History of the Oregon Short Line in the Wood River Valley, late 1800s, by John Lundin. Presentation given for the opening of "Railroad Ties," an exhibition at the Sun Valley Museum of History.

1. THE OREGON SHORT LINE RAILROAD:
ITS HISTORY & IMPACT ON THE WOOD RIVER
VALLEY IN THE LATE 1800s
MINING ERA
Presentation to the Community Library
Part I, July 10, 2014
John W. Lundin (john@johnwlundin.com).

2. The author’s great-
grandparents, Matt
& Isabelle McFall &
children, 1888. Matt
& Isabelle moved to
Bellevue in 1881.
They built the
International Hotel
on Main Street,
which became the
premier place to stay
in the WRV. It
burned down in
1909. The McFalls
moved to Shoshone
in 1893, where they
built the McFall
Hotel.
Photos from Lundin collection,, &
the Community Library.

3. PART I: OREGON SHORT LINE IN THE 1800s – Mining Era
I. BACKGROUND - OPENING OF THE WEST: 1804-1880
1869 – Transcontinental Railroad Completed
II. 1881 – 1884: UP BUILDS OREGON SHORT LINE TO PORTLAND
WRV Branch Stimulates Economy & Mining Booms
III. 1888-1898: INTERNATIONAL SILVER DEPRESSION
Mining Ends in WRV, OSL & UP go into Bankruptcy

4. PART II: OREGON SHORT LINE IN THE 20th
CENTURY – Agricultural Era
IV. 1890s: DECADE OF TRANSITION
Agriculture Begins to Replace Mining as Economic Base
1897 - E.H. Harriman Buys UP & OSL out of Bankruptcy
1898 Klondike Gold Rush Ends Depression
V. 1900 – 1920: CENTRAL IDAHO BENEFITS FROM IRRIGATION PROJECTS
Reclamation Act of 1902 Funds Irrigation Projects in the West
OSL builds Branch and Spur Lines
UP/OSL Play Major Role in Immigration - Thousands Immigrate
Agriculture is Basis for an Economic Boom through W.W. I
Railroads Face New Challenges in 1920s & 1930s

5. VI. 1936: UNION PACIFIC BUILDS SUN VALLEY RESORT
VII. 1950 – 1970: RAILROAD PASSENGER SERVICE DECLINES
Amtrak is Formed
Rail Traffic into WRV Ends
Recreational Trail Replaces RR

6. I. 1804 – 1880 : Opening of the West
1803 - Louisiana Purchase, doubled the size of the U.S. to Rocky Mountains
1804 to 1806 - Lewis & Clark Expedition
1840s to 1860s - Oregon Trail brings 400,000 settlers west, Willamette Valley
is settled
1846 – Oregon Treaty w/ England, US territory extends to 49th
parallel
1848 – Oregon Territory is Created
1849 - California Gold Rush brings 300,000 prospectors to California
1850 - California becomes 31st
state, increases demand for railroad
1859 – Oregon becomes 33rd
state
1863 – Idaho Territory is Created
1869 - Transcontinental Railroad is Completed

7. From the 1840s
to the 1860s,
400,000 people took
6 months to travel
west on the Oregon
Trail, through Idaho
along the Snake River
Valley, the route
followed by the OSL.
There were three
routes to the 1849
California Gold Rush:
a cutoff from the
Oregon Trail;
overland through
Central America; and
by ship around South
America
Map from Dary, The
Oregon Trail

8. CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT FOR SETTLEMENT OF THE WEST
Move to Build a Transcontinental Railroad
1853 – surveys done of 8 possible rail routes
railroads are eventually built on five lines
Federal Laws Passed to Encourage Settlement of the West
Pacific Telegraph Act of 1860
Homestead Act of 1862
Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 – funding for UP & Central
Pacific RR, creating a transcontinental railroad
Railroad Act of 1864 – funding for Northern Pacific, not
completed until 1883 because of financial
problems in the 1870s
General Mining Acts of 1866 & 1872

9. PACIFIC RAILROAD ACT OF 1862
The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 provided land grants, subsidies and
methods of assembling capital to fund an east-west transcontinental railroad
line, and a telegraph line. Companies would get ½ the land in a 10 mile wide
strip on both sides of the tracks. Subsidies were $16,000 per mile on the
plains; $32,000 per mile on the plateau between the Rockies and the Sierras,
and $48,000 per mile in the mountains. The Act imposed the use of
“standard gauge” of 4’ 8 1/2 ” for railroad tracks, creating a national railroad
system.
Between 1862 & 1869, Union Pacific built tracks west from Omaha,
and Central Pacific built east from Sacramento. The tough working conditions
were portrayed in the recent TV series, Hell on Wheels, on AMC. The
“Golden Spike” was driven on May 10, 1869, in Utah.

10. May 10, 1869.
“Golden Spike,”
Promontory Point,
Utah.
Union Pacific &
Central Pacific
engines meet at
completion of the
transcontinental
railroad from Omaha
to Sacramento. UP’s
Grenville Dodge
shakes the hand of
CP’s Samuel
Montague.
Photo by A.J. Russell, UP
Museum

11. Map of
transcontinental
Railroad from
Omaha to San
Francisco. UP had
1 M acres of land
for sale along its
tracks.
Map from UP Museum

12. Native American
looking at Union
Pacific tracks in
1868, undoubtedly
not understanding
that the railroad
will soon end his
way of life forever.

