'Boise' from 'The Courier' 1927

In the year 1834, nearly a century ago, some Canadian voyagers who were accompany­ing a party of early pioneers came to a bluff which overlooked a valley. As they had been traveling for several days over dry land covered with sagebrush, they welcomed the sight of this beautiful shaded valley, and they shouted, "Les bois! Les bois! Voyes les bois!" ("The woods! the woods! See the woods!") So they named the river which flowed through the valley "Le Boise" and from it Fort Boise, years later, received its name.

The route which these Canadians had followed later became a part of the Oregon Trail. The trail passed through the present South Boise, following the south side of the Boise River, which wound its way through the valley, and then through the canyon near Caldwell. This was a long, hard trail, and dangerous, too. The Indians were a constant menace, and parties of immigrants were necessarily large. The wagons were springless and heavily loaded, for the people were settlers, not gold-seekers. Little did these people dream that their trail led through a valley which would some day be part of a state called "The Gem of the Mountains."

In 1835 the Hudson Bay Company established a trading post in Boise Valley, and maintained it for a number of years, but the construction of Fort Boise was not begun until July, 1863, by a company of Oregon cavalry. It was built in order to extend military pro­tection to the miners in southern Idaho, for the Indians grew more and more threatening as they came to realize that the arrival of the miners meant their ultimate banishment. The fort was a large quadrangular structure, which enclosed a large space, and was built of adobe. Within these walls were some dwellings and a few shops, in which traders who were busy with hunting, trapping and trading with the Indians, lived.

Within a few days after the location of the site of Fort Boise, a few men came down from Idaho City and laid out the town of Boise. A few buildings were erected and several farms were planned. Though it is hard to realize now, there were several farms along the thorough­fare that is now called Warm Springs Avenue.

When, in 1863, Idaho was organized as a territory, Lewiston was designated by the governor to be the temporary capital. However, in 1864, the Second Territorial Legislature passed a "Capital Removal Act," and Boise City, then with a population of three hundred, became the seat of government.

The passage of this act encouraged residents, and Boise began to grow. A number of business houses were soon built, and also hotels, residences, shops, and saloons. Then, too, farmers began to take courage and improve their farms and make homes.

As agriculture increased, so did educational facilities improve and business enterprises spring up. The first school was a subscription school, and was a small, one-room building. The first free school was located where the Carnegie Library now stands, and was similar in construction to the other. After the creation of the Boise Independent School District, the erection of more schools followed, and today Boise has an extensive and very adequate school system.

The pioneer business men established flour mills, packing houses, hotels, and in March, 1867, the First National Bank was organized. Soon a fire department was established; the Oregon Short Line was extended, and further steps in the development of Boise in to a real, live city were taken.

And so we have not only Boise the Beautiful, but also the Boise of industry and business enterprise.