A Soapy Mess Destinations

  There’s something about looking at old photos that does more than any history textbook ever could. Books are great for telling the hard facts, but it’s photos that give you insight into what it was like to actually live in that time. These photos were all taken in Idaho in the early 1900s, mostly from the 1930s and 1940s. Accessible through the Library of Congress, they show us what it was like to live in Idaho way back when! The daughter of a farmer living in the Resettlement Administration purchase area in Oneida County. Her family is about to be removed to better farmland and the present land converted for grazing. Arthur Rothstein/LOC Workers unload crates of freshly-picked peas in Nampa, Idaho in 1941. Russell Lee/LOC Japanese-Americans taking a break in Minidoka, Idaho. In 1942, President Roosevelt signed an executive order that put 120,000 Japanese and Japanese-Americans into 10 isolated "war relocation centers." Minidoka was one of them. Russell Lee/LOC People walki...

  Often, a trip back in time will make you more fully appreciate all of the many wonderful blessings you have enjoyed in your life. When you look at school buildings throughout Idaho in the early 1900s, this couldn’t be more true. These buildings were typically small, cramped, and simple. We thought it would be fun to take a look at what Idaho schools looked like in the early 1900s and believe us, they are nothing like they are today. This image shows the Avery, Idaho School District Building, circa 1915. National Archives and Records Administration, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons This image shows a two-story public schoolhouse in Peck, Idaho, which is located in Nez Perce County. This image dates back to 1915. Steve Shook/Flickr Construction on this schoolhouse began in 1910 and it featured four large rooms. Students in first through eighth grade attended school on the first floor, while older students attended their classes on the second floor. This image shows a large scho...

  A photo can tell us a lot about life decades ago. It can provide details that are hard to describe with words. Idaho is the location of millions of stories. It has a history that is intriguing, fascinating, and engaging. We’ve gathered nine photos of Idaho from the 1960s that tell some of these stories. These photos provide details that are simply mesmerizing. 1. Log drive, Clearwater River Forest History Society/Flickr This image shows the "River Pigs" in the Clearwater River, moving a large white pine off the shoals. The logs were then carried down the river to the mills in the Kaniksu National Forest in Idaho. This photo dates back to 1961. 2. Brownlee Dam, Idaho-Oregon Border WaterArchives.org/Flickr Here's a photo of the Brownlee Dam circa 1960. This dam is located in Hell’s Canyon and along the Idaho-Oregon state line. 3. Moscow Robert Ashworth from Bellingham, WA., USA/Wikimedia Commons An image of Moscow, Idaho, before the Kibbie Dome was built in 1971. This ima...

  Idaho definitely wouldn’t be the state it is today without the mining industry. Several of Idaho’s mining towns still stand today as poignant reminders of this important part of Idaho’s past. The Gem State produced an impressive amount of gold, silver, zinc, and lead back in the mining industry’s heyday. The Silver Valley region of Idaho alone produced over a billion ounces of silver! Idaho is a state with an incredible history thanks to the thousands of miners who flocked here during the late 19th century. Check out these amazing photos that show a glimpse of what the mining life was like in Idaho over a century ago. The discovery of gold brought the first permanent settlers to the state and was what primarily caused the establishment of Idaho as a territory in 1863. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration/Wikimedia Commons Silver, lead, and zinc deposits were discovered near Coeur d'Alene by the late 1800's. In the photo above, miners work the machinery at a quart...