13. RAILROAD LINKED THE COUNTRY TOGETHER
The transcontinental railroad was called “the greatest, most daring
engineering effort the country had yet seen.” It was “the work of giants,”
and “the greatest achievement of the American people in the 19th
century.”
Freight rates dropped dramatically, the telegraph could move ideas across
the country instantly, and the time and cost of travel was revolutionized.
In 1849, it took many months to travel to the California Gold Rush
and cost $1,000. After the railroad was completed, it took 7 days to get from
NY to SF, and cost between $135 & $65. By 1880, the government spent
$4.653 billion dollars subsidizing the railroad ($109 B in 2013 dollars), but it
vastly increased the value of the land through which it passed, and “the
whole outcome has been financially not less than brilliant.”
Stephen Ambrose, Nothing Like it in the World: the Men Who Built
the Transcontinental Railroad, 1863-1869.

14. FIVE RAILROADS ARE EVENTUALLY BUILT ON SURVEY ROUTES
Showing the importance of the surveys done in 1853, five
transcontinental railroads were eventually built on the routes that were
discovered.
The Northern Pacific was built along the 45th
parallel, and the Great
Northern was built just north of the parallel.
The Union Pacific was built along the 42nd
parallel.
The Pacific, Denver & Rio Grand (Western Pacific) was built along the
37th
parallel.
The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe was built along the 35th
parallel.
The Southern Pacific was built along the 32nd parallel.

15. CONTRARY VIEW OF THE RAILROADS
Historian Richard White, in his book, Railroaded, the
Transcontinentals and the Making of America, has a contrary view of the
transcontinental railroads. White believes they were built at the wrong time,
in the wrong places, for the personal profit of the railroad corporations,
which led to financial and political problems for the country.
The western railroads should not have been built where and when
they were built. Their costs over the long run exceeded their benefit. They
were not built in response to demand, but created demand. They flooded
markets with wheat, silver, cattle and coal for which there was little of no
need, causing great environmental and social harm. They were built ahead of
demand, caused two depressions in the 1870s and 1890s, and created costly,
dysfunctional corporations. They were not built for efficient transportation,
but for financial manipulation and political networking. The corporations
failed but the people behind them prospered greatly.

16. UNION PACIFIC PLANS A FOR NORTHWEST CONNECTION
UP long desired a connection to the NW. In 1853, surveyors
determined a route from Wyoming through Idaho to Portland and Puget
Sound was feasible. In 1867, UP surveyors determined a rail route through
Idaho along the Snake River was “ without serious engineering difficulties,”
and UP believed its mission would not be fulfilled until it “builds this branch
to the Pacific Ocean.” Idaho & Oregon Legislatures adopted railroad charters
and subsidies to encourage construction, and residents were hopeful that a
railroad would be built there. However, in 1869, UP said a NW connection
could not be built without subsidies, causing great disappointment.
Hope for a NW connection continued in the 1870s. In 1872,
Congress authorized a CP branch from Utah to Portland, and Idaho & Oregon
adopted subsidies for the line. The National Panic of 1873 halted these plans,
and hopes for a NW rail connection lay dormant for nearly a decade.

17. John “Jay” Gould
(1836 – 1892), a
railroad developer
and speculator, and
the archetypical
robber baron,
obtained control of
the UP in 1874. He
promoted UP’s
expansion into
mineral regions, and
favored building a
NW connection. By
1881, he controlled
15% of the total
railroad mileage in
the U.S.

18. UTAH & NORTHERN.
In 1878, Gould saw a
market for copper for
the upcoming
electrical age. UP
bought the Utah
Northern out of
bankruptcy, a narrow
gauge Mormon line
from Ogden to
Franklin, Idaho. UP
extended the tracks
to Butte by Dec.
1881, to access the
copper. The picture
shows a U&N engine
at Idaho Falls. In
1880, UP purchased
the Kansas Pacific RR.
Photo from Wikipedia.

19. GOULD DECIDES TO BUILD A NW CONNECTION
In 1879, the Northern Pacific was being built toward Puget Sound
under its 1864 charter. To prevent NP from having a monopoly on NW trade,
Gould decided to build a rail connection from its main line to Portland
through Idaho to access Willamette Valley products and the growing trade
with the Orient.
In 1879, Gould sent Robert & Carrie Adelle Strahorn to the NW to
publicize the region’s economic potential and locate possible routes and
towns for the railroad. Their writings were intended to create interest in the
region and encourage settlement in anticipation of UP’s NW connection
being built.

20. Robert Strahorn
(1852-1944) & Carrie
Adell Strahorn (1854-
1925). In 1881,
Robert published the
Resources &
Attractions of Idaho,
Topics Applicable to
the Wants of the
Homeseeker,
Capitalist & Tourist.
Dell wrote articles for
women’s magazines,
which in 1911, were
published in a book ,
15,000 Miles by
Stage.
Pictures from
historylink.org

21. SILVER RUSH TO WRV BEGINS IN 1880
In the fall of 1879, silver was discovered in the WRV. A major silver
rush began in spring of 1880, the year of the “Wood River Boom.” Tens of
thousands hopefuls from all over the world poured into the WRV in 1880 and
1881, to seek their fortunes. The Idaho Spokesman ran a tongue-in-cheek ad
in 1880, saying “Wanted, the man, woman or child who does not want to to
to the Wood River country in the spring.” One writer said that the hunger for
gold or silver “is a disease more contagious than measles, and once in the
blood it is seldom, if ever, eradicated.”
Claims were staked, mines were opened, and towns were formed in
the WRV and surrounding areas. In 1881, Robert Strahorn wrote “Wood river
is the center of one of the most extensive belts of heavy galena ores in the
world.” Another publication said the WRV’s silver belt was “one of the
richest as well as one of the most extensive in the world…The Bullion belt and
district is the richest yet discovered.” 15,000 people were expected by 1882.

22. WRV WAS ISOLATED AND REMOTE
The WRV was remote, isolated, and difficult to reach. Ore and
goods had to be shipped by wagon to and from railheads at Blackfoot, Idaho,
on the Utah & Northern line (135 miles from the WRV), and Kelton, Utah, on
the transcontinental line (a 160 mile trip taking 7 days).
In 1903, Idaho’s Mining Inspector said “in going over the remoter
sections of the State today…one cannot help but marvel at the obstacles that
had to be overcome in such a trackless wilderness of mountains, canyons and
streams. So far removed from a base of supplies, one can not help but revere
the memory of the early pioneers who blazed these trails, and the iron nerve
they must have displayed in doing it.”

23. Map of Alturas
County, early 1880s.
The orange shows
the WRV’s wagon
road connections to
railroad stops at
Blackfoot, Idaho (135
miles away) & Kelton,
Utah (160 miles
away).
Map from the
Community Library

24. Stages & freight
wagons
transported
passengers and
goods in and out of
the WRV before
the arrival of the
railroad. In 1881,
John Hailey’s Stage
Line began
operations from
Kelton Utah, to the
WRV, & Alexander
Topance’s stage
line from Blackfoot
ID to the WRV.
Photos from ISHS, 73-221-
1040 & Larry Eldridge

25. Map of mining
districts in and
around the Wood
River Valley in the
1880s.

26. Map of Bellevue
showing the many
mines around the
town.
Metsker Map

27. II. 1881 – 1884: OREGON SHORT LINE IS BUILT
FROM UP’S MAIN LINE TO PORTLAND
In 1880, Union Pacific selected a route from Granger, Wyoming, to
Portland after Central Pacific refused to let UP begin its line at Kelton, Utah.
Since the its original charter did not permit branch lines, in April 1881, UP
incorporated a subsidiary called the Oregon Short Line, to build a standard
gauge railroad on “the shortest line to Oregon.” The route would “follow the
path of those who plodded westward along the historic Oregon Trail.”
UP decided to have the OSL connect with a railroad being built from
Portland along the Columbia River by Henry Villard’s Oregon Railroad &
Navigation Company in eastern Oregon, rather than building its own line, as a
result of a series of back-room negotiations.

28. IDAHO & OREGON LAND IMPROVEMENT CO.
In 1881, investors associated with the Union Pacific formed a
company to buy land in advance of the construction of the OSL, where
railstops would occur. Its owners included Robert Strahorn, Kansas Senator
Caldwell (who was president of the Kansas Pacific RR, a UP subsidiary),
Andrew Mellon, and others, who knew the route of the OSL in advance. The
company bought worthless desert land, platted and developed townsites,
constructed irrigation and water systems, and sold lots, making huge profits.
The company purchased and developed the towns of Shoshone, Hailey,
Mountain Home, Caldwell, Weiser, and Ontario, Oregon.
In June 1882, the company purchased the townsite of Hailey, the
2,500 acre Croy Ranch and the 8,000 Quigley Ranch for $100,000. The Wood
River Journal said the company “takes the whole loaf.” Hailey was intended
to be the terminus of the Wood River Branch of the OSL.

29. 1881 – 1883: OSL IS BUILT TO SHOSHONE
In May 1881, work began on the Oregon Short Line at UP’s main
transcontinental line at Granger, Wyoming. The Kilpatrick Brothers & Collins
were the contractors for the OSL, although they hired subcontractors to work
on portions of the new line. Construction was more difficult than anticipated
because of the terrain the tracks followed.
The OSL’s tracks were built through SE Idaho to Montpelier, then
the OSL used the Utah & Northern narrow gauge tracks to Pocatello by
installing a third rail for standard gauge trains. New tracks were built west
from Pocatello along the Snake River following the Oregon Trail route. The
tracks reached American Falls in summer 1882, where a large bridge was
built across the Snake River, and American Falls served as the OSL terminus in
the summer of 1882. Rail service reached Shoshone by February 1883.

30. BUILDING THE OSL.
A survey crew of 14
men went first to lay
out the line, followed
by a construction
crew using horses &
scrapers to prepare
the grade. Then
came a crew laying
the ties and rails,
followed by an
engine laying ballast.
A good crew could
lay a mile of track in
one hour & 20
minutes.
Photo from Idaho State Historical
Society, 61-23.3, & Schwantes,
Railroad Signatures.

31. OSL bridge over
the Snake River at
American Falls
built in 1882. The
bridge was
elevated in the
1920s, when the
American Falls
dam was built and
raised the level of
the water.
Photo from ISHS, 69-4-
2C

32. OSL IS COMPLETED IN NOV. 1884
In 1882 & 1883, the Wood River Branch was built from Shoshone to
Hailey, as construction of the main line continued west. In November 1884,
the OSL was completed to Huntington, Oregon, where it joined tracks built
from Portland by the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company. The OSL
bypassed Boise, to the disappointment of its residents. Boise was connected to
the OSL by stagecoach, and in 1887, by the Idaho Central Railroad.
The OSL added 1,820 miles to the UP system. Trains left Omaha
Monday evening and reached Portland by 8:00 am Friday. UP said connections
to Puget Sound and San Francisco would be built as soon as possible. The OSL
was the most important undertaking of the Union Pacific since the completion
of its main line, and was so successful that by 1885, 9/10 of UP’s business was
local haulage. The Utah & Northern was converted to standard gauge in 1887,
and in 1889, was merged into the OSL with other branches to form the Oregon
Short Line & Utah Northern Railway.

33. WAY OUT IN IDAHO
After sheet music began being published in Chicago in 1864, a number
of songs commemorating the west became popular. The Oregon Short Line
Railroad was celebrated in a song, Way Out in Idaho. Several versions of the
song are available.
A version by Blaine Stubblefield is on the Library of Congress website,
part of a collection Railroad Songs and Ballads. A version by Gary Eiler is on
Idaho Songbook, produced by the Idaho Humanities Council. A third version
by Rosalie Sorrels is on a CD produced by Smithsonian Folkways, Classic
Railroad Songs.
It was based on a previous song, Away Idaho, written in the 1860s,
about coming to Idaho to look for gold, where “the largest chunks are top of
ground, way out in Idaho.” The melody was used for other songs about the
west, including Buffalo Skinners, about hunting for buffalo in the west, and
Canada-I-O, about logging in Canada.

34. WAY OUT IN IDAHO, ca 1883
Way out in Idaho, way out in Idaho,
Working on the narrow gauge, way out in Idaho
Come, all you jolly railroad men, I’ll sing you if you can
Of the trials and tribulations of a guileless railroad man
Who started out from Denver, his fortune for to grow
And struck the Oregon Short Line – way out in Idaho
As I was walking around in Denver, one luckless rainy day
A Kilpatrick’s man-catchers stepped up to me and did say
The day is very gloomy, and times are very low
Why don’t you go and make the money, way out in Idaho

35. You pay us down five dollars, as quickly as you can.
And hurry to catch the train, its starting for Cheyenne.
And when you get to Cheyenne, to Ogden you will go.
And there you’ll take the narrow gauge, and go out to Idaho.
I paid them down five dollars, like many another man.
And started for the depot, as happy as a clam.
But when I got to Pocatello, my troubles began to grow.
For I had to sleep in the sagebrush, way out in Idaho.
So cold and wet and hungry, with blankets on by back.
I started for American Falls, and there I met “Fat Jack.”
Says he, “you’re a stranger, and perhaps your funds are low.
You better go to my hotel, it’s the best in Idaho.”

36. I followed my conductor into his hotel tent.
And for a square and hearty meal, I paid him my last cent.
Oh Fat Jack’s a jolly fellow, and you’ll always find him so.
It was the only square meal I’ve had in Idaho
I started out next morning, all for Kilpatrick’s camp.
And thought myself quite lucky, like any other scamp.
But when I finally got there, my heart was filled with woe.
For it was the dirtiest, lousiest camp, I’ve seen in Idaho.
My heart was filled with pity, as I walked along the track
To see so many bummers with their blankets on their back
They said the task was heavy and the grub they couldn’t go
Around Kilpatrick’s table – way out in Idaho.

37. I started to work the next morning, for a cranky cur called “Bill.”
He gave me a ten-pound hammer, to strike upon the drill.
Says he “If you do not like it, you can take your shirts and go.
For we keep your blankets for your board, way out in Idaho.”
It filled my heart with pity, as I looked along the track.
To see so many old bummers, with their turkeys on their back
They said the task was hard, and the grub they could not go
Around Kilpatrick’s dirty tables, way out in Idaho.
But now I’m well and working, down at Frank George’s camp.
And I think I will continue, till I make a few more stamps.
Then it’s back to Denver City, to marry the girl I know.
And I’ll bid farewell to the O.S.L. and the wilds of Idaho.

38. ANTI-MORMON ATTITUDES
Articles about the OSL reflected anti-Mormon attitudes in Idaho. In
June 1881, the Wood River Times said “the Mormon element has nearly
monopolized the labor part of the new road being built from Granger. Over
800 followers of Joseph Smith are scattered along the survey line...This
station of life is about as high as the average Mormon is able to attain, and
this employment is a God send to them. The sight of a dollar is a rarity to
them in Utah…These wages are “way up” for these carrot eaters, and they
think they have at last struck the promised land flowing with milk and
honey.” Many sought to impose a test oath to keep Mormons from voting.
When an anti-Mormon candidate won an 1882 election, the paper
said “it will show the outside world that the people of Idaho are most terribly
earnest in their desire to curb the power of the polygamous Mormons…It will
do the Territory more good by proving that it is not controlled by the
Mormon priesthood to as great an extent as has been generally supposed.”

39. ANTI-CHINESE ATTITUDES
In 1886, the Wood River Times endorsed a candidate saying although
he was not a member of the Anti-Chinese League, he was “sound on the on the
Test oath, anti-Chinese and anti-Mormon questions, and has done more to “rid
the country of the presence of Mongolians by causing them to return to their
native land…” If elected, he “will do more to rid the country of the hated
heathen than all their revilers combined.”
An apocryphal song, Old Judge Duffy, told of a blacksmith who was
convicted of two murders in Idaho, but he was a good blacksmith, the only one
the town had, and the town wanted to save his life, so Judge Duffy ruled:
“I move we dismiss him – we need him in town
And he spoke out the words that have gained him renown:
We have two Chinese laundrymen, every knows,
Why not save out poor blacksmith and hang one of those.”

40. 1882-1884: WOOD RIVER BRANCH IS BUILT
In spring 1880, a preliminary survey was done by UP into the WRV. In
1881, Central Pacific surveyed a line from Utah into the WRV, for a line that
would end at Galena. In August 1882, UP surveyed a 69.2 mile branch line
from Shoshone to Hailey, and a right-of-way was acquired for the Wood River
Branch of the OSL. The tracks went north from Shoshone to the future town of
Richfield, than along the lava fields and desert to Picabo, to Gannett, then into
the WRV to Hailey, its terminus.
The Kilpatrick Brothers built the Wood River Branch with a workforce
of 3,000 men and 1,000 mules, starting in Picabo and laying tracks both toward
Shoshone and Hailey. This was “incredibly difficult work across lava fields,
through parching desert, and across swamps. Supplies and dynamite had to be
hauled overland by mules 130 miles from Kelton.” Crews battled smallpox
coming through the desert, and the job came in well over budget. Near Picabo,
willow bundles were used to go through a swamp.

41. JAMES KYNER, END OF TRACK
James Kyner, a subcontractor on the WR Branch, said building a rail
line through the “awful lava rock along Wood River” from Shoshone was the
toughest work he ever did, requiring dynamite and huge rock cuts which had to
be filled in with soil hauled in from great distances before the tracks could be
laid. This with “Hell on wheels not far away as Shoshone.”
“What difficult, unyielding stuff that lava rock turned out to be…A
railroad track laid directly on such unyielding stuff would ruin the rolling stock
in not time…We were forced to go a foot or so below grade and then fill in with
earth…I learned then how meagre [sic] is the supply of sand and soil over that
awful lava rock.”
Getting supplies “was an expensive nightmare,” the weather
consisted of scorching days and freezing nights, and freighting from the end of
the track to the camps was slow and expensive. Water was scarce in “the
waterless desert of lava rock and sagebrush.”

42. KYNER, END OF TRACK
“The roughness of Idaho of the eighties can hardly be exaggerated,
and the toughness of the men with whom we came in almost daily contact
certainly can’t.” Workers Kyner called “ring-tailed roarers” were challenging.
“This was the gun-toting west, where heavy fists and six-shooters were the
order of the day, and where the commonest drink was whiskey straight and in
large and potent quantities.” Fights were constant, “and what brutal fights
they were.” Bob Kilpatrick never went anywhere w/o his bodyguard, a
“swarthy Mexican who wore a heavy cartridge belt with two loaded pistols.”
Kyner got rid of a whiskey merchant at his camp who refused to leave
by throwing a lighted stick of dynamite near his tent, and said the next one
would be thrown into his tent. “The merchant saddled his horses and galloped
off, never to be seen again.”

43. KYNER, END OF TRACK
Workers were paid in cash, which required a trip to Salt Lake to get
$3 - 20,000 a month, which had to be brought back to the work camps. The
country was filled with “bad men, robberies were common,” and every camp
had informers for the gangs so payrolls could be held up. Kyner hid cash in his
artificial leg, and his wife hid cash in her undergarments, during the 16 hour
train ride from Salt Lake and the 8 hour trip by wagon to his camp.
Kyner described the mess table at one of Kilpatrick’s camps, where
the plates were nailed to the table “so’s we kin get more people at each
table.” They were cleaned by a man with a bucket and a swab who gave each
plate a “lick and a promise.”

44. KYNER, END OF TRACK
Kyner’s work later from Mountain Home to Boise was easy
compared to the tough conditions on the Wood River Branch. “I almost
danced with delight. It had been that awful lava rock along Wood River that
had made all the trouble – that lava rock and the bills for wagon freighting.”
When he later worked in Colorado, he said “it was a relief to find myself at
such a pleasant place after those awful plains of Idaho.”
The OSL cost $3M more than UP paid its contractors, who made up
the difference themselves. Many went bankrupt, and Kyner spent all his
savings and borrowed $18,000 to buy supplies and pay his men. UP’s
difficulty in raising funds to finance the OSL left its treasury empty.
Another contractor said UP’s “fraud, imbecility, mismanagement,
misrepresentation, and general rascality, finds no parallel in railroad history.”

45. WRV WAITS FOR THE RAILROAD
There was a huge demand for wood ties, and 300 men in the WRV
were hired to cut several hundred thousand ties and float them down the
Wood River to the construction camps.
WRV newspapers followed the progress of the tracks and expressed
great optimism. The News-Miner said “come quickly ye who would
participate in the grand boom surrounding the completion of the Oregon
Short Line.” The UP was bringing in “men of capital” to invest in the WR
mines and real estate, “a better class than usually pours into mining camps.”
In March 1883, the OSL had 1,000 men and 500 teams building the branch
into the WRV, and the “Iron Horse is Snorting and Cavorting within 8 miles”
of Hailey. The yield of the Philadelphia Smelter was expected to increase
from $1M to $3M in 1883 because of the railroad. 100 car loads of ore
waited in the WRV to be shipped out as soon as the railroad arrived.

46. UNPLEASANT ASPECTS OF THE RAILROAD
Local newspapers also warned of the unpleasant aspects of the
arrival of the railroad.
The Wood River Times said a car load of “opium fiends and
prostitutes” riding to Shoshone threatened to capture the train. They were
dumped off in the sage-brush where they consumed their opium and whiskey
and started fighting among themselves. “Their yells could be heard for
miles.” A construction train picked them up the next day to save them from
starving or freezing to death.
The paper also warned that “hundreds of gamblers and abandoned
women” were following the railroad’s progress and would soon arrive in
Hailey.

47. The WR Branch was
completed on May 7,
1883, with rail and
telegraph services
beginning that day.
The arrival of the first
train was met “with a
brass band and all
the enthusiasm of a
Fourth of July,” with
“several kegs of beer
emptied in
succession.”
Poster issued by Union Pacific

48. Ads in Ketchum
Keystone, 5/4/1883.
The Philadelphia
Smelter had plans to
expand so it could
control the entire
“Wood River
country,” turning
Ketchum into a great
smelting center
which would
compete with the
world and “leave
little room for the
various one-horse
stacks about the
country.”

49. KETCHUM HOPES FOR AN EXTENSION
Even though Hailey was the terminus of the Wood River Branch
Ketchum residents hoped that an extension would be built further north. The
Philadelphia Company brought heavy pressure on UP to build an extension to
access its smelter. However, in May 1883, a UP executive said rumors that a
grading contract had been signed to Ketchum “were willful lies.”
In spring 1884, the OSL did a preliminary survey of a Ketchum
extension, but the UP Idaho manager said “the road is not going to be built to
Ketchum.” UP did not want “any more road in the snowy country north of
Shoshone” due to the high costs of keeping it open the winter. UP was in such
financial difficulty because of the huge costs of building the OSL that its Board
considered cutting its dividend, “which would be a sad calamity.”
UP changed its mind in spring 1884, and began working on obtaining a
right-of-way for a Ketchum extension.

50. The last portion of
the Ketchum
extension right-of-
way was acquired
from Dr. Johnson, the
owner of the Cold
Springs Ranch south
of town. He had
obtained an
injunction on grading
on his property, since
the railroad would
“take the heart of the
Cold Springs Ranch.”
He received $1,000,
the largest sum paid
for the extension.
Photo from Community
Library

51. 1884 – KETCHUM
EXTENSION
In 1884, OSL tracks
were extended to the
Philadelphia Smelter,
north of Ketchum,
the WRV’s largest
employer, located
where Warm Springs
Creek entered the Big
Wood River.
Two bridges were
built over the Wood
River, one at Gimlet
and one 1 ½ miles
south of Ketchum.
Photos from the
Community Library

52. RHODES ADDITION,
1884, partial plat
map showing the
OSL tracks & depot,
the Y tracks built in
1885 over the Big
Wood River to the
241 acre
Philadelphia
Smelter, and platted
land in the Warm
Springs area where
the company owned
988 acres. In 1903,
the OSL bought land
from the company
surrounding its
depot for sheep
pens.

53. The arrival of the
train at Ketchum on
August 19, 1884,
“called for a
celebration to eclipse
all former
celebrations.” A
grand ball was held,
together with a
Carnival featuring
horse races, a
baseball game,
sporting events,
speeches, a greased
pig tournament, and
fire-works.
Ketchum Keystone,
8/16/1884

54. 1898 Oregon Short
Line map showing
the Wood River
Branch. There were
8 stops between
Shoshone and
Ketchum on the
Wood River Branch.

55. 1898 Schedule for
Wood River Branch.
One train a day left
Shoshone at 7:20
am, arrived at
Bellevue at 10:20
am, Hailey at 10:45,
and Ketchum at
11:30. The return
train left Ketchum at
3:00 pm and arrived
in Shoshone at 7:00
pm.

56. Oregon Short
Line train in the
Wood River
Valley.
Photo from the
Community Library

57. Shoshone was a
major railroad town,
and thrived as the
“Junction” between
the main east-west
OSL line and the
Wood River Branch.
Shoshone had a
roundhouse with 14
stalls, repair &
machine shops, and a
water tower and coal
chute.
Photos from Casey
Kenaston

58. These pictures
show the OSL
machine shop used
to repair trains,
and the coal chute
in Shoshone. OSL
had a large
workforce in
Shoshone until it
moved its repair
operations to
Pocatello in 1887.
Photos from Casey
Kenaston

59. OSL depot at
Gannet.
Photo from Union
Pacific Museum

60. BELLEVUE DEPOT
The picture on the
right shows the
inside of the depot,
the station agent,
and the telegraph
operator.
Photos from the Community
Library & Union Pacific Museum.

61. HAILEY DEPOT,
between Carbonate
and Bullion on 5th
Ave.
Photos from Union Pacific Museum &
the Community Library.

62. KETCHUM DEPOT
Photos from Union Pacific Museum &
the Community Library.

63. WINTER IN BLAINE
COUNTY
The picture on the
left shows an OSL
train with a snow
plow clearing the
tracks. The rotary
snowplow was
developed by UP for
the OSL tracks, and
began operating in
March 1887. The
picture on the right
shows an engine in
Shoshone.
Photos from Casey
Kenaston

64. THE OSL DRAMATICALLY CHANGED THE WRV
The railroad transformed the WRV and provided a huge economic
boost. Passengers and goods could travel rapidly and cheaply in and out of
the Valley. Travelers could connect with UP’s transcontinental tracks in Utah,
and with the NP’s transcontinental tracks in Montana.
In 1881, it took the McFalls over 2 weeks to travel from Nevada to
Bellevue by wagon. After 1883, residents could travel to Shoshone in 2
hours, Boise in 3 ½ hours, and be in Portland 8 hours later. They could reach
Salt Lake in 9 hours, and New York a few days later. The OSL reduced the
cost of transporting goods in and out of the WRV by over $20 a ton.
The 1884 Idaho Territorial Report said the WRV had a 110 mile
mineral belt, “easy communication by means or the Wood River branch of
the OSL, and “may be truly regarded as an attractive country.”
With the coming of the railroad, the WRV “passed from lusty infancy
to a more orderly adolescence.” Spence, For Wood River or Bust.

65. THE WRV ECONOMY WAS TRANSFORMED
The railroad transformed the WRV’S economy and expedited the
flow of capital from Europe and all over the U.S. into the Valley, allowing
exploitation of its “phenomenally rich ore deposits.” Idaho’s Territorial
Governor said the WRV “is now generally conceded to be the richest silver-
lead producing country in the world.” Ore production increased from $4 M in
1884, to over $9 M in 1887. The Minnie Moore and Queen of the Hills Mines
produced between $10 - $15 M of ore during the heyday of the WRV.
The railroad brought an end to “pick and shovel” mining, and
introduced an era of industrialization and capital intensive exploitation of the
WRV’s mines. Spence, Wood River or Bust.

66. “Pick & Shovel”
mining that was
typical in the WRV
before the OSL
arrived was simple
and crude, and
consisted of little
more than a few
men, shovels and
dynamite.
Photos from the ISHS,
63-194-10 & 63-194-11

67. Industrial mining
required significant
capital and a large
work force. The
upper picture shows
the Nay Nay Mine
north of Hailey. The
lower picture shows
the headframe of the
Minnie Moore Mine
with the Queen of
the Hills Mine
behind, located west
of Bellevue.
Photos from the Community
Library & the ISHS, 63-194-10

68. Diagram of workings
of Nay Nay Mine,
Wood River Valley.
From Evelyn Phillips

69. Diagram of Silver Star
Mine in the Little
Smoky Mining
district, and
connected mines.
From the Lundin
collection

70. OSL MINES MADE HUGE PROFITS AND SOLD FOR
PREMIUM PRICES
In 1883, the Mayflower Mine, initially acquired for $25,000, shipped
$572,000 of ore, and sold for $375,000. The same year, the St. Patrick Mine
sold to Baltimore investors who had $400,000 in capital. In 1884, British
investors purchased the Idahoan Mine for $400,000, the Minnie Moore Mine
for $500,000, and the Bullion Mine for over $1 M. Thus, in two years,
$2,675,000 was invested in these five mines alone, which would be worth
$64,200,000 in 2013 dollars.
Large California investors invested in WRV mines, including George
Hearst who made his fortunes in the Comstock Lode in Nevada and the
Homestake Mine in South Dakota.

71. THE RAILROAD CAUSES NEARBY AREAS TO BOOM
Areas around the WRV also boomed because of the OSL.
The Philadelphia Company built a smelter in Muldoon, 20 miles east of
the WRV, to handle ore from its mines there, after it bought the Muldoon Mine
for $100,000. The Camas Gold Belt west of Hailey, and the Smoky Mining
Districts, west of Ketchum over Dollarhide Summit, opened new mines, and
their ores were brought to Ketchum to be smelted at the Philadelphia Smelter.
The Wood River Times of 1886, said the Smoky Mining Districts “contain more
promising mines” than any other area in the world “with the exception of the
incomparable Comstock and Butte districts, and the Smoky districts even
promise to surpass these in time.”
Stagecoaches connected the WRV to the outlying mining areas.

72. The Philadelphia
Smelter expanded in
1883, and installed
two 50 ton smelters
to process 180 tons
of ore a day from all
over the region. The
company also bought
a number of local
mines. A new road
was built out Warm
Springs Creek over
Dollarhide Summit to
reach the Smoky
Mining Districts &
the Silver Star Mine
where the Company
built a $500,000 mill.
Ketchum Keystone 5/4/1884 &
pictures from Lundin collection.
Twenty stamp mill at Silver Star Mine, 1980s.

73. In 1884, H.C. Lewis
built a toll road over
Trail Creek Summit,
and his Lewis Fast
Freight brought ore
from mines around
Challis to the
Philadelphia Smelter
for processing. He
used large ore
wagons that can be
seen in Ketchum’s
Labor Day parade.
This picture shows
Lewis Fast Freight in
the foreground and
the Philadelphia
Smelter in the back.
Photo from the
Community Library.

74. Ore wagon owned by
Lewis Fast Freight
bringing ore to the
Philadelphia Smelter
in Ketchum for
processing and
shipment to national
markets on the
Oregon Short Line
Railroad. These
wagons carried up to
18,000 pounds of ore
and covered 12 to 14
miles a day.
Photo from the
Community Library.

75. THE OSL MODERNIZED THE WRV
With the expected arrival of the OSL, investors brought the most
modern technology to the WRV. The Philadelphia Smelter had an electric light
system by fall 1882, and by the winter of 1882—1883, Hailey had an electric
power system designed by Thomas Edison, the first in the NW. By November
1883, a telephone system connected four WRV cities, Ketchum Bullion, Hailey
and Bellevue. Ketchum had two telephones, one at the Post Office and the
other at the Philadelphia Smelter. Subscribers paid 25 cents a call and non-
subscribers paid 50 cents. The following year, service was extended to outlying
areas (Elkhorn, Warm Springs & Boyle Mountain).
By 1883, Hailey had a municipal water system, Bellevue had two daily
newspapers and Hailey had three, and the National Bank of Ketchum was
formed with $50,000 of capital. WRV residents had new mobility. In 1885,
300 people from Hailey accompanied its baseball team on the train to a
tournament in Shoshone. A fist fight between fans had to be broken up by the
Sheriff, but the trip was a success.

76. August 1884 – W.W.
Cole’s Colossal Show,
a three ring circus,
came to Hailey by
rail. Sampson the
Elephant escaped,
ran wild through
downtown Hailey,
terrorizing the town.
Locals pulled out
their guns and shot
at the poor beast
before he was finally
returned to his cage.
Bystanders said
“Sampson seemed to
enjoy the fun.”
Ketchum Keystone ,
7/30 & 8/6/1884.

77. Stagecoaches still
were still important.
They ran up and
down the valley to
supplement train
service, to Kelton,
and to outlying
mining districts from
Bellevue, Hailey and
Ketchum. Ketchum
stages ran west to
the Smoky Districts,
north over Galena
Summit to the
Sawtooth district,
and east over Trail
Creek to the Challis
mines.
Ketchum Keystone,
5/5/84

78. NEW BRANCH LINES
PLANNED FROM
HAILEY.
The Gold Belt RR
would go west out
Croy Canyon to
Bullion, Camas Prairie
& Smoky Mining
District. Other lines
would go north over
or under Galena
Summit to Stanley,
Challis and Salmon;
up the East Fork of
the Big Wood River
to Muldoon; and out
Deer Creek. None
were built .
Map from McGonical,
Spring of Gladness

79. 1888: SILVER DEPRESSION ENDS WRV BOOM
In 1888, there was a sharp decline in silver prices which precipitated
a major, world-wide depression. 1893 marked the end of silver’s financial
dominance, and the U.S. went off the silver standard. 15,000 businesses and
642 banks failed, and 20% of the work force was out of work. Most of the
railroads in the U.S. went into bankruptcy, including the U.P. and O.S.L. The
Panic of 1893 was a “painful end of the Gilded Age.”
In the WRV, by 1888, most of the mines closed, bust replaced boom,
“and many inhabitants left.” The Philadelphia Smelter closed in 1893. This
was a “decade of turmoil” for Idaho, and the WRV Mining District was said to
be “deader than a lime fossil.” Many WRV towns were abandoned, including
Bolton, Bullion, Gilman, Broadford, Gimlet, Galena, Doniphan, Hays and
Muldoon. By 1890, Hailey’s population had dropped from 4,000 to 1,073;
Bellevue’s from 3,000 to 892; and Ketchum’s from 2,000 to 465.

80. CLARK SPENCE ON THE WRV’S MINING BOOM
For mining communities, like mortals, there is a time to be born and a
time to die. Most lived fleetingly, a brief and intense blaze of glory across the
pages of history, either to perish completely or to survive with economic bases
much altered or their province diminished. According to Idaho’s Mining
Inspector in 1898, Wood River Valley’s moment of brilliance spanned the
decade of the 1880s. Its production record has been phenomenal. Twenty
nine of its mines had taken out $14 M in silver and $5 in lead. Even though
not comparable in the long run to Leadville or the Coeur d’Alenes, Wood River
has never been given its due, either in its heyday or by later historians.
Spence, For Wood River or Bust: Idaho’s Silver Boom of the 1880s.

81. END OF THE FRONTIER
In 1893, Fredrick Jackson Turner announced that settlement had
ended the country’s frontier, closing the first period of U.S. history. By this, he
meant the end of available free land. “Free lands and the consciousness of
working out their social destiny did more than turn a Westerner to material
interests and devote him to a restless existence. They promoted equality
among the Western settlers and reacted to a check on the aristocratic
influence of the East.”
In 1893, the McFalls moved from Bellevue to Shoshone, which was
thriving as a railroad town on the OSL line. Matt McFall built the Columbia
Hotel in 1893, and the McFall Hotel in 1900. Shoshone, McFall, and his hotel
thrived during the economic boom times of the early 1900s.

82. McFall Hotel,
Shoshone, Idaho,
built by Matt McFall
in 1900.
Photo from ISHS, #398J

83. TO BE CONTINUED FRIDAY JULY 11.