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By Luke
D. Waldron (1996)
During
the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the bustling town
of Samaria was well known to many travelers. Today,
those traveling on Interstate 15 who pass by the
Samaria exit will probably never know of the great
legacies of this community. For many, it is just
another dot on the map, or there is no dot at all on
some modern maps. Although Samaria has not been as
fortunate as many other towns, it has a unique past
that should never be forgotten.
Samaria is nestled
under the beautiful Samaria Mountain range and lies
in the southeastern part of the State of Idaho. It
stands on a slight elevation overlooking the fertile
Malad Valley. The town is located only a few miles
from the Utah border. In fact, the first settlers of
Samaria actually believed that they were living in
the State of Utah.
John Evan Price was the first white man
to inhabit this area. He, along with his two sons,
arrived to the present site of Samaria on February
10, 1868. During the same year, John moved the rest
of his family from nearby Malad to Samaria. In his
diary he gives the following account of his move,
“On February 10, 1868,
I took up 160 acres of land eight miles west of
Malad. I went with my sons and built a dugout on the
claim. I sold my place in Malad for a wagon and yoke
of oxen. On April 16, 1868, I moved my family here,
and we were the only white residents. The country
was covered with sagebrush and inhabited only by the
American Indiana and the wild beasts.”
He began at once to till the barren
desert soil and make it his home. It was not much
later when other pioneers moved took up residency in
the area. In May of 1868 the families of James
Thomas, Thomas R. Roberts, David W. Davis and
Taliesen Hughes moved in. These men
and most of the early pioneers of Samaria were
natives of Wales. With these
families and others that continued to arrive, by
1870 Samaria had become a nice little community of
19 families with a population of 80-90 people.
The name of Samaria is unique
itself. Many people may wonder how the town
received the name of Samaria; after all, it is the
name of a city spoken of in the bible. This is where
the name was derived from. On July 12, 1868 Lorenzo
Snow, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve apostles
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,
made a visit to the community to approve its
location. He not only approved of its location, but
also gave the town a name. He was so impressed by
the hospitality and kindness of the people that he
said that they were indeed “Good Samaritans” and he
named the town Samaria. He also encouraged the
people to build good homes, plant trees, and
beautify the place.
As the community continued to grow,
it became necessary for some type of government to
be established, In July 1869 a meeting was called
and Thomas S. Thomas was called to preside over the
settlement. At this time, plans were also made to
have the town surveyed and divided into lots.
The town was then surveyed, and was set up just like
most other Mormon communities were at the time, with
the land being divided into 10-acre blocks with the
streets being 6 rods wide. Later, on January 27th,
1873, a landowners’ meeting was held to discuss the
responsibilities of those who owned property in
Samaria. During this meeting Articles of Agreement
were written that told every landowner that they
must have their property fenced by the last day of
next May. It set up the specifications of how these
fences were to be built and maintained.
Levi Savage Waldron, the leading farmer in the
village at this time, had the honor of having fenced
the first lot in the settlement.
Other ordinances were also later
written and were strictly observed by the village
police. The ordinances covered just about everything
imagined, such as the punishments for obstructing
the streets or sidewalks with manure piles, playing
ball on Sunday, (any person who violated this
provision could be fined up to $10 or two days in
jail) or staying out past curfews.
Effie Evans Pilgrim remembers, “When the curfew
[bell] would ring at nine o’clock, everyone under
the age of 16 must be off the streets. Dell Potter
was the cop and rode a white horse. When he appeared
at 9 o’clock, kids were running in all directions
for home.” Those who think that living in
the “good old days” meant doing whatever one
pleased, may be surprised after reading some the
strict ordinances that were set in Samaria’s early
years.
Education to the Samaritans has always
been a high priority. On October 31, 1869, a
petition was sent to the county school
superintendent asking to be admitted as a school
district. The petition was soon granted, and Thomas
S. Thomas, John E. Price, and Richard Morse were
elected as school Trustees.
By November of that same year, plans were underway
to build a log building that would serve as a
school and also a church house. This building, which
was 16 feet by 24 feet, was finished and ready for
use by March of 1 870. Families
came from surrounding farms to spend the winter in
Samaria so that their children could attend school.
Many homes were also used as schools to accommodate
the increasing number of students. Also, a
Presbyterian mission school with an enrollment of 60
students was conducted by Reverend W.A Rough of
Malad and was supervised by Anne Noble.
It was held in a three room, white frame building,
which was later used as a residence and has since
been torn down. As the
population continued to increase, it was necessary
to build a much larger school building. In 1898, a
beautiful up-to-date two-story brick building was
built. Serving on the Board of Trustees at this time
were Benjamin Waldron, David Jenkins, and Richard
Morse. Thomas D. Williams was principal and Mary
Hill was the main teacher. The
Samaria school district was once one of the largest
in the county. Mabel W. Davis, a former student of
Samaria, recalls when “Our six room school house was
bulging with children. The school bell would ring at
8:30 each morning letting us know we had thirty
minutes to get to school,” Steve
Hughes, also a former student, remembers when “long
lines of children turned out each day to be taught,
the children lined up in two separate rows outside
the building before the start of school each
morning, and they marched to their classrooms,
single file, to the music of a phonograph record.”
For years this structure saw many students enter its
doors. However, the school became silent forever in
1959, when the districts were consolidated and the
children were sent to school in Malad.
The building was torn down in 1968 to make room for
the Samaria Centennial Park.
Although the townspeople were
strongly involved in education, their lives were
also centered around religion. Both the Latter-Day
Saints and the Presbyterians were represented in
Samaria, with the Latter-Day Saints being the
predominate religion. However, early on, the
Presbyterian Church was consolidated and met in
Malad. A branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints was organized on November 18,
1868, with Thomas S Thomas being the presiding
elder, and by March 1870 a log meeting house was
completed. On October 31, 1880, a ward
was organized with Jonah Evans being called as the
first bishop. Under the direction of Bishop Evans,
the Samaria ward was incorporated on July 13, 1901.
In 1902 a large Assembly Hall was built for
religious meetings, as well as for the use of other
community events. This building, which was built for
$6,000 by N.L. Nelson, comfortably sat 500 people.
Ann Powell Olsen recalls the first time she went to
see the new church, “Aunt Esther Jenkins and I
[were] walking through Pig Alley to see the new
church. My father was helping shingle it. He called
to me. My, I thought it was a big building, and he
was really up in the air. What a nice place in which
to go to church! All community affairs were held in
it also.” Belle Thorpe Evans states,
“When we got the new Church House, I remember how
proud and happy the good people of Samaria were”
The new church was indeed a reflection of just how
important religion was to the individuals of this
community. On June 18, 1967 the brick addition to
the church was dedicated by Elder Spencer W.
Kimball. In 1986, news was received of the church’s
plan to consolidate many of the smaller wards in the
Stake, On October 12, