Payette County ID Archives News.....Interesting Historical Episodes—Payette County--Washoe July 1, 1948
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Patty Theurer seymour784@yahoo.com December 26, 2005, 12:12 am

Independent Enterprise July 1, 1948
Independent Enterprise
Payette, Idaho
Thursday, July 1, 1948

Interesting Historical Episodes—Payette County
(By Mrs. May Gilmore)

WASHOE

West and South of Payette just across the Payette river is Washoe.  It is a 
fine body of land almost entirely bounded by the left bank of the Payette 
river, and the right bank of the Snake river.  It contains almost 26,00 acres 
four-fifths of which was converted into an island when A. Rossi built a 
headgate at the Payette river and constructed a ditch out of a certain slough 
for the purpose of running logs down to his sawmill on the Oregon Short Line 
railroad to Washoe.

Through this ditch a large part of the bottom receives its water for irrigation.

In the gravel and sand underlying its fields there is untold wealth.  Experts 
in mining state that gold now abounds to a depth of thirty feet to bed rock.  
There is an underflow of water beneath every acre which will facilitate mining 
by means of the use of centrifugal pumps.  

Prior to 1880 this vicinity, as well as the rest of Payette valley was not 
settled, only a few wild hay ranches being scattered along the river or 
sloughs.  Stock raising was the main industry, Jacob Stroup, J. S. Thorp, Capt. 
Payne, J. T. Clements, Jim Henoty and Donohue.

Sometime in 1883 Robert Strahorn of the O. S. L. located one of the townsites 
for the railroad at Washoe for that section, about half way between the two 
points where Ontario and Payette are now located.  

A townsite company was formed in which Judge Clements, Jacob Stroup, J. C. 
Thorp and Mr. Waters were interested.  The townsite was laid out on Mr. Thorp’s 
place (at the point where the box factory now stands) and several lots were 
sold.  A sidetrack was built and excavation started for the depot.  

Strahorn had a disagreement with one of the owners of the Washoe townsite, and 
he crossed back over the Snake river to Ontario.  

When Strahorn folded his tent at Washoe and pitched it in Ontario the dream of 
a townsite in Washoe faded and passed into history.
In 1885 A. Rossi built a large sawmill at Washoe (were the old ice plant is now 
located.)  A large force of men were employed there.  Many million feet of 
lumber were produced by this mill.  John Ridenbaugh, the prominent Boise lumber 
man was interested in Mr. Rossi.  This mill brought much prosperity to this 
location and Payette profited thereby.  Mr. Rossi enlarged the slough and made 
a headgate at Payette river by bringing down logs in extension log drives and 
catching them in the slough.  One year the river broke through and flooded most 
of Washoe east of the railroad track.  Water was up to the windows in Mr. 
Rossi’s house.  The only way to go to Payette was by boat.   Part of the 
railroad track was under water for a while.  

Mr. Stroup gave the ground for a school house on the north east corner.  First 
teacher was J. J. Sturgall, salary $60 per month.  

The mill operated several years and in the early 90’s moved to Boise and many 
people moved away from Washoe and now it is a farming community entirely.  

Cattle And Cold Of 1879-80

In early days many of the stockmen let their stock run on the range all winter 
without feeding them, losing a small per cent but considered this more 
profitable then to put them up on hay during the winter months.  

But the hard winters of 1879-80 the loss was so great most of them arranged to 
feed their stock in the winter. 

The deep snow that winter followed by rain and sleet, which formed a thick 
crust and snow, so that the stock were unable to break the crust and paw for 
their feed.  The sharp crust of the snow and ice cut their legs.  Snake river 
froze over solid and the ice was so thick you could cross the Snake on the ice 
with a team and wagon.  When ice broke in the spring the worst ice gorge ever 
known in the Payette and Snake river occurred. 

Old timers stated the ice backed the water out of the banks, Washoe, the Irvin 
ranch and even backed the water over on high south bank near Falk and New 
Plymouth.  The Snake backed the water out of the banks and onto a considerable 
portion of the land near Ontario.  


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