American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1918-03-01

and Emma Kelly. were both natives Of
England and crossed the plains to Utah
IN 1866. For many years Charles KEEL
ly was president of Boxelder stake Of
the L. ID. S. church. He died in 1904:
four years later his widow died; both
are laid to rest in the cemetery at
Brigham City, Utah. r. c. Kelly lived
IN Brigham City until he was IA years
of age and then left for his native
country. In 1883 he came to Idaho and
for a time worked for his brothers
George, William and John Kelly who
We're then r%anching in Rockland val
ley. In 1892 he was married to Miss
Harriet May, also a native of Box
elder county, Utah, and for six years
Mr.. and Mrs. Kelly resided in Poca-
tello. In later years he farmed in
Rockland valley for several seasons
and then sold his ranch. In 1906 he
purchased the irrigated tract on
which the family now resides. In 1909
he filed on a homestead up the East
Fork and six years later filed on an
additionl tract. This dry farm he sold
in 1916 to A. c. Lindley. When Mr..
Kelly first came TO Rockland valley
in 1883 it was in the main a cattle
range. Guadalupe Valdez, the Span
ish pioneer, was in the valley. Mr..
and Mrs. H. P. Frodsham, now resid-
ing in Rockland, lived on their home
stead up the South Fork, six miles
above what is now Rockland. Mr..
Frodsham conducted a little store and
this was the common meeting point of
the lew settlers in the valley. It was
the only store between Samaria, 50
miles and more to the southeast, and
American Falls, % miles to the north
from the FrOdsham homestead.
American Falls was the postoffice for
the settlers, with Frank Campbell the
postmaster. The postoffice was To-
Gated in a little log cabin standing
about where Thornhill's restaurant
now stands. Mr.. Kelly states that du-
ring some of the hard winters of the
early days, when the snow drifts were
deep, Samaria and American Falls
might just as well have been seven
thousand miles away for all the good
they did for the settlers. The points
were simply inaccessible. During the
long winter months the settlers held
frequent dances in a log cabin school
house which stood just opposite where
the Andrew Allen residence now
stands in Rockland. The weather
was too cold and the drifts never
too deep for the cow-punchers to at
tend these dances. The four Hartley
brOthers-Jack. Jim, Hiram and Brig
formed the orchestra, two violins, a
%concertina and a bull-fiddle were the
instruments used by the members of
the orchestra. The winter of 1SS6-S7
was the most severe experienced by
Mr.. Kelly in all his years in the val
ley. The cattle men had depended on
the open range for ~sustenance for the
herds and when the deep snow came
on suddenly the cattle died by the
thousands. In the following spring
the range was covered with dead cat
tie from the northern shores of the
Great Salt Lake in Utah to far beyond
American Falls. That winter the
thermometer in Rockland valley regis
tered So degrees below zero and in
American Falls it went TO "A degrees
below.
The 40-acre irrigated tract is well
improved. A modern one-story brick
dwelling is occupied by the family. and
a good barn and granary is providid.
Nj. Kelly was fortunate in compari-
son with a good many other ranchers
of the valley in finding plenty of good
water at a depth of only % feet. AS
depth of beyond $50 feet.