fall of 1899 the rails were laid into St. Anthony and the first train brought to town the reluctant offi- cials to join in the celebration of what was [Continued on Page Fifty-Three] Page Fourteen