The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1919-03-20
DEATH Of BILL OsBURN
An HON0RED PIONEER
CAME TO DISTRICT IN 1sss-WAs
WIDELY KNOWN AND UNI.
VERBALLY ESTEEMED.

-. -
IN the death Of Bill" Osburn the
Occur dAlene district lost its most
widely known citizen and one who
was universally respected and es.
teemed. He possessed an unusua
personality, combining a droll humol
with high order of intelligence. hui
without the polish of higher educa-
ton, which made Of him character
whose career is interviewer In the his.
tory Of the district in which he made
his home for SO years. His death was
not unexpected, for 1t has been noted
by his friends during the past year
or more that his rugged frame was
at last yielding to the rayages Of
time. It Is known that he realized
this himself, and that he passed into
the final sleep like one who had COM
pleted his great task and welcomed
rest The funeral services were UNI
der the auspices of the Wallace lodge
OF Elks, and the large attendance
that filled the hall, the beautiful flor
al tributes, the eloquent eulogy OF
the speaker, the musical selections,
and the long procession that followed
the remains all attested to the esteem
and affection in which "Bill' Osburn
was held by the people Of the Occur
d'Alene district.
Pioneers for Pail Bearers.
1t was fitting that the remains OF
this pioneer citizen should be borne
by those who were his friends and
associates of the early days, those
who had shared with him the hard
ships, privations and vicissitudes OF
pioneer life and which bound them to
him with the closest ties of friend
ship and affection. The active pail
bearers were p ], Gearon Jesse w
Tabor, David Cromie, e. III. Sullivan
James Kaufman and Charles Toole
THE honorary pail bearers were Fl
f. Howes, Major W. w. Woods, e. H
Moffitt, Charles M. Johnson, Captain
A. P. Horton and John H. Murphy.
The services consisted of the usual
funeral service of the Elks, brief
address by Rev. d. M. Helmick, vocal
selections by Mrs. Therrett Towles
and Frank Howard. Earle Bushnell
presided at the plano.
oty,c oh, "a
kane for burial by the side of his
wife,
Came to Occur d'Alenes in 1888.
Stephen " Osburn who was uni.
versally known as "Bill' Osburn, was
born in Virginia in 1882, and was
therefore 81 years old, He moved
with his family to Illinois while
child, where he grew to manhood. HI
was attracted by the stories of the
wonderfully rich gold discoveries II
the west, and particularly the fabul
GUS richness of the diggings in Aldel
gulch, Montana, and his adventurous
spirit led him to the land Of gold. IT,
arrived at Virginia City. Montana. The
roaring camp at Alder g1lch. in 1853
Although he secured promising GROUND
in that famous gulch, 1t failed to prove
profitable. He next tried his fortune
in the Black Hills, and he was there
when the news Of the discovery o.
gold on Prichard creek reached him
He came to the Occur d'Alenes Ii
1888 and established road house
between Murray and Eagle, and also
engaged in placer mining. Following
the discovery of lead-silver ore on
the south side in 1885 he secured the
beautiful tract of land upon which
the town of Osburn now stands. Here
he built a hotel which became the
popular stopping place between
Wardner ard Murray and Wallace
and Murray, Murray being the coun-
ty seat and reached from Osburn by
way of Two Mile. From that date the
fame Of ''Bill" Osburn grew and his
circle of friends included all parts of
the district. His ambition was to
make Osburn the county seat and he
made losing fight to that end, but
nevertheless fight that commanded
the admiration of opponents as well
as supporters. The county seat re-
mained at Murray, A few years later
the fight to bring the seat of county
government to the south side was
taken up again. The people of Wal
lace, acting upon the principle that
discretion is the better part of valor,
compromised with 'Bill' Osburn
which resulted in that ambitious town
remaining out of the race and the
county seat was brought to Wallace
In 1914 "Blll" Osburn sold his Osburn
estate. reserving a small tract for his
home.