The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1921-08-18

WhhuS uiVuuu INC hiuSeS Ou hu1Ai-
mum 8 per cent grade, with fertile
farm and orchard lands, making q
scene more beautiful than the hang
ing gardens Of ancient Babylon, with
backgrounds OF timber to enhance
the beauty of the scene. with the
South Fork in the lower distance wind
ing it's course to the northward, in it,
self vision Of delight.
A Substantial Bridge.
At the forest boundary line sub
stantial wooden bridge, 18x10O feet,
has been constructed high above the
highest water mark, and from thence
the road proceeds up the north bank
Of the South Fork to Castle Creek,
distance Of nine miles, coveriag
some heavy rock work for almost the
entire stretch ON natural water grade,
rarely exceeding per cent. 81
The river flows below with occa-
si0nal rifles and long stretches Of
slack water, with the high hills
sloping back for hundreds Of feet in
height, the slopes on both sides being
heavily timbered, making a delightful
landscape, through which it is a plea
sure to ride. The original intention was
to complete the highway to. Meadow
creek, two miles above Castle creek,
but the high costs of labor and mater
ials exhausted the appropriation, aud
work was necessarily suspended at
Castle creek
The work was done under contract
by Otto Hansen OF Spokane, Wash,
and while the road bed is only nine
feet wide, it will answer the purpose
until such time as the continuing ap-
preparations are available for its wild
ening and installation of culverts, ETC.,
to conform to government standard
specification. No other highway in
the northwest offers more scenic beau.
ties than this south fork route. and il
is already public resort to the best
fishing and hunting grounds extaht.
tourists already availing themselves Of
this virgin fishing and big game hunt
ing ranges for their summer vacations.
Under agreement with the secretary
Of agriculture the task of maintaining
the highway as far as at present con-
structed devolves upon the commits
siOners of the Grangeville Highway
district
But the South Fork highway has
more unitarian purposes in view than
that of public pleasure ground to
summer vacationists. 1t is estimated
by the Nez Perez forest officials that
5OO,0OO,OO0 feet of timber are directly
contiguous to the new highway. With
the speedy exhaustion of the white
pine forests now under exploitation
north of the lower Clearwater valley
this new field along the South Fork
highway will be the next and last
stand for extensive lumber production
in northern Idaho.
Opens Way to Timber.
In addition to the foregoing the
new highway will traverse one of the
greatest undeveloped mineral coun-
tries in the United States, which in
the early-day excitements yielded
many millions of dollars i'm god from
the rich placer mines of Florence, Elk
City, Ten Mile, Moose Greek, New
some Greek, Boat Hill, Summit Flat,
Buffalo Hump and placers on the bars
of the South Fork highway which are
still in the producing class.
The utility of the new highway is
further apparent in the stimulus Il
will furnish to the quartz mining in
terests which have been laboriously
developed in the last 20 years under
extremely disadvantageous conditions
OF inaccessibiIity and prohibitive
freight rates. Quartz properties on
Ten Mile, Moose and Newsome creeks
are within hailing distance of the pre-.
posed highway.
Further up the stream the South
Fork mining belt has been steadily
producing for some years, while still
higher up the river are great DOR,
phry dikes of low grade gold-bearina
ore extending back to the Crooked
river, Buffalo, Hump and Dixie min,
ing districts. The enormous gold pro
duction of early days was undoubtedly
eroded from these dikes, and enough
is now known Of their prospective val
ues to insure the Importance Of thesl
central Idaho mining fields as 8
source of future gold supply to financ,
the growing commerce of the world
Thus the South Fork highway Il
bound to prove a very valuable asse
IN the economic development of tn,
great hinrerland of central Idaho. an,
its ultimate extension to the easter,
slopes of the Bitter Root range i
simply question of time
-o
FEDERATED CHURCH
I