The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1922-02-23

$4,000 square miles. During that
same day that measure passed both
houses and received the signature
of Pride and Bingham county was
born. The commissioners for the
new county were H. o. Hardness Of
McCammon, Fred s. Stevens Of
Blackfoot and Alfred Moves of Eagle
Rock.
On the twenty-seventh of January
the new board convened at Blackfoot
and they held their first session at
100 p. NJ, at the office of Willard
Crawford, a local attorney. 1t was
in a frame building about 1Sx32
feet, situated where the Millick
building is now, with the side on
Bridge street and fronting the rail.
road track, now Main street. They
organized with H. O. Hardness chair
man Of the board, and appointed q
sheriff, an assessor, district at
torney and county treasurer.
Then they created a part of the
judiciary system by appointing JUS
tice of the peace for each of the
municipalities" in the territor en-
braced in the new county, and those
places were Blackfoot, Eagle Rock,
Cedar. Buttes, Rexburg, Egin, Beaver
Canyon, Soda Springs, Highland and
Gentle Valley. Notice that Poca-
tello was not present.
At the next session the chairman
surprised the rest of the board by
announcing that Willard Crawford
had been appointed superintendent
of schools. Somebody brought it to
the attention of the board that there
were some people at the junction of
the railroads at Pocatello, and they
appointed w. D. Woozley justice of
the peace. Mr.. Hardness said that
down in Marsh valley to the south
ward of his ranch there were some
settlers, the Woodlands, the Wake
leys, the Hancocks and some others
and suggested that justice Of the
peace be appointed for them, so Mr..
Hardness, the chairman of the board
of commissioners was appointed JUS
tice for that valley.
They had to arrange for some
place to transact the county business
and were rendered the use of the
whole building in which Mr.. Craw-
fords office was situated, and they
accepted it. They decided to buy
some furniture and Fred Stevens was
authorized to buy four desks, two
book cases, one table, nine lamps,
twelve spittoons, sixteen chairs and
some stove pipe They also hired
Nels Sill to act as janitor at sal
airy of $40 month, and he served
till June when they dispensed with
the janitor and ordered that each
man should take care of his own
office. There was an old jail in
town, and it was necessary to guard
it whenever there was prisoner
in it, and they authorized the sheriff
to pay 50 day for guard but to
pay him only when he worked, and
the shift was twelve hours q day.
They made an order that the sup
erintendent of schools should receive
$500 year salary. There was a
textbook man there representing
Ivison, Brakeman, Taylor & Co., SO
they adopted that line of books con-
sisting of Swint0n's readers and
spoilers, Fish's arithmetic, Mon
teith's Geography and Spencerian
writing books and Sill's Lessons in
English. In this manner was educa-
ton officially launched in this
county.
The county superintendent had
some disagreement with the commits
sioners-I never learned just what
it was about, but he pointed to the
desk he had been using and informed
them that it was in their charge and
that he had quit. He had given no
bond, and SO the board announced
that they were open to receive appli-
cations for the position Of school
superintendent and they received two
applications-W. H. B. Grow OF
Eagle Rock and DR.. ]. c. House Of
Oxford, and DR.. House won. He
continued to live at Oxford, and. ad-
minister the affairs fhis Office from
there. The requirements for teach
ers were not SO strict AID exactine