Twin Falls County ID Archives History .....Berger History Wrote By Eugene Hochhalter April 8, 2016 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/id/idfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Christine Storey chrissy_7@q.com June 25, 2016, 12:02 pm A BRIEF HISTORY OF BERGER, IDAHO Eugene Hochhalter, PhD April 8, 2016 The community of Berger, Idaho is located 8.7 miles southwest1 of the city of Twin Falls, Idaho in Twin Falls County (Figure 1) with a listed elevation of 4239 ft. above sea level. Figure 1 Berger, Idaho Berger, along with a number of other small town sites such as Hollister, Rogerson, and Amsterdam, was established as part of the Salmon River Tract,2 which was opened by the Twin Falls Salmon River Land and Water Company in 1909. The Salmon Falls creek water shed was the primary source of water for the Salmon Dam project. The Salmon Dam and its associated canals were about ready to deliver water to the farmers of the Salmon Tract in 1910. Approximately 6,000 acres of land was irrigated in 1911 and this increased to 19,000 acres in 1912. Two problems plagued the Salmon River Track project: 1) the Salmon Falls Creek water supply couldn’t fill the new reservoir to capacity as advertised and 2) the canyon walls of the reservoir leaked due to the porous nature of the lava rock. Therefore, only 40% of the storage capacity would be available during any given farming year. The town site of Berger3 was going to be established and opened the fall of 1910. The promoter and owner of the town site, Thomas Sanderson, indicated that contracts had been let for the clearing of the 40-acre town site and that the land would be sold at the opening of the town. A number of businesses, including a lumber yard, restaurant, and livery, would be established at Berger. The Twin Falls News article also stated that a post office would be established in the near future. A conservative estimate by Mr. Sanderson indicated that 250 people lived in the area surrounding the town site. Berger was also located near the Short Line railroad line that went to Rogerson, Idaho. The newspaper article also stated that a railroad station would be established. This close proximity to the Short Line railroad would give the town site of Berger favorable shipping conditions. The town site also had immediate access to electric power and telephone communications. City water was to be provided by a well to be drilled on the town site. According to the newspaper article, Berger was located eleven miles from Twin Falls and eight miles from Hollister, which would give it “considerable tributary territory among the best lands of the Salmon tract.” Thomas Sanderson was appointed the first postmaster for the Berger Post Office in November 1911 and the Post Office officially opened the first week of December 1911, according to several Twin Falls News articles.4,5 The Nibley-Channel Lumber Co of Twin Falls, Idaho announced the establishment of a new office and lumber sheds in Berger.6,7 A workforce was going to Berger to erect the buildings for the lumber yard in April 1912. A grain elevator was built in 1915 next to the Short Line Railroad track running through Berger, which remained standing in 2014. According to the 1920- 1921 Polk Directory,8 Berger had a Post Office, Railroad station, Presbyterian Church, Telegraph, Express, and an American Railway. The Berger School District was organized in January 1912.9 The first school was located at the intersection of Idaho Street and Sanderson Avenue. It consisted of a single room building, which was completed in April 1912. The single room school opened on May 1, 1912. A personal note in the Twin Falls News10 indicated that Miss Christine Frazer of Twin Falls would be teaching in Berger for the coming 1912 school term. A second school building, consisting of an unfinished basement, two large rooms on the first floor and a large room on the second floor used as an auditorium (Figure 2), was built after a bond issue was passed in May 1914. The school dedicated in December 1914 by having a Christmas program. Figure 2 Berger School Built in 1914 The Berger town site still exists in the year 2016 with the grain elevator still visible. People still live in and around the old Berger town site. The concrete foundation is the only thing remaining of the two story school building at Berger. The lumber yard was dismantled in 193311 and the Berger store was destroyed in a 1972 fire/explosion after a car ran into the building and damaged a propane tank/line.12 Figure 3 is a historical plot plan of the town of Berger in 1939.13 Figure 4 is another 1939 map view of the Berger Area14 showing the surrounding farms and some of the land owners for each section of land. Figure 3 1939 Berger City Historical Plot Plan Figure 4 1939 Berger Area Farms and Land Owners REFERENCES 1. HISTOPOLIS Website: http://www.histopolis.com/Place/US/ID/Twin_Falls_County/Berger, December 31, 2013. 2. Idaho State Historical Society Reference Series, “Site Report – Salmon Falls Creek and South Hill,” Number 620, December 1981. 3. Twin Falls Times, “Berger A Destined City,” page 4, August 3, 1910, Twin Falls, Idaho. 4. Twin Falls Times, “BERGER GETS POSTOFFICE,” front page, November 7, 1911, Twin Falls, Idaho. 5. Twin Falls Times, “POSTOFFICE AT BERGER,” front page, December 15, 1911, Twin Falls, Idaho. 6. Twin Falls Times, “LOCAL AND PERSONAL”, page 5, March 26, 1912, Twin Falls, Idaho. 7. Twin Falls Times, “ESTABLISH BRANCH OFFICE,” page 4, April 25, 1912, Twin Falls, Idaho. 8. Polk’s Directory 1920-1921, page 199, IR 979.637 Director IES POLK 1920. 9. Wright, Mareda and Cecil, “The Knowledge Box: Country Schoolhouses to Current Schools of Twin Falls County, Idaho,” April 1996 – April 2003, Twin Falls, Idaho. 10. Twin Falls News, “Personal Brevities”, page 7, May 9, 1912, Twin Falls, Idaho. 11. Shaw, Dwight, “The Footlocker Fifth,” page 21, 1994, 921 Shaw Non Fiction, ASIN: B001L4DBE6. 12. Idaho State Journal, “Store Demolished,” Section B, Page 1, Tuesday, April 12, 1972. 13. Metsker Maps, “Page 044 – Township 11 S., Range 16E, Berger, Dessert Creek,” Section 16, US1313958, Twin Falls, County 1939. 14. Metsker Maps, “Page 044 – Township 11 S., Range 16E, Berger, Dessert Creek,” Section 16, US1313958 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/id/twinfalls/history/other/bergerhi62gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/idfiles/ File size: 6.8 Kb