UNSUNG HEROES AND SETTLERS
OF BONNEVILLE COUNTY, IDAHO
OF BONNEVILLE COUNTY, IDAHO
Unsung Heroes and Settlers of Bonneville County, Idaho contains dozens of
historical and locality photos (all black and white). Pictured here is the cover
photo, taken by the author, a contemporary shot near Flathead Crossing, where
pioneers and Indians forded the Snake River before the Eagle Rock Ferry’s arrival
in 1863. The ferry was situated about one-half mile downstream from this spot.
Bonneville County—its major waterways and orientation in the State of Idaho.
Site of the Eagle Rock Ferry, nine miles upriver from Taylor Toll Bridge. This spot
can be viewed by driving up the West River Road to the canal headgates and walking
across a farmer’s field toward the riverbank. The monument was built as an Eagle
Scout project in the 1970s. Photo by the author.
Modern re-creation of the old Taylor’s Toll Bridge,
reportedly in the original 1865 location. Matt Taylor’s bridge was the first to ever span the Snake River.
This replica is located near the Broadway Bridge and Sportsman’s Park in Idaho Falls,
and is sponsored by the Rotary Club and built with contributions from many local
citizens. Photo by the author.
The historic Shelton Church built in 1914 by John Shelton Howard, James Ferguson,
Willard Moore, and others. Read their compelling stories in
Unsung Heroes and
Settlers of Bonneville County, Idaho. The church is restored as shown in this photo
by the author. The building is used today as a wedding and reception center.
UNSUNG HEROES AND SETTLERS
OF BONNEVILLE COUNTY, IDAHO
OF BONNEVILLE COUNTY, IDAHO
James Madison “Matt” Taylor
Read how Matt Taylor, an early freighter and entrepreneur, manages in 1865 to build the first bridge to ever cross the treacherous Snake River in the future Bonneville County area, thus becoming a local hero and legend. An entire business area known as Taylor Crossing stands in present-day Idaho Falls to honor the trail-blazer. With his brother-in-law, Robert Anderson, Matt forms a business partnership that opens the way for the settling of Eagle Rock, Idaho, later to be renamed Idaho Falls.
Read how Matt Taylor, an early freighter and entrepreneur, manages in 1865 to build the first bridge to ever cross the treacherous Snake River in the future Bonneville County area, thus becoming a local hero and legend. An entire business area known as Taylor Crossing stands in present-day Idaho Falls to honor the trail-blazer. With his brother-in-law, Robert Anderson, Matt forms a business partnership that opens the way for the settling of Eagle Rock, Idaho, later to be renamed Idaho Falls.
James Henry Denning, Sr.
Thrill to the story of a brave young man in 1873, snowshoeing over a mountain range through a blizzard from Montpelier to Malad, Idaho, to save the lives of his family. He later becomes a wealthy freighter, rancher, and father of twenty-three children in the settlement of Iona, Idaho, in the Upper Snake River Valley.
Thrill to the story of a brave young man in 1873, snowshoeing over a mountain range through a blizzard from Montpelier to Malad, Idaho, to save the lives of his family. He later becomes a wealthy freighter, rancher, and father of twenty-three children in the settlement of Iona, Idaho, in the Upper Snake River Valley.
John Empey
Hold your breath as John Empey, local Watermaster, looks down the gun barrels of nineteen angry irrigators and lives to tell about it. John is an Ammon, Idaho, settler and is elected one of the first county commissioners when Bonneville County is organized on February 7, 1911.
Hold your breath as John Empey, local Watermaster, looks down the gun barrels of nineteen angry irrigators and lives to tell about it. John is an Ammon, Idaho, settler and is elected one of the first county commissioners when Bonneville County is organized on February 7, 1911.
Mary Alice Bybee Boomer
Find out that women can be heroes, too. Alice Boomer lives in Eagle Rock when it becomes Idaho Falls in 1891 and works with the Village Improvement Society to bring such amenities to Idaho Falls as the Public Library, a house numbering system, cemetery improvements, and a little family park in the middle of the town’s residential area, known as Kate Curley Park.
Find out that women can be heroes, too. Alice Boomer lives in Eagle Rock when it becomes Idaho Falls in 1891 and works with the Village Improvement Society to bring such amenities to Idaho Falls as the Public Library, a house numbering system, cemetery improvements, and a little family park in the middle of the town’s residential area, known as Kate Curley Park.
John Shelton Howard
Learn how Shelton, Idaho is named for a young father who goes by his middle name for many years, protecting his families from the law. He becomes one of the most compassionate and venerated men of his time, and a hero to all who know him.
Learn how Shelton, Idaho is named for a young father who goes by his middle name for many years, protecting his families from the law. He becomes one of the most compassionate and venerated men of his time, and a hero to all who know him.
Anna Magdalena Oswald Gneiting
Read about a twenty-year-old mother who drives away wild animals with a broom on her Coltman, Idaho, homestead in the 1890s. With her husband Abe, Anna is an early settler whose rock home and barn still stand in 2009 on the Coltman Road.
Read about a twenty-year-old mother who drives away wild animals with a broom on her Coltman, Idaho, homestead in the 1890s. With her husband Abe, Anna is an early settler whose rock home and barn still stand in 2009 on the Coltman Road.
Nephi Otteson Family
Some of the last homesteaders of Bonneville County settle in the east foothills of Idaho Falls, just as the county is being organized. One of the first is the Nephi Otteson Family, who pioneer to a spot they name Ozone. The settlement grows to over 2,000, then dwindles to practically nothing during the drought of the 1920s.
Some of the last homesteaders of Bonneville County settle in the east foothills of Idaho Falls, just as the county is being organized. One of the first is the Nephi Otteson Family, who pioneer to a spot they name Ozone. The settlement grows to over 2,000, then dwindles to practically nothing during the drought of the 1920s.
A few pioneer and locality pictures found in:
George Brunt, left, at just five years of age, with his sister Mary Eliza and brother William.
Trapper Richard “Beaver Dick” Leigh with his Indian wife, Sue, and their children.
In the story, Mr. Leigh offers friendship and advice to young George.
The original train engine crossing at Eagle Rock. Note the wooden structure in the background,
Taylor’s Toll Bridge, which was the first bridge to ever span the Snake River.
James E. Steele, a local celebrity in his day. Mr. Steele was a church and business leader
and founder of Iona. In real life and in the story, he helps the Brunts out of a dire
predicament on the trail and talks them into coming to settle at Sand Creek, near Eagle Rock.
From the Chapter, “Terror in the Darkness,” this original artwork by John Hart illustrates
young George Brunt’s bravery in facing down a cougar while herding cattle at Gray’s Lake.
Robert Anderson a founder of Eagle Rock, and Sheriff Sam Taylor. Young George Brunt meets them
in the Anderson Brothers Store when the family first arrives in town.
Editor William E. Wheeler started the first newspaper in Eagle Rock, the Idaho Register,
forerunner of the Post Register, and befriended the Brunt family in the story.
A grown-up George Brunt after he opens his own store, finally realizing his life-long dream
to become a prosperous merchant in Eagle Rock.