753 
 
 1908 
 
 BOISE COMMERCIAL CLUB 
 
 *t 
 
BANCROFT 
 LIBRARY 
 
 o 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 

 ^^ 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 XV 
 
I S E 
 
 
 IDAHO 
 
 y 
 
 Oregon Short Line Depot, Boise. 
 
 Published by the .Boise Commercial Club 
 
 ' 
 
United States Assay Office, Boise. 
 
1" 76 
 
 FOREWORD 
 
 T is the intent of this booklet to present by picture and by written word the 
 advantages offered the Homeseeker by the City of Boise, Idaho, and the region 
 tributary thereto. Its publication is actuated by no desire to nourish the pride 
 of those who already live there, but to unfold for the world and especially 
 for that large part of the world dissatisfied with its present environments and 
 seeking a new and better place to live such a plain, straightforward recital of 
 the conditions in and about Boise as will recommend it to the favorable consideration of the 
 prospective settler. 
 
 The time has been when the literature exploiting various communities was made 
 up largely of exaggerations. Times have changed, however, and without saying anything 
 of the truthfulness of other such publications, let it be known that the statements of this 
 particular booklet are in scrupulous conformity with facts. That we set forth the best 
 of this glorious land we do not deny. But never is the desire to make a good showing per- 
 mitted to lead us into enlargements upon the truth. Indeed, there is no temptation to 
 exaggeration. Difficult enough it is to convince the skeptical of the truth without making the 
 matter worse by an indulgence in falsehood. 
 
 Read the following pages then, Mr. Homeseeker, believing that what they contain in 
 statement and in illustration is true, and that they contain a message for you a message that 
 is an invitation and an appeal to come, behold and partake of the abundant opportunities that 
 exist in and about the beautiful city of Boise, Idaho. 
 
 For details not given in this booklet, address " Boise Commercial Club, Boise, Idaho." 
 
Boise is surrounded by a country of great fertility and remarkable possibilities. 
 
 ranch near the city. 
 
 This view shows a fine Holstein dairy 
 
A band of thoroughbred sheep near Boise. 
 
Lake in Pierce Park, Boise. 
 
BOISE IDAHO 
 
 A Bit of History 
 
 Southern Idaho. 
 was established. 
 
 HE birth of Boise was coincident with the 
 historic gold rush of 1862, when it was 
 told with bated breath that the yellow 
 metal, in quantities exceeding the wild- 
 est dreams of the prospector, had been 
 found in the mountain fastnesses of 
 Idaho City, about 36 miles from Boise, 
 and in 1864, only two years later, 
 had a voting population of 16,000. In eight years the camp 
 produced approximately $2(10,000.000.00 in placer gold. In 
 1863 Port Boise was established on the Boise River, and in 
 the same year Boise City was laid out on the plain between 
 the fort and the river. In 1890, when Idaho was admitted 
 to the Union. Boise, then with a population of 3,000, was 
 made the capital of the State, and attained, thereby, some 
 degree of public attention. The early years of its existence 
 
 were full of the uncertainties and the struggles that char- 
 acterize the development of every community in a new 
 land. But, surmounting all obstacles, full of faith in the 
 future, believing in themselves and in the glorious region 
 which had been given them as a rich heritage, these sturdy 
 pioneers builded and builded well the firm foundation of 
 the present fair city of Boise and the far fairer city of the 
 future. Upon these foundations is building a city of mag- 
 nificent proportions, of such beauty and such evident 
 prosperity that those who look back to the struggling set- 
 tlement of 45 years ago can hardly believe that the Boise 
 of 1863 and of 1908 are one and the same. 
 
 This growth, marvelous as it has been, is not the in- 
 flated product of any boom or transient conditions, but 
 is the logical, inevitable result of conditions that are as 
 stable as the earth itself. 
 
Page 8 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 The Secret of a City's Greatness 
 
 HE secret of why a city is great is, con- 
 tradictorily, no secret at all, but the 
 working out of natural laws. Generally 
 speaking, a city is great because, by rea- 
 son of its location, it is the natural mar- 
 ket and distributing point for a region 
 of great productivity. As this tributory 
 region develops, so the city will develop. 
 
 Business Buildings, Boise. 
 
 Other factors may enter in, as railroads, harbors, etc., but 
 in nine cases out of ten a city grows as the country behind 
 it grows. 
 
 The question arises, then, What is the country behind 
 Boise? And it is a pleasure to answer that question. A 
 glance at the map will show that Boise is the unchallenged 
 industrial nucleus and distributing center for a vast ter- 
 ritory, bounded, roughly, by the eastern and southern 
 boundaries of the state, reaching up into the "pan handle" 
 on the north and far into Eastern Oregon on the west. 
 This immense territory, nearly 400,000 square miles of 
 potential wealth, is not excelled by any area of equal size 
 in America. Over the wide realm Boise reigns supreme. 
 Of course, there are many other thriving communities, 
 towns that will themselves grow to cities as large as 
 Boise is now; but Boise's place as capital and metropolis 
 is too secure to permit the question of competition ever 
 to arise. 
 
 Southern Idaho 
 
 I T THI<:R\ IDAHO is a rectangular sec- 
 tion of country about the size and shape 
 of the state of Kansas. It is bounded by 
 high and rugged mountain chains, which 
 store its water supply and hold it well 
 into the Summer season. The Snake 
 River rises at the northeast corner of 
 this rectangle, flows southwesterly for 
 about 200 miles, turns sharply to the west at American 
 Falls, and after following that course for about 150 miles, 
 it turns northwesterly and leaves the Southern Idaho rec- 
 tangle at its northwest corner. The mountain boundaries 
 of this section are of granite formation. During the ages 
 
Street scenes, Boise, showing the Idaho Trust and Savings Bank building on the left, and the Sonna building on the right. 
 
 of the formation of the valley a series of volcanic craters 
 located along its northern boundary sent forth streams 
 of lava, which flowed across it to the southwest. Suc- 
 cessive eruptions followed, at periods of ages, and be- 
 tween each there was formed a layer of soil and dis- 
 
 integrated rock. Since the last overflow the glacial period 
 has come and gone, and the upper and lower ends of the 
 valley are seared with deep gashes cut by the glaciers, and 
 great moraines of sand and gravel have been left on the 
 surface of the plain. After this period various upheavals 
 
A Boise Valley Ranch. 
 
Pear Orchard near Boise. 
 
Page 12 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 of the earth have thrown up along the borders high ranges 
 of lava mountains and across the center, where is now 
 the great canyon of the Snake River, there is a mighty 
 crack, through the bottom of which now the Snake River 
 rushes and writhes and falls over many precipices, form- 
 ing some of the most magnificent waterfalls and rapids 
 in the world. 
 
 The center of this valley is volcanic ash, mixed with 
 disintegrated lava, and the sand and gravel of the glacial 
 moraines. The lowest point in the valley in Southern 
 Idaho is 2,100 feet, and the highest point some 7,000 feet. 
 The Snake River, with its tributaries, gives the greatest 
 water supply for irrigation of any other equal area in 
 the world. 
 
 It is due to this fact that at the present time there are 
 here in course of construction more irrigation projects 
 than any other locality can boast, and all of them are 
 meritorious because there is water for all and to spare. 
 Southern Idaho has now practically 3,000,000 acres of 
 these rich lands under water, which will mean an area 
 with a productivity inferior to no state in the Union. This 
 fact also suggests something of the opportunity that 
 Southern Idaho offers the Homeseeker who is alive to the 
 situation. It is the successful farmer who has appreciated 
 such conditions in the past and made the most of them. 
 While Idaho does not present the same opportunity that it 
 did to the pioneer years ago, the opportunity of today is, 
 nevertheless, most attractive and, in many respects, greater 
 than that of the past. The newcomer today has the exper- 
 ience and work of the past to guide him, and when the de- 
 velopments in irrigation are considered, his opportunities 
 are almost infinitely greater than were those of the pioneer 
 who blazed the way for the homeseeker of today. 
 
 The Boise Valley 
 
 HE headwaters of the North Fork of the 
 Boise River are in Boise County, toward 
 the center of the state; those of the 
 South Fork in Elmore County. United, 
 the augmented current flows westward 
 to its confluence with the Snake. Be- 
 fore it empties into that tortuous stream, 
 the Boise checks its headlong course to 
 traverse more leisurely the beautiful valley to which it 
 gives its name. 
 
 For a quarter of a century and more this valley, with 
 land of the highest degree of fertility, has been under 
 successful cultivation. The early settlers, individually, 
 or by twos and threes, constructed headgates and 
 canals, diverting the waters of the river to irrigate their 
 farms. The results have been phenomenal, almost pass- 
 ing belief. Such crops as the new settlers had never 
 dreamed of were produced with unfailing regularity. All 
 of the elements seemed to have conspired to produce condi- 
 tions most favorable to plant life. Nearly all the products 
 of the temperate zone grow abundantly: the cereals, ex- 
 cepting corn; grasses, especially timothy, clover and al- 
 falfa; fruits, to a degree of success hardly attained ex- 
 cept in the few most famed districts of the Northwest; 
 small fruits and berries; potatoes and garden vegetables; 
 and, last, but far from least, sugar beets. 
 
 The development of stock-raising followed close upon 
 agriculture and horticulture. Sheep and cattle were 
 brought down from the great public ranges to be finished 
 on the succulent grasses of the meadow bottoms. The 
 dairy cow was introduced and milk in increased volume 
 
Forest near Boise, 
 
Page 14 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 and richness was the result. It was found possible to fit 
 hogs for market on alfalfa without a kernel of grain. 
 Pine horses were bred. Poultry was raised to excellent 
 profit. 
 
 In a word, it was found that anything that could be 
 done with land elsewhere could be done equally well in 
 the Boise Valley and many things a great deal better. 
 Today the valley is a highly developed agricultural region, 
 but it has by no means reached its highest degree of pro- 
 
 Residence of U. S. Senator W. E. Borah, Boise. 
 
 ductivity. Until the last few years general farming has 
 been practiced, but now it is becoming evident that the 
 land is too valuable for ordinary crops. So the large 
 ranches are being broken up into units of ten and twenty 
 acres, where intensified agriculture is practiced. As a 
 result, the population of the valley has increased wonder- 
 fully, and, as the movement continues, it is bound to be 
 doubled and trebled. 
 
 Indications point to the fact that the movement west- 
 ward will be accentuated during the next few years, and 
 with the increase in population land values will corre- 
 spondingly increase. It is certain that to the farmer of the 
 East or Middle West, dissatisfied with climatic and other 
 hard conditions, there will never come a greater opportu- 
 nity than is to be found today in the West, and especially 
 in this section. "Tomorrow" land values may be doubt- 
 less will be higher, and land more difficult to secure. The 
 time is NOW to go westward, and the wise man will care- 
 fully balance conditions before making a final choice. The 
 region tributary to Boise confidently puts forward its 
 claims because of the facts just set forth. 
 
 Later on, in this publication, the various crops and in- 
 dustries mentioned above will be taken up specifically 
 and given detailed discussion. Here the intent has been 
 only to produce a comprehensive outline of the conditions 
 in the Boise Valley directly contributary to Boise. 
 
 At the head of the Valley, nestled up against the great 
 hills that gird its northern boundary, is the city, capital 
 of the state of Idaho, seat of Ada County, metropolis of 
 a vast realm of incalculable potential wealth, the home of 
 28,000 healthy, prosperous and progressive people, proud 
 of their city and its place in the development of the great 
 Northwest, and confident of the greatness of its future. 
 
BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 Page 15 
 
 Irrigation 
 
 EYOND question, the greatest factor in 
 the development of the region tributary 
 to Boise is Irrigation. Indeed, there is 
 small doubt that it is the largest factor 
 in the development of the United States 
 today. To one who has lived or trav- 
 eled much in that vast region between 
 the Cascades and the Missouri-Missis- 
 sippi Valley, Irrigation presents nothing that is new or 
 strange. But to the Easterner, or the inhabitant of the 
 Middle West, there is much in it that is novel, if not a 
 little mysterious. On any one of the great transcon- 
 tinental lines the traveler crossing the great American 
 Desert beholds vast stretches of arid land, producing noth- 
 ing but sage brush, supporting no life but the coyote 
 and the buzzard. Not unnaturally he concludes that this 
 seeming sterility is due to a lack of fertile quality in 
 the soil. On the contrary, the soil is the most fertile in 
 the world. All that is needed to make it spring into 
 luxuriant vegetation is water. Sage brush thrives merely 
 because Nature, abhorring waste, has fashioned the sage 
 with the least possible leaf surface, therefore losing 
 the least possible moisture by evaporation to thrive in 
 a land where the rainfall is next to nothing. The absence 
 of adequate rainfall is due to the fact that the great 
 moisture-bearing clouds, swept eastward from the Pacific 
 Ocean, and coming into contact with the mountains, am 
 arried upward and mado to precipitate their moisture 
 by the increased altitude. Thus the thirsty regions lying 
 east of the mountains are robbed of their due proportion 
 of rainfall and are left arid. 
 
 Prom before the dawn of history man has under- 
 stood and applied the principles of irrigation. In the 
 valleys of the Ganges, the Euphrates, the Nile, centers 
 of the first great civilizations, extensive systems of 
 artificial watering were carried on. In South and Central 
 America and Mexico irrigation was practiced, and in 
 Arizona evidences of systems for artificial watering of 
 considerable magnitude have been discovered. So, in- 
 stead of being an experiment, it is, so far as its antiquity 
 
 Postoffice, Boise. 
 
Page 16 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 is concerned, about as far from it as anything that can 
 be conceived of. 
 
 It is but of comparatively recent years that any con- 
 siderable attention has been given to irrigation in the 
 United States, and still more recently has it been taken 
 up by the United States Government. But with the occu- 
 pancy of practically all the humid lands, and the success- 
 ful application of irrigation by private enterprise, public 
 attention has been won, capital interested, legislation en- 
 acted, until now millions of acres have been seized back 
 
 Pressed Brick Plant near Boise. 
 
 from the desert, millions upon millions of capital invested 
 and homes provided for a million people. And this is 
 but the beginning. In every direction the "ditch" of the 
 irrigator is extending its potent arm and reaching out 
 tiny life-giving fingers to reclaim the soil from the desert. 
 The extent to which irrigation may be carried is limited 
 only by the available water supply. And there is no say- 
 ing how far, when the need arises, the engineering skill 
 or the mechanical daring of man will go toward over- 
 coming the obstacles that Nature has interposed. 
 
 Irrigation in Idaho 
 
 the State of Idaho irrigation is of pecu- 
 liar significance. This great common- 
 wealth is practically all arid or semi-arid. 
 On the other hand, by reason of her great 
 available water supply, and the topo- 
 graphical conditions that prevail, Idaho 
 provides an exceptional field for the ef- 
 fectuation of great irrigation undertak- 
 ings. The Federal Government has taken up the work, 
 and has launched reclamation enterprises of tremendous 
 magnitude, and has passed laws making it possible for 
 individuals or corporations to enter upon like enterprises. 
 
 In Southern Idaho alone, at the beginning of the 
 present year, 2,931,753 acres were under canals, and over 
 half that amount actually irrigated. There were 8,876 
 miles of canals constructed at a cost of $19,907,721.00. 
 And since that time projects involving hundreds upon 
 hundreds of tliousas'ds of acres more have been launched, 
 until the sum total simply staggers the imagination. More 
 
Placer Mining in the Boise Basin. 
 
Page 18 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 money has been spent in Idaho for reclamation purposes 
 than in any other state in the Union. 
 
 Mention has been made of federal legislation affecting 
 irrigation. By far the most important of these statutes 
 and one representing the greatest possible benefit to cap- 
 italist and investor alike is the "Carey Act." 
 
 The Carey Act 
 
 EDUCED to its lowest terms, this wise 
 and beneficent statute provides that, a 
 certain tract of Government land hav- 
 ing been determined upon as suitable 
 for reclamation, the corporation desir- 
 ing to construct irrigation works there- 
 on, for the purpose of reclaiming the 
 land under the act, files with the State 
 Board of Land Commissioners its application, together 
 with its proposal for constructing the works and all other 
 details as to source of water, estimate of cost of construc- 
 tion, terms of water rental, etc. These plans accepted by 
 the State Board, application is made to the Secretary of 
 the Interior for a segregation of the lands embraced in 
 the application and an adequate bond having been given, 
 with the final approval of the Secretary of State, the 
 project is authorized. The law contains further clauses 
 affecting the terms of sale, insuring the immediate settle- 
 ment and cultivation of the land, and providing an effec- 
 tual preventive against the speculative holding of large 
 tracts of land. 
 
 The stimulative effect of this enactment was immedi- 
 ately felt, and no state has profited so greatly as Idaho. 
 Already the million acres, the maximum extent to which 
 
 any one state may segregate lands under the Carey Act, 
 has been exhausted. The last session of Congress allot- 
 ted another million acres of Carey lands to Idaho. 
 
 Conspicuous among the various projects benefiting by 
 the Carey Act is the Twin Palls project, on the Snake 
 River, in Southern Idaho the largest and most success- 
 ful enterprise of its kind in the world. The development 
 of the north and south banks of the river represents a 
 segregation of 425,000 acres, over half of which has been 
 settled and over three-fourths sold. The Salmon River 
 and Wood River projects and others bring the total acre- 
 age involved up to nearly the original million. 
 
 Although this immense development is only indirectly 
 tributary to Boise, yet there is no denying the fact that 
 the city does profit tremendously by the wonderful ex- 
 pansion and upbuilding of the country to the south of her 
 confines. "Whatever helps Idaho helps Boise" is a truism. 
 
 The Payette-Boise Project 
 
 N addition to irrigation by private enter- 
 prise and irrigation operations under the 
 Carey Act, the U. S. Government, fully 
 appreciating the tremendous value to the 
 Nation of such undertakings, has direct- 
 ly engaged in irrigating enterprises, has 
 already appropriated over $30,000,000.00 
 for this purpose, and is preparing to ex- 
 pend as much more in this most profitable form of invest- 
 ment. In Idaho the two great government projects are the 
 Minidoka project, involving 130,000 to 150,000 acres, and. 
 of vital and incalculable importance to Boise, the Payette- 
 Boise project, with an irrigable area of 372,000 acres, and 
 
Scene on the Boise River. 
 
Page SO 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 every acre directly or indirectly tributary to Boise. Of 
 this the "South Side Division" of 130,000 acres is prac- 
 tically completed, this area being largely the wide bench 
 lands of mesas adjacent to, or a part of, the Boise Valley. 
 The source of the water supply is the Boise River, the dis- 
 charge being regulated by storage works at the head- 
 waters of the canals. Just completed also is the great res- 
 ervoir in the Boise Valley, with an area of 9,000 acres, 
 which will impound water sufficient to irrigate 120,000 
 acres of land. 
 
 Odd Felloivs' Temple, Boise. 
 
 These enterprises are so vast and the figures involved 
 of such magnitude that to add to them would be but tq 
 produce confusion in the mind of the reader. Prom these 
 statements, however, some comprehension may be gained 
 of the immensity of the irrigation projects in Idaho, and 
 especially in the region that looks to Boise as its indus- 
 trial center, market place, and distributing point. 
 
 The Practice of Irrigation 
 
 N operation, irrigation is simplicity itself. 
 The water is conveyed, first, in great 
 canals, then in laterals and further sub- 
 divisions to the irrigable lands. Along 
 the upper boundary of each field runs 
 the ditch or flume controlled by gates, 
 and from it extend transverse furrows 
 reaching every part of the field. When- 
 ever moisture is needed, the irrigator opens his gate and 
 permits the water to pour down the furrows, controlling 
 its flow by temporary gates or dams. 
 
 The immeasurable advantage that he possesses over 
 the farmer dependent upon rainfall is immediately evi- 
 dent. Entirely liberated is he from the caprice of the 
 weather. The operation of a lever, or a few turns of a 
 spade, and at his command is all the moisture that he re- 
 quires. More than that, he can apply or retard the mois- 
 ture as best suits the needs of the particular crop under 
 cultivation. For example, as every farmer knows, oats, 
 given an excess of moisture when the oat is "heading," 
 will run largely to straw. This danger is obviated by 
 holding back the water supply at the proper time, so that 
 the instinct of the plant will tend to produce the fullest, 
 
The Swan Falls Power Plant, ivhich furnishes power for Boise and for the Inter-urban electric line. 
 
Quartz Mining in the Boise Mining Belt. 
 
BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 Page S 
 
 heaviest heads ; for this reason Idaho oats average 40 
 pounds to the bushel. Again, in the culture of the sugar 
 beet, the application of water is regulated, so as to pro- 
 duce the highest possible degree of saccharine substance. 
 Moreover, the farmer in the irrigated district, unlike his 
 brother who is the plaything of the elements, is never 
 harrassed by untimely rains that impede his harvests or 
 destroy his crops. In every way, and in a sense unknown 
 under ordinary conditions, he is "master of the situa- 
 tion." 
 
 Dry Farming 
 
 N spite of the vast scope of irrigation 
 projects undertaken by the government 
 and by private enterprises, there still re- 
 main immense areas of land to which 
 the life-giving canals do not extend. On 
 these lands, under certain conditions, 
 Dry Farming so-called is practiced 
 with gratifying results. "Dry Farm- 
 ing" is simply a name for agriculture adapted to regions 
 where the rainfall is slight. The government has become 
 interested in this new undertaking, and has established 
 an experiment farm, where it has been amply proved that 
 certain crops, properly sown and cultivated, so as to make 
 the most of the supply of moisture, will yield good returns. 
 And hundreds of farmers are making an excellent living 
 from the cultivation of lands without artificial watering. 
 Statistics are available showing that, by dry farming, 
 wheat will yield 30 to 61 bushels to the acre, barley 30 
 bushels, and potatoes 125 bushels. 
 
 Lands adapted to dry farming may be bought for a 
 nominal price; there is no water right to pay,, and the 
 expense of cultivation is less. The returns are not so 
 great, but the investment is less, and many scientific 
 farmers are turning their attention to this method of 
 cultivating the soil. 
 
 Soil and Products 
 
 HE soil of these districts is a disintegra- 
 ted volcanic ash, in which Nature has 
 secreted all the chemical elements of 
 plant life. Given this, with unlimited 
 sunshine, and the opportune application 
 of sufficient moiture, and the results are 
 such as are absolutely unknown and im- 
 possible in non-irrigated districts. And 
 this, too, without measurable diminution of the productive 
 capacity of the soil. 
 
 An authoritative statement by a government expert 
 contains this assertion : 
 
 "An intelligent utilization of the soil, sunshine and 
 water of Southern Idaho will produce 80 to 125 bushels 
 of oats to the acre ; 50 to 100 bushels of wheat ; 400 to 600 
 bushels of potatoes; and other crops in proportion." 
 
 It is such facts as these that tell the story of this land 
 with an effectiveness that is far-reaching. We have only 
 to compare the above facts of production of the Idaho 
 farmer with the records made by those living in a less fa- 
 vored section in the Eastern States, for example to ap- 
 preciate fully what a handicap the Eastern farmer is under. 
 Yet the story of the West of Idaho is not half told by 
 figures. 
 
Page 24 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 Iniiiiiiiii 
 
 Boise City Hall 
 
 An enumeration of the ' ' other crops ' ' which, by ample demon- 
 stration are successfully grown on the irrigated soil of Southern 
 Idaho would include barley, rye and buckwheat ; alfalfa the sta- 
 ple crop clover, timothy and other grasses; nearly every fruit 
 known to horticulture, and embracing apples, pears, peaches, 
 cherries,, prunes, plums, Japanese plums, apricots, grapes, straw- 
 berries, currants and so-forth. -Semi-tropical crops, as pea- 
 nuts, sweet potatoes and tobacco, have done splendidly. All va- 
 rieties of melons, including the famed Rockyford cantaloupe, pro- 
 duce abundantly. Garden vegetables of every description are 
 prolifically raised. In fact, it is difficult to find anything that will 
 not grow and thrive under the conditions supplied in these irri- 
 gated tracts. Given a soil that is immeasurably rich in the ele- 
 ments essential to plant life, sunshine six days out of the seven, 
 water supplied in unstinted quantities at the time most needed, 
 and other climatic conditions most favorable, and there is no rea- 
 son why anything that grows at all should not grow here, and 
 grow to a degree of luxuriance unknown and unattainable in less 
 favored localities. And such are the conditions in the irrigated 
 region tributary to Boise. 
 
 Government Lands 
 
 ANDS may also be acquired directly from the 
 United States Government under the Desert 
 Land Act, or the Homestead Act. By the for- 
 mer act, desert land, not to exceed 640 acres, 
 may be acquired by paying 25 cents per acre 
 and expending annually $1.00 per acre on irri- 
 gation, etc., for not less than three years. 
 and actually cultivating one-eighth of the entire acreage, or 
 by expending $1.00 per acre annually for four consecutive 
 years. By the Homestead Law any citizen of the United States, 
 not owning over 160 acres of land, may acquire 160 acres of 
 public land by residing thereon and improving the land for not 
 
Prunes Groum in Boise Valley. They are unexcelled shippers. 
 
Page 26 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 less than five continuous years. If these holdings come 
 under the "Reclamation Law," the claimant must also 
 repay in annual installments the proportion of the cost of 
 constructing the irrigating works. 
 
 Land Values 
 
 ! EN acres of irrigated land in Southern 
 Idaho, in the vicinity of Boise, will sup- 
 port a man and his family. That asser- 
 tion, under any but the most exception- 
 ally unfavorable circumstances, will hold 
 true ninety-nine times out of a hundred. 
 It does not mean, of course, that a man 
 with no equipment whatever, or with- 
 out the necessary industry, can occupy a ten-acre tract and 
 expect to derive a living therefrom. It does mean, how- 
 ever, that, with average health and energy, a team of 
 horses and the customary implements, any man can sup- 
 port himself and family from ten acres of irrigated land 
 and put by a little nest egg while he is doing it. It is 
 being done by hundreds of families within a ten-mile ra- 
 dius of Boise. It has been ascertained by experience that 
 a ten-acre orchard, if properly conducted, requires the en- 
 tire time of one man. and he cannot do justice to more land 
 without additional help. This statement, of course, applies 
 to the orchard that is conducted on a commercial basis. 
 
 The government statistician suggests 45 acres as the 
 average holding of irrigated lands. An 80-acre farm is 
 a fortune, and when a man's acres are counted in three 
 figures, he is considered "wealthy." 
 
 As to land values, a wide range is covered depending 
 as elsewhere upon location, degreo of improvement of land, 
 
 etc. In weighing these figures, the prospective settler 
 from the East or Middle West must keep in mind the 
 highly productive nature of the soil and impossibility of 
 crop failure. 
 
 Improved lands under irrigation can hardly be bought 
 for less than $50.00 per acre. The best lands devoted to 
 general farming on an "alfalfa basis" run from $75.00 to 
 $200.00 per acre. The higher figure is paid for farms a 
 fraction of which is in fruit. Orchard lands run from 
 $150.00 to $500.00 per acre. 
 
 On the other hand, unimproved land, but with facil- 
 ities for irrigation may be bought for $10.00 to $50.00 per 
 acre. Desert land, about to be reclaimed by the Payette- 
 Boise project can be had for $10.00 to $20.00 per acre, to 
 which the $30.00 (approximately) water right must be 
 added. 
 
 The Region Tributary to Boise 
 
 far the intent has been to present the 
 general conditions in the great irrigated 
 tracts of Southern Idaho, all of which 
 looks to Boise as its natural center. 
 Hereafter the discussion will be limited 
 to the richest and most attractive por- 
 tion of this area if not of the entire 
 Northwest the Boise Valley, immedi- 
 ately and directly tributary to the city of Boise. The 
 Valley extends in an easterly-westerly direction for 50 
 miles, and running from 7 to 30 miles in width. Twenty- 
 live vciirs ;igo the weary homeseekers of an earlier day 
 found the valley a goodly land, inviting them to settle 
 
The Nourse hog ranch near Boise. 
 
 -irtasKjsa 
 
Page 28 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 needed water, and the broad mesas were found to be no less 
 fertile than the highly prized bottoms. 
 
 The general statements regarding crops, etc., under the 
 section of "Irrigation" will hold true for the Boise Val- 
 ley, but true in their highest degree. This is a land of 
 intensive farming, where the orchard of apples and prunes 
 is bringing to its owner a princely income. 
 
 To approach the matter somewhat systematically, it 
 may be said that of the 125,000 acres under cultivation in 
 
 HI in 
 
 Ft 
 
 Y. M. C. A. Building, Boise. 
 
 the Boise Valley, three-sixths is in hay alfalfa, timothy 
 and clover two-sixths in grain largely wheat and oats 
 and the remainder, one-sixth, in fruit. In addition, a con- 
 siderable acreage of sugar beets is planted and other crops 
 are raised. 
 
 Grains and Grasses 
 
 HEAT of the first quality will run 40 to 
 60 bushels to the acre; oats, 80 to 120 
 bushels. The price, of course, varies 
 with the market. Alfalfa, the mainstay 
 of the irrigation farmer, will yield three 
 cuts a year, a total of 6 to 10 tons to the 
 acre. This is worth to him, if not fed, 
 from $4.00 to $8.00 per ton in the stack. 
 Timothy and clover, with two cuts a year, will yield 3 to 
 5 and 6 tons to the acre, and is worth from $7.00 to $10.00 
 per ton. In both cases excellent pasturage is afforded. 
 
 Horticulture 
 
 the Apple orchardist the Boise Valley 
 offers conditions surpassed by no other 
 region on earth. Neither Hood River 
 nor Rogue River nor Yakima nor any 
 of the far-famed and highly exploited 
 fruit-growing districts afford a more 
 ideal combination of soil, moisture, tem- 
 perature, altitude and climate. There 
 the "big red apple" attains its perfection in size, color, 
 conformation, flavor and keeping qualities The favorite 
 
Peaches are a very profitable crop in the Boise Valley. 
 
Page 30 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 varieties are the Rome Beauty, Jonathan, Winesap, Ar- 
 kansas Black, Delaware Red. A sight of a Boise Valley 
 orchard toward picking time, with the ground cultivated 
 and free from weeds, the trees clean and shapely, and 
 boughs bent to earth under a precious burden of rarest 
 fruit, showing no speck or stain, and tinted a deep crim- 
 son or a glowing yellow by the generous sun ; such a 
 sight is a revelation to the orchardist from New York or 
 Michigan, and cannot but fill him with amazement and 
 envy. 
 
 Trees reach full bearing capacity from five to seven 
 years after planting, and average from 8 to 10 boxes of 
 packed fruit to the tree. This fruit always commands the 
 highest market price, in competition with the products of 
 the world, and is shipped successfully and profitably to 
 England and Europe. The price ranges from $1.75 to 
 $3.00 and $3.50 a box. Ten acres of apple trees properly 
 cultivated, sprayed, picked and packed, should return 
 to their owner over $3.000.00 per year, year in and out. 
 The expense in time and money is very small, and the net 
 income but little below the gross. 
 
 Prunes 
 
 N the production of prunes, next to 
 apples, in acreage in the Boise Valley, 
 the facts are still more wonderful. After 
 careful consideration and comparison, it 
 is stated and successfully maintained 
 that in the production of prunes, the 
 Boise Valley takes the palm from the 
 whole world. Not only are they superior 
 in size and quality, but it has been found by frequent proof 
 
 that the Boise prune will undergo the effects of packing 
 and long shipment and reach the market in better condi- 
 tion than the prune from any other region. In the past 
 year prunes brought to the seller $30.00 per ton, loose, net. 
 The favored varieties are Italian, Hungarian, Silver, 
 Golden, Petite. Fifty-two cars of French and Italian 
 prunes shipped from Boise in 1907 brought $42,000.00 
 f. o. b. 
 
 One orchardist a few miles from the city of Boise, with 
 40 acres of prunes, takes from them over $7,500.00 worth 
 of fruit every year. 
 
 Truth That is Stranger and Better- 
 Than Fiction 
 
 NOTHER statement, and one that is not 
 exceptional, but especially significant, is 
 that of a 10-acre plot set out to Italian 
 prunes, cherries and berries. The plot 
 contains a house, barn, the customary 
 outbuildings and vegetable garden. In 
 1905 it yielded 45,799 pounds of prunes, 
 for which the owner received $457.99 in 
 the orchard, and $1,112.00 for the cherries and berries. In 
 1906, 87,000 pounds of prunes were picked, which brought 
 1 cent a pound in the orchard $870.00 and the other 
 crops yielded about $800.00. In 1907 the prune crop grew 
 to 89,000 pounds, with the price at 1 1-2 cents a pound 
 $1,235.00 for the prunes, which, with the $1,400.00 which 
 came from the cherries and small fruit, aggregated the 
 very handsome sum of $2,635.00 gross returns from 10 
 acres for one year. In addition, the place supported 
 
Slate Capitol building l be greeted , Btiise. 
 

 
 A group of hoims in Boise. Boise is knoivn as the City Beautiful. 
 
.I not her Group of Boise Homes. 
 
Page 34 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 chickens, a cow and horse. With the exception of extra 
 help needed during picking time, all the work was done 
 by the owner and his wife. Unfortunately, account was 
 not kept of the sums paid out in this manner, but they 
 were not large, and the net returns were not far from 
 $2,500.00. So much for an illustration drawn from life- 
 of the possibilities of a 10-acre fruit farm in the Boise 
 Valley. 
 
 A Commonplace Story 
 
 lERE is another story, not so remarkable, 
 and not unusual in any way. In fact, 
 the deponent was not a scientific farmer, 
 not notably ambitious, and his land was 
 hardly the best. It is included simply to 
 show what an average man does on an 
 average farm in the Boise Valley. On 
 the 60 acres in question, the farmer had 
 a little prune orchard of 3 1-2 acres. Twenty-five acres 
 he sowed to oats, which went 90 bushels to the acre. The 
 remainder was put into alfalfa and diversified products, 
 with a little pasture. He fed 5 hogs. 30 goats, 3 cows and 
 4 horses. His prunes brought him $620.00, and the total 
 gross returns were $1,700.00 in cash. He had no regular 
 help, and a goodly part of the sum went into the bank. 
 That is a commonplace story, told by a commonplace 
 farmer to the writer as he was driving through the Valley; 
 but, commonplace as it is, it is significant to the highest 
 degree. 
 
 The "moral" of this story is that (.lie land and clim;ile 
 and water in the Boise Valley have joined forces, as it were, 
 to produce the most possible. How well they do is, of 
 
 course, in the final analysis a question of the personal equa- 
 tion. One may do better than another but the average 
 man will do better here than he can in loss favored regions. 
 This is the important fact. 
 
 In addition to the apples, prunes and cherries already 
 discussed, other fruits do equally well, but are not pro- 
 duced so extensively. Of the small fruits, strawberries 
 have proven a most profitable crop, and are extensively 
 cultivated. For the present season. 1908, the output is a 
 half-million boxes, which will net the grower 8 cents per 
 box. From 1 1-4 acres one man took two crops, the first 
 yielding 12,798 quarts, and the second, marketed as late 
 as November 17th, 2,280 quarts. The total gross income 
 was $1,196.75. 
 
 Some notion of the extent to which horticulture is 
 practiced in the Boise Valley may be gained from the 
 statement that in 1907 537 cars of fruit under ice were 
 shipped to Chicago and points East. Of these 40 cars 
 went to Europe. The value of the crop was $3,432,000.00. 
 This from a total acreage of 51,876 acres. 
 
 For the present season, 1908. 50 carloads of material 
 is needed for packing. This includes 500,000 prune crates, 
 300,000 apple boxes, 2,000,000 baskets, 5 cars of fruit pa- 
 per and 1 car of cement coat nails. 
 
 Of the other crops grown with notable success the po- 
 tato is worthy of mention. Five hundred bushels to the 
 acre is not by any means extraordinary. One farmer re- 
 ports for 1906, six acres planted, with a gross return of 
 $1,780.00. The Following yenr. from 15 acres $3,760.00 
 worth of potatoes were laki-n. In each yonr about $300.00 
 worlli w.'is saved for sood :md Immp use. Thorp are no 
 potato Inigs in Idaho. 
 
The Soldiers' Home, Boise. 
 
Page 36 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 Sugar Beets 
 
 crop lends itself to cultivation in irri- 
 gated districts more readily than the 
 sugar beet. By regulating the supply of 
 moisture, the irrigator can force the 
 beet to develop the highest possible per 
 cent of saccharine matter. Sugar beets 
 will yield 22 tons to the acre with 19.2 
 per cent of sugar. In the Boise Valley, 
 with an acreage of 26,019 to sugar beets, the total tonnage 
 
 Car barn and sub-station of the Boise and Interurban Ry. Co. 
 
 was 245,940, and the receipts to the farmer $908,500.00. At 
 Nampa, not far from Boise, a sugar-beet factory that cost 
 a million and a quarter of dollars has been built. Two 
 others are under erection, and the industry which has 
 given such flattering assurance of profit-making is but in 
 its infancy. 
 
 A Summary 
 
 i HIS much, then, for the products of the 
 soil in the Boise Valley. The most cur- 
 sory scanning cannot fail to impress the 
 reader with the wonderful productivity 
 of its soil, as demonstrated in the state- 
 ments for the various products. If he is 
 unfamiliar with conditions in irrigated 
 .districts, it is not unlikely that he is in- 
 credulous. It is, then, not out of place to repeat that the 
 Boise Valley offers conditions for agriculture that cannot 
 be duplicated in a non-irrigated country, and are equalled 
 by bat few of the most favored irrigated districts of Amer- 
 ica. The statements made are as near the exact truth as 
 can possibly be determined, and the illustrative cases cited 
 are in every case actual, bona fide experiences, reported 
 either by word of mouth or over the signature of the depo- 
 nent. The only reason the names are withheld is that it is 
 not the purpose of this booklet to advertise any private con- 
 cern or enterprise. Many of the letters, however, are in 
 the possession of the Boise Commercial Club, and the 
 names will gladly be furnished upon application. The Club 
 will also be glad to give any other information in detail 
 regarding points suggested to the reader by topics in this 
 booklet. It is impossible to cover every point of interest 
 to the homeseeker in a booklet of this character. 
 
BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 Page 37 
 
 Stock Raising 
 
 chapter on the Boise Valley is complete 
 without reference to the stock-raising 
 industry. The absence of severe weather 
 in the "Winter, the abundance of rich pas- 
 turage, that never dries up in the Sum- 
 mer, and is green nearly the whole 12 
 months, the quantity of succulent al- 
 falfa and timothy and clover, with the 
 scarcity of flies and other pests, all combine to produce 
 conditions in the Boise Valley eminently suited to the rais- 
 ing of stock to a most gratifying profit. 
 
 Of cattle, the favorite breeds are for beef, Grade Here- 
 fords, Short Horns, Polled Angus ; for milk, Short Horns, 
 Jersey, Holstein ; of these there were fed in the Boise 
 Valley in 1907 22,600. The cattle run on the public range 
 from April 1st until November 1st. They are then brought 
 in to the meadow pastures, where they graze until January 
 1st. Hay is fed until April. Improbable as it may seem 
 to the grazer in humid districts, the cattle are finished in 
 five months from the range on alfalfa and clover, without 
 grain. Hundreds of carloads of these same grass-fed 
 cattle have been shipped to Kansas City and Omaha and 
 topped the market, bringing better prices than the grain- 
 fed steers from the corn belt. The difference in the cost 
 of production is at once evident to the man with the 
 least experience in feeding cattle. Even were it necessary 
 to feed grain the Idaho stockman would have a great ad- 
 vantage. The public ranges are his ; his pasture never 
 fails; he does not have to feed for warmth and that is 
 important ; nor do his stock lose flesh from the attacks of 
 flies and insects. 
 
 Dairying is at once one of the most profitable and one 
 of the least developed industries in Southern Idaho. All 
 of the conditions recited heretofore as favorable for beef 
 cattle are especially adapted to the dairy cow a highly 
 developed and delicate member of the bovine family, 
 highly sensitive to environment as she is. In the Boise 
 Valley this "gentlewoman on hooves" finds conditions 
 exactly suited to her taste, and responds with an abundant 
 yield of milk, with the highest per cent of butter-fat. The 
 market for butter is the best in the world. Local con- 
 
 An up-to-date livery barn in Boise. 
 
Irrigating ditches, Boise Valley. 
 
BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 Page 39 
 
 sumption is far in excess of the supply. Southern Idaho 
 produces only 2,000,000 pounds of butter annually, and 
 consumes 7,000,000 pounds, and butter will average 33 1-3 
 cents per pound, reaching 45 cents in the Winter months. 
 One acre in Idaho will support a cow the year round ; three 
 acres are required in Nebraska. 
 
 Livestock 
 
 F great magnitude is the sheep-raising in- 
 dustry in Idaho, and the Boise country 
 has its full share. Exact figures are not 
 obtainable, but a conservative estimate 
 would be at 150,000 sheep for this dis- 
 trict. Between four and five million 
 pounds of wool are shipped from Boise 
 and neighboring points during a year. 
 As in the case of cattle, sheep feed on the public range, 
 and then finish on the rich valley pasturage. Southern 
 Idaho ships 25,000,000 pounds of wool every year. 
 
 The Boise Valley is a center for the production of fine 
 horses. Over 10,000 head are owned in the district, and 
 many carloads of French and Belgian stallions have been 
 imported, insuring the breeding of the finest grade of draft 
 horses. 
 
 Many a farmer has become rich raising hogs, and the 
 Boise farmer is no exception. Hogs simply revel in the 
 rank growth of clover, and are fattened and finished with- 
 out grain or meal. On one farm a herd of 800 hogs was 
 seen, many ready for the butcher, not one of which had 
 ever seen a kernel of corn. The profit of raising swine 
 under such conditions is manifest. 
 
 All members of the feathered tribe do well in the Boise 
 Valley, and the market for fowl and eggs is second to 
 none. Bees find the food they like in the blossoming fields 
 of clover and alfalfa, and fill the hive with a superior white 
 honey. 
 
 Mining 
 
 ITHIN the rock-ribbed treasure chests of 
 Idaho, Nature has hoarded untold min- 
 eral wealth. Its discovery many years 
 ago first attracted to the state the atten- 
 tion of the world, won her a star in the 
 proud galaxy of the Nation, and still 
 ranks an important factor in her wealth 
 and prosperity. From the mineral veins 
 that ramify throughout the state in every direction have 
 been taken hundred of millions of dollars in gold, silver, 
 lead and copper, and they still yield royal revenues to the 
 pick and drill of the miner. The search of the prospector 
 is crowned with richest rewards. Nearly every stream 
 shows placer gold in commercial quantities. It is said that 
 the "gravel bars of the Snake River contain gold suffi- 
 cient to retire the National debt and make every citizen 
 of the state of Idaho a millionaire." The ore bodies of 
 this great mineral region seem practically inexhaustible, 
 and new disclosures are constantly being made that add 
 their quota to the mineral wealth of Idaho. In one year 
 the total value of mineral products was $21,056,076. Last 
 year the various mines returned in dividends (estimated) 
 $6,500,000. Lead was produced to a total of 225 million 
 pounds; silver to exceed 8 million ounces; copper. 11 
 
Page 40 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 million pounds; zinc, nearly 5 million pounds; gold, to 
 the value of one and one-half millions of dollars. The 
 Boise Basin alone has produced $200,000,000.00 in placer 
 gold. A mineralized belt of untold wealth, several hun- 
 dred miles in length, extends within six miles of Boise. 
 In fact, the city is surrounded by valuable mining ter- 
 ritories. Near at hand are extensive tracts of gravel beds, 
 which by actual test, have shown big values in gold, and 
 which are well adapted to dredging, and which will yield 
 enormous profits when subjected to this method. In ad- 
 dition to the auriferous veins and dykes that seam the 
 Boise Basin, there is one lode deposit which yielded two 
 million dollars in bullion when worked to the shallow 
 depth of 400 feet. 
 
 Practically within the environs of the city there are 
 promising deposits that have been subjected to profitable 
 operation. At the Big Giant Mine several thousand feet 
 of development have produced good returns. Two thou- 
 sand feet of development in the Ironsides Mine have 
 yielded ore ranging from $30.00 to $70.00 per ton. The 
 "Twentieth Century," the Picket Pin, the Celtic and other 
 projects have demonstrated the profitable nature of their 
 properties. The Pearl district is noteworthy for some fine 
 deposits, extensively developed. The many mines of Owy- 
 hee County, 60 miles to the south, are famous for their 
 permanency and their rich deposits. For 40 years they 
 have averaged $1.000,000.00 per year. In the "Seven 
 Devils" region, 100 miles to the north, valuable prospects 
 have been made, that, with the accessibility that will fol- 
 low railroad facilities now under construction, will yield 
 richly. These are but a few of the many that might be 
 mentioned to illustrate the "unsunned treasures" of 
 Southern Idaho. 
 
 Although Boise is hardly a "mining town," yet the 
 city profits immensely from the production of mineral 
 wealth of the state. As the financial and distributing 
 point, much of the business of the mines is done there, 
 contributing generously to the prosperity of the city. A 
 great part of the supplies for the mining camps are shipped 
 from Boise, and large wagon trains may be seen emerging 
 from the city, freighted with machinery, tools, powder, 
 foodstuffs and general supplies for the isolated camps and 
 minor distributing points. The United States Assay Office, 
 located at Boise, received in 1907 1,576 deposits of gold 
 bullion. The deposits vary from $1,000,000.00 to $2,000,- 
 000.00 annually. 
 
 As to the acquisition of mineral lands, they are open 
 to entry; first, as a quartz claim, 1,500 feet in length and 
 600 feet in width ; or a placer claim of 20 acres. The an- 
 nual expenditure of $100.00 in improvements is required. 
 
 Timber 
 
 DAHO possesses 20,000,000 acres of tim- 
 ber lands, estimated in value at $1,125,- 
 000,000.00. Some of the finest bodies of 
 fir, pine, white and yellow hemlock and 
 cedar in the world are standing within 
 her boundaries. An authority on timber 
 has estimated the standing timber at 
 57,500,000,000 feet. This includes the 
 government reserves. Scattered throughout the state are 
 .'U>0 sawmills ono said to lie Ilio largest in tin- world en- 
 gaged in reducing the great logs to lumber. Under the 
 section on the City of Boise is found a statement of the 
 mills operating near the city. 
 
Machinery leaving Boise for the Mines. 
 
Page 42 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 Water Power 
 
 statement of the potential resources of 
 the state would be complete without 
 some reference to the magnificent water 
 power afforded by her many streams. 
 The Snake, Boise, Payette, Weiser and 
 a score of other rivers possess the vol- 
 ume and the fall necessary to develop 
 power sufficient to turn the wheels of 
 
 Lumber Mill, Boise 
 
 the world's commerce. Here, too, are favorable sites for 
 building dams. In fact, the utilization of this incalculable 
 power is entirely feasible, needing only the action of cap- 
 ital for its development. Already several plants draw their 
 power from the harnessed torrents of the river. At Swan 
 Falls, on the Snake River, 25 miles south of the city, 10,000 
 horse power is developed, applied to the operation of the 
 Interurban Railroad and to furnishing light for Nampa 
 and Caldwell. On the Payette River, 21 miles from Boise, 
 the Horse Shoe Bend Power Plant developes 2,000 h. p., 
 supplying light for the city. The Barber Lumber Mill de- 
 velops 1,000 h. p., utilized to operate its own plant, and 
 transmitted to one of the street railways and for lighting 
 purposes. A project at Oxbow, on the Snake, proposes to 
 take 30,000 actual horse power from the river, to be used 
 for power and lighting in near-by communities. And this 
 is but the beginning. 
 
 Boise the Head and Center 
 
 much, then, for the resources of the 
 country tributary to the city of Boise. 
 Certainly the significant question, 
 "What is back of Boise," is exhaustive- 
 ly satisfied. Everything is back of 
 Boise such marvelous magnitude and 
 such tremendous possibilities that in 
 their aggregate, the mind utterly fails 
 to grasp them ! And of it all Boise is the acknowledged 
 head. Every acre that is reclaimed by an irrigating ditch 
 adds to its wealth. Every ounce of gold taken from the 
 mines of Idaho, every tree felled, every horse power de- 
 
Entrance Pierce Park, on Boise and Interurban Electric Line. 
 
 veloped makes for the progress and prosperity of the 
 metropohs-Bo.e. This is merely the workin/out of a 
 
 denr^T?, ^^ ^ The state nt is not made to 
 deprecate the standing of any other community. Idaho 
 has hundreds of progressive towns, sharing the common 
 prospenty and playing their part in the development of 
 
 the state But none of them is a competitor of Boise 
 None challenges its proud place as metropolis 
 
 ( reat as is the prestige that attaches to the position 
 
 1 capital of the sovereign state of Idaho, of far greater 
 
 importance is the strategic position held by Boise as the 
 
 icial center and principal distributing point between 
 
Page 44 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 Salt Lake City on the east and Portland on the west. 
 Conceive, if you can, the significance of the fact : its value 
 to Boise's banks, wholesale houses, its corporations and 
 its business men. 
 
 Granted that this vast area is an undeveloped one, it 
 is also true that, by reason of the stupendous reclamation 
 of desert land, and its rapid occupancy by settlers, this 
 region is developing far more rapidly than other sections 
 of the United States. Indeed, it is doubtful if any other sec- 
 tion of corresponding area has ever made such rapid pro- 
 gress. Had this growth occurred simultaneously with the 
 development of other regions, as Western Oregon, Southern 
 California, et al., Boise would today be a city of 200,000 
 inhabitants. That she will reach that mark and exceed 
 it, is the confident belief of every one at all familiar with 
 the conditions that make cities grow. Today Boise num- 
 bers between 28,000 and 30,000 people, all enjoying to the 
 highest degree the health and prosperity of their fair city. 
 If "position is power, and the right place on the map a 
 guarantee of greatness," Boise must be destined to become 
 one of the great cities of the West. This is the inevitable 
 conclusion reached by all who give the question careful con- 
 sideration, and here, again, for the farmer, the banker, the 
 business man, the situation spells "opportunity." Indeed, 
 it would be difficult to imagine a condition of life and 
 environment at once more attractive and more intrinsically 
 prophetic of future greatness. For this is not only Boise 
 and Idaho, but it is a part of the great West toward 
 which the "course of empire" has been making for cen- 
 turies past and which, unless all signs fail, is soon to come 
 into its own as the most attractive, the most fertile and 
 the most wonderful part of the world. Let us now look at 
 Boise as a city in more detail. 
 
 "Boise the Beautiful" 
 
 OISE THE BEAUTIFUL" is not a mean- 
 ingless catchword, but an expression 
 coined in the mint of reality. The first 
 impression of the visitor to Boise is that 
 of the physical loveliness of the city a 
 loveliness due in part to the endow- 
 ments of a beneficent nature an en- 
 vironment that provides a fit setting 
 and in part to the municipal pride of the citizen. The 
 broad streets, paved and kept scrupulously clean ; the 
 numerous shade trees; the many beautiful homes, sur- 
 rounded by well-groomed lawns and beds of blooming 
 flowers; the splendid appearance of the business blocks; 
 together with the total absence of those disreputable 
 shacks and eye-sores that destroy the beauty of many 
 a city. All these things combine to produce a picture 
 of loveliness that clings to the memory as a permanent 
 impression. 
 
 Boise is a wholesale and manufacturing center of con- 
 siderable importance to the Northwest generally, and of 
 first rank in the Inland Empire. It has 18 wholesale 
 houses, which handle practically all lines but drugs. Dur- 
 ing the past six months of 1908 two new houses, with n 
 combined capital of $200,000.00, were established there by 
 outside people. New money such as this is constantly com- 
 ing into the city from many different sources. The whole- 
 sale business of Boise from June, 1907, to June, 1908, was 
 $4,310,000.00, the pay roll during that time was $280,290.00, 
 and the number of men employed 271, an average of 
 $1,034.00 to the man. The total capital invested in the 
 wholesale business is $1,216,700.00. 
 
Churches, Boise. 
 
Page 46 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 Boise's manufacturing business is now but a pigmy to 
 what it will be in ten years; nevertheless, its size is al- 
 ready commendable, and it grows rapidly. Electric power 
 is cheap there, power lines which will transmit to exceed 
 200,000 horse power are headed for Boise, and there is al- 
 ready over 40,000 horse power ready for use there. This 
 is generated by the water falls in that vicinity. The total 
 value of Boise's manufactured products during the year 
 ending June, 1908, was 1,734,284.00, the capital stock in- 
 vested $6,160,230.00, the pay roll $529,685.00, and the 
 number of men employed 625. These figures partially an- 
 swer the question, What is behind Boise? They are taken 
 from the statements of the companies. 
 
 One of Boise's Industrial Enterprises 
 
 Climate 
 
 HAT climatic conditions are a big asset in 
 the success of any community, none will 
 deny. Of course, men will live wherever 
 is afforded the opportunity to make a 
 living; but, other things being equal, 
 surely any rational man or woman would 
 prefer to live in a country where six days 
 out of the seven are sunny days ; where 
 the Winters are without the severe cold that bites to the 
 very marrow, the Summers without the extreme heat that 
 enervates and prostrates, and where there are no heavy 
 winds or severe storms, floods or tornadoes. 
 
 The following statement, prepared by the U. S. Weather 
 Bureau, at Boise, conveys statistical information of 
 weather conditions for Boise and the near-by country: 
 
 The climate of Boise is much milder than that of places 
 in the same latitude east of the Rocky Mountains. The 
 records kept at the local office of the U. S. Weather 
 Bureau show the mean temperature for the year to be 51 
 deg.. which is only about 1 deg. lower than the mean for 
 Springfield, Illinois. Comparison with the distribution of 
 temperature throughout the year, however, shows that the 
 average January in Boise is 3 deg. cooler than Springfield. 
 The temperature occasionally, about once in three years, 
 goes a little below zero, but at such times there is almost 
 entire absence of wind, and very little discomfort results. 
 Often there are long periods in the Winter months where 
 the temperature does not fall to the freezing point. The 
 mean minimum temperature in Winter is about the siunr 
 as that at Fredericksburg, Va., or Stillwater, Okla. Oc- 
 casionally the temperature goes above 100 deg. in Sum- 
 
= ^^^= 
 
 Teams leaving Boise for Thunder Mountain mining district. 
 
The building in the upper left hand corner is the Carnegie Library, Boise. The other buildings are Boise public schools. 
 
Idanha. Hotel, Boise. 
 
Page 50 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 mer, but this is for only a short time in the afternoon, 
 the temperature falling rapidly after sunset. The nights 
 are ordinarily delightfully cool, the mean temperature for 
 July being about the same as that at Duluth, Minn. The 
 high temperatures are accompanied by very low relative 
 humidity, and sunstroke is practically unknown. 
 
 Mean Temperature 
 
 Mean Maximum Temperature 
 
 Mean Minimum Temperature 
 
 Average Precipitation 
 
 No. of days with rain or snoy 
 
 No. of clear days 
 
 No. of partly cloudy days 
 
 No. of cloudy days 
 
 Average Hourly Wind Velocity... 
 
 The absence of high winds is an important feature of 
 the climate of Boise. The average movement of the wind 
 is about five miles an hour, or about one-third less than 
 the average at Denver. Windows may safely be left open 
 nearly the year round, and discomfort from the wind is al- 
 most unknown. 
 
 The accompanying table of meteorological data is taken 
 from the records of the local office of the U. S. Weather 
 Bureau at Boise, and covers the period from the opening of 
 the office, in December, 1898, to the close of May, 1908. 
 
 The healthfulness of Boise is proverbial. With an alti- 
 tude of 2,800 feet, the air is clear and ivigorating. Many 
 
 a sufferer from the East or Middle West has found here a 
 relief from the malaria and the catarrhal affections that 
 have made life miserable for him. Among the soldiers at 
 Boise Barracks the U. S. Government has found a lower 
 death rate and a greater freedom from disease than at 
 any other Army post in the United States. 
 
 JAN. 
 
 FEB. 
 
 MARCH 
 
 APRIL 
 
 MAY 
 
 JUNE 
 
 JULY 
 
 AUG. 
 
 SEPT. 
 
 OCT. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 DEC. 
 
 YEAR 
 
 33 
 
 36 
 
 43 
 
 50 
 
 57 
 
 64 
 
 73 
 
 71 
 
 62 
 
 53 
 
 43 
 
 33 
 
 51 
 
 38 
 
 44 
 
 52 
 
 62 
 
 69 
 
 78 
 
 89 
 
 87 
 
 77 
 
 65 
 
 52 
 
 40 
 
 63 
 
 26 
 
 27 
 
 34 
 
 39 
 
 45 
 
 51 
 
 57 
 
 56 
 
 47 
 
 41 
 
 33 
 
 26 
 
 40 
 
 1.89 
 
 1.42 
 
 1.44 
 
 1.18 1 
 
 .29 
 
 0.88 
 
 0.18 
 
 0.16 
 
 0.41 
 
 1.28 
 
 0.86 
 
 1.72 
 
 12.71 
 
 13 
 
 10 
 
 14 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
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 Railroads 
 
 : OISE is on a branch of the Oregon Short 
 Line, 19 miles from the main line at 
 Nampa. Survey has been made for the 
 construction of the main line directly 
 through Boise. Promoters are now 
 working on a project from Boise to 
 Butte, and from Boise to Winnemucca, 
 with great promise of success. If built, 
 this line will place Boise but 400 miles from Butte and 600 
 miles from San Francisco. It will connect at Butte with 
 
Churches, Boise. 
 
Scenes in Pierce Park, Boise. 
 
BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 Page 53 
 
 the Great Northern, the Northern Pacific, the Milwaukee 
 & St. Paul and the C., B. & Q. At Winnemucca it would 
 connect with the Western Pacific and the Southern Pacific, 
 thus making a connecting link for the great trans-con- 
 tinental lines of the North and South. Another one of 
 the great trans-continental systems is headed in her direc- 
 tion. With the building of these lines, Boise will possess 
 the railroad facilities that she deserves. 
 
 Facts About Boise 
 
 [OISE has four miles of streets with hard 
 surface pavements asphalt and bitu- 
 lithic and 50 miles of cement sidewalk. 
 An excellent fire department is support- 
 ed, with three stations, provided with 
 every device for controlling fires. The 
 total loss by fire for 1907 was only 
 $12,500.00 a showing so satisfactory 
 that a decrease of 20 cents per $100.00 was made by the 
 insurance people. An efficient police force is maintained, 
 and crime and vice are reduced to the lowest degree. The 
 Sunday closing of saloons is strictly enforced. In fact, 
 municipal conditions are of the best, quite free from the 
 corruption that has tainted the fair name of so many 
 cities of our land. 
 
 The streets are adequately lighted by electricity, which 
 is also furnished for domestic use. Water, pure and cold, 
 is supplied, and what is indeed a unique distinction, nat- 
 ural hot water flows from subterranean reservoirs, and is 
 used for heating and domestic purposes in the business 
 houses and homes of the city. This water, at a tempera- 
 ture of 170 degrees, is taken from three artesian wells, 
 
 394 feet, 405 feet and 455 feet deep respectively, produc- 
 ing 800,000 gallons every 24 hours. This water is used 
 for heating many of the residences and business blocks of 
 the city, and many of the streets of the city are sprinkled 
 with it. 
 
 This water, tempered to the desired degree, is used in 
 Boise 's famous Natatorium an institution that is, properly 
 enough, a feature of the city. In this palatial structure, 
 of Moorish architecture, is housed the second largest in- 
 door swimming tank in America. The plunge alone is 122 
 feet by 60 feet, of graded depth. With 60 private rooms 
 for the bathers, commodious parlors, reading room, smok- 
 ing and billiard rooms, banquet hall, a spacious ballroom, 
 
 Wholesale House, Boise. 
 
Page Bi 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 and the environment of beautiful landscape, the Natato- 
 rium contributes in no small degree to the enjoyment of 
 life in Boise. 
 
 To say of a city that it is a "city of homes" is to be 
 guilty of unoriginality. Perhaps the homes of Boise are 
 no better than those of other cities. But the least that 
 can be said is decidedly to their credit, and one of the 
 lasting impressions of Boise is of the attractiveness, the 
 architectural fitness, and the undeniable "hominess" of its 
 residences. Its business streets are especially noteworthy, 
 lined as they are with modern commercial buildings, ar- 
 tistically designed and substantially constructed. The 
 Overland Building, Boise City National Bank Building, 
 Sonna Block, Idanha Hotel, Idaho Trust and Savings 
 Building, etc., etc., are admirable types of modern muni- 
 cipal architecture. 
 
 The hotel facilities are at least equal to those of any 
 city of its size, but further provision for its guests and 
 accommodation for the great number of tourists who 
 throng to Boise is being made in the prospective erection 
 of a magnificent new hotel to cost $300,000.00. A well- 
 located site covering an entire block has been purchased 
 at a cost of $100,000.00, and work is to be started, in all 
 probability, before this publication reaches the public. 
 Under erection also is the new Pinney Theater, at a cost 
 of $100,000.00, which will provide adequately for the many 
 first-class companies that visit the city. There is building, 
 too, the one million dollar State Capitol to furnish a suit- 
 able home for the Solons of Idaho ; of dignified beauty is 
 the U. S. Federal Building, holding the P. 0., the Weather 
 Bureau, Land Office, etc. Though this building has been 
 completed but three years, the city has already outgrown 
 
 it, and Congress has appropriated $125,000 for an addition. 
 The Assay Office (referred to under section on Mining), 
 with its setting of stately trees and wide expanse of vel- 
 vety sward, always attracts attention, as does the Public 
 Library, built in 1905 at a cost of $25,000.00, containing 
 7,500 volumes, a well-equipped reading-room, etc. 
 
 Many of these buildings, as well as the residences of 
 the city, are built of an excellent native building stone, 
 quarried a few miles from Boise, or from the superior 
 pressed brick, manufactured from clay found in the 
 vicinity. 
 
 Churches and Schools 
 
 LL of the prominent church denomina- 
 tions are to be found in Boise, some with 
 two or three distinct organizations, and 
 a great many of the less prominent sects 
 have churches. Many of these are 
 housed in edifices of marked beauty and 
 support ministers of far more than or- 
 dinary ability. A flourishing branch of 
 the Y. M. C. A. exists in Boise, owning their own building 
 and equipment, and with a membership of 400. This 
 worthy organization receives the heartiest support of the 
 community. 
 
 The citizens of Boise feel that they may justly be proud 
 of their schools. The eight school buildings represent a 
 property of $400,000.00. Eighty-two teachers are em- 
 ployed, 15 in the High School. These receive an aggre- 
 gate salary of $70,000.00. None but a college or a normal 
 graduate is engaged. Five years ago there were 2,400 
 pupils in the schools; now there are 4,000. In that period 
 
II II II 1 1 , 
 
 v *\ " 
 
 Boise City National Bank Building. The Boise Commercial Club occupies the entire fourth floor. 
 
Pagj 56 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 the teaching force has been doubled. There are 325 in the 
 High School at the present time, with a graduating class 
 for 1908 of 41. High School graduates are accredited in 
 all colleges that receive on credentials. Domestic Science 
 and Manual Training are taught, and military drill has 
 been introduced. 
 
 In addition to the public schools, excellent academies 
 for young women are maintained by the Roman Catholic 
 and Episcopalian Churches. 
 
 The Boise Sash and Door Factory. 
 
 In a word, the school facilities of Boise are of the best, 
 and neither pains or expense is spared to provide equip- 
 ment and instruction that is inferior to none. 
 
 Other Institutions 
 
 ONTR1BUTING not a little to the pictur- 
 esqueness of the city is the military post 
 maintained there. The U. S. Govern- 
 ment has recently expended $135,000.00 
 for the improvement of the Barracks, 
 and has appropriated $200,000.00 more 
 for the same purpose. The fact that the 
 lowest mortality of any Army post in 
 America was reported from Boise Barracks has been pre- 
 viously mentioned. Just outside the city there is situated 
 also the Home for Veterans, where the brave soldier of 
 a previous day makes his last bivouac, awaiting the final 
 "taps." The State Penitentiary and the Institution for 
 the Deaf, Dumb and Blind are also located at Boise. 
 
 In the fortunate possession of so many sightly public 
 buildings, Boise presents a metropolitan appearance, sug- 
 gesting a population several times greater than she ac- 
 tually claims. 
 
 There can be found no truer index of the prosperity 
 of a city than its Postoffice records. For 1906 the total 
 postal receipts for Boise, including deposits from sub- 
 sidiary offices, were $87,356.00. For 1907, they were 
 $107,464. That is an annual increase of $20,000.00, or 
 about 25 per cent. Another significant comparison is that 
 of the money order business done in 1898 and 1907. In 
 the former year it amounted to $957,063.00; in the latter 
 $1,989,075.00. In other words, the money order business 
 
BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 Page 57 
 
 more than doubled in nine years. Such evidence of the 
 growth of a city is incontrovertible. 
 
 Electric Lines and Parks 
 
 OISE is served by three street railways, 
 operating about 80 miles in and about 
 the city. Two interurban lines are in- 
 cluded, one to Caldwell, already complet- 
 ed, and to Nampa, which is nearing com- 
 pletion; and other lines and extensions 
 are projected, and will surely be built. 
 It is only a matter of a few years when 
 Boise will be the nucleus for a network of electric lines, for 
 the country is especially adapted to support a thickly set- 
 tled population, which, with the many villages, will provide 
 ample business for the electric lines. 
 
 The Boise and Inter-urban Railway, operating the line to 
 Caldwell, possesses an equipment inferior to none in the 
 land. It has a private right of way, securely fenced, double 
 trolley, heavily ballasted roadbed, with 72-pound rails. A 
 22,000 volt alternating current is used, and the cars, of the 
 latest design, attain a speed of 45 and 55 miles an hour. In 
 addition to the passenger business, freight, express and 
 mail are carried. 
 
 On the line is situated Pierce Park, which has recently 
 been added to the attractions of the city. It is a beautiful 
 wooded tract of 182 acres, of which 35 acres are occupied 
 by a charming little lake, equipped with rowboats and 
 launches. In the park the act of man has effectively util- 
 ized the provisions of nature. Bosky copses invite the vis- 
 itor to rest in their shade. Pleasant roads and paths lead 
 
 to forest glades, opening at every turn a new vista of 
 sylvan loveliness. Places for picknickers, refreshment 
 booths, a dancing pavilion, etc., are to be found, but care 
 has been taken not to intrude upon the natural beauty of 
 the spot, which is a conspicuous acquisition to the attrac- 
 tiveness of the city. 
 
 Boise is thus characterized by that which makes the 
 struggle for existence not only extraordinarily productive, 
 but attractive as well. It has been shown, we believe, that 
 the land vields forth its increase in bountiful measure. 
 
 A View in the Wholesale District, Boise. 
 
Page 58 
 
 BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 Hunting and Fishing 
 
 T Boise the sportsman enjoys the fullest 
 opportunity for the pursuit of his favor- 
 ite pastime. Within a short driving dis- 
 tance from the city are Shaffer Creek. 
 Harris Creek, Canyon Creek, Long Tom, 
 Cottonwood. Rattle Snake, etc., and any 
 one of which will yield the angler the 
 rarest sport in the world. All the favor- 
 ite varieties of trout are here, including the Rainbow and 
 Dolly Varden, and a few hours' fishing will yield the 
 angler more than he can carry. In June, July and August 
 the fish answer readily to the fly. 
 
 For the hunter the Quail, Fool Hen, Jack Snipe, Sage 
 Hen, Ducks and Geese abound ; and, if he seek larger game, 
 a short trip to the mountains will bring him in reach of 
 deer and bear, with cougars and bobcats to add zest to the 
 sport. 
 
 The Business of Boise 
 
 X previous connection, stress has been 
 put on the importance of Boise as a finan- 
 cial center and distributing point. Boise 
 has six banks whose deposits aggregate 
 over $6,000.000.00 and "clears" Idaho, 
 Wyoming and Western Utah. 
 
 The wholesale business of Boise has 
 shown remarkable strides during the 
 past three years. The investment of new capital, and the 
 aggressive policies pursued by the jobbers have been instru- 
 
 mental in opening up new territory from which Boise was 
 formerly excluded, owing to conditions of freight rates. 
 
 The territory covered by Boise now extends from Poca- 
 tello on the East to Baker City, Oregon, on the West, and 
 South as far as Owyhee, Nevada, and North into Pollock 
 and Goff, Idaho. 
 
 There are some fifty-seven traveling men who travel 
 from Boise, and do business of approximately six million 
 dollars per annum. 
 
 Some picturesque features, not usually seen in jobbing 
 (filters, are to be observed in Boise at certain times of the 
 year, when merchandise is loaded out on pack trains for 
 distant points in the mountains which are reached only by 
 narrow trails. 
 
 Boise has all sorts of communication with the outer 
 world by electric and steam lines and the old-fashioned 
 stage coach, which still continues to roll into this pictur- 
 esque city. 
 
 Although Boise is not primarily a manufacturing center, 
 yet there are here many thriving concerns producing raw 
 and finished lumber, sash, door and fixtures, boxes, pressed 
 brick, beer, liquors, harness, saddlery, roofing, cigars, 
 candy, oil, glue, etc., etc. Of these the lumber mills, of 
 which there are five, are the most prominent. The largest 
 has a capacity of 130,000 feet daily, and in 1907 shipped 700 
 cars of lumber and finished products. Other statistical 
 matter might be included, but to small purpose: The op- 
 portunity for the capitalist along manufacturing lines is 
 great. Here we have the raw material of greatest 
 variety and in unlimited quantity ; power is inexhaustible 
 in the rushing rivers, and a market that is already great 
 and every day assuming greater proportions. These condi- 
 
Private schools and academies in Boise. 
 
V- -*+ 
 
BOISE, IDAHO 
 
 Page 61 
 
 tions create opportunity, and the man with money or the 
 man with brains and energy will find here an unparalleled 
 field where the investment of capital or of energy will yield 
 richest returns. 
 
 Final Word 
 
 : UCH, then, is the story of Boise and the 
 Boise country a story that is full of the 
 extraordinary, the marvelous, and yet a 
 story composed of truths and facts, un- 
 colored in the telling. Whether the nar- 
 rative of the story of Boise is well done 
 or ill, depends of course, upon the writer. 
 But be it good, or bad, the facts are 
 there, and in those facts there is a message for every man 
 or woman who finds himself dissatisfied with life under 
 present conditions. He may not even be dissatisfied, but 
 open to the honest conviction as to the merits of a land 
 that offers to him an opportunity to live under conditions 
 more advantageous, more delightful than those of his pres- 
 
 ent home. Life is, at best, a struggle, but it is certainly 
 the inalienable privilege of every man to select a place 
 where conditions are most in his favor, where the chances 
 for success are the best. Whether the reader dwell in a 
 factory town in New England, a New York flat or a farm 
 in the Mississippi Valley, to him a welcome, hearty and 
 generous, is extended. If he has failed elsewhere in the 
 struggle against unfair odds, here he can begin life anew 
 under circumstances that are anything but unfavorable. 
 If he wishes to give his sons and daughters a better chance 
 than he had, surely none better can be found. 
 
 The chance to invest your money, or your brains, or the 
 strength of your hands to best advantage, and to live under 
 conditions most favorable for health and happiness: that, 
 in a word, Boise offers. That is the message of this book- 
 let. Its import is certain ; its meaning clear. Let its les- 
 son sink deep into your heart. If it grows into a convic- 
 tion, do not hesitate, but act, and to your dying day you 
 will never cease to rejoice that you found a home, health 
 and happiness in the beautiful City of Boise, Idaho. 
 
 Note. The illustration on the fourth page of the cover shows the Barber Power Plant, Lumber Mill, and dam across the 
 
 Boise River, near Boise. 
 

 
 Jf- 
 
 Winter Grazing on Davis Ranch near Boise. 
 
HMMF-iS 
 
 I Mr- 
 
 - I..;., 
 
 
 Map of Boise, Idaho. 
 
c - * 
 
 TOMESEEKERS' BUREAU 
 

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