Idaho's grant of statehood in 1890 makes it one of the last to be officially incorporated into the continental US. This means that a little over a century ago, Idaho was still in its infancy, caught in the middle of a dramatic transformation from a thriving livestock and natural resource-based economy to a growing agricultural powerhouse in a swiftly industrializing America.
Here, you'll catch a glimpse of daily life and economic growth in Idaho just after the turn of the century (1905-1920), when commerce was booming. But the simple, rural lifestyle that we still know and love today was at the core of our great state's evolution.
1. Orchard State Fairgrounds before the roller coasters. Boise, 1915
Before Boise's Western Idaho Fair was located on Chinden, fairgoers came in droves via train to its previous location on Orchard.
2. Arrowrock Dam on the Boise River, 1915
Arrowrock was built in 1915 with the intent of being the largest arched concrete dam in the world.
3. Arrowrock Dam interior, 1915
Talk about huge.
4. A traffic jam at the Idaho ferry, 1915
5. Two Idaho farmers horsing around before selfies and Go-Pros, 1915
6. Live music back in the day was courtesy of the Gibbson String Orchestra, 1915
These gentlemen performed in Sugar City, Idaho regularly, including a special performance in honor of the deployment of 20 Idaho servicemen in 1917.
7. Two fisherman showing off their catch, 1915
According to the back of this photo, "These fish came down the irrigation lateral in the town of Nampa and were caught in the fish trap shown directly under the line of fish."
8. There aren't many of these around today. A sheep and cattle farm in Southern Idaho, 1915
9. What going out for a joyride looked like in 1910
You wouldn't believe the horsepower on this wagon.
10. Another sheep ranch in Central Idaho, c. 1920
In the early 1900's, Idaho's mountains and valleys were covered in sheep. Literally.
11. Urban advertising in 1910 was much more practical.
Boise, Idaho
12. A typical farm house in Caldwell, 1910
13. An afternoon drive on the highway, minus the construction traffic, 1910
This highway near Nampa doesn't look like much, but the orchard seems to go on for miles.
14. The start of an empire: the annual potato harvest getting bagged and loaded, 1910
Shelley, Idaho
15. Andrew Nelson Orchard in Emmett, 1920
Farm-to-table living is what Idaho is all about.
16. Aftermath of The Big Burn, 1910
Idaho's largest fire to date burned nearly 3 million acres, and set back Idaho's logging industry for decades.
17. Idaho man-power: early settlers plowing the road for Main Street, 1906
Blackfoot, Idaho
18. This two-room schoolhouse in Lorenzo definitely didn't have computers.
19. Hardworking Priest River log drivers, 1915
These Priest River loggers are preparing to send the cut logs down the Pend Oreille River to the mill.
20. A snowy, winter cabin to come home to after a long day's work, 1915
Idaho has such a rich and unique history Even one hundred years later, you can still see remnants of our past as a rural, forested, and recreation-loving paradise. If you have any photos from this era stored away, we’d love for you to share them!
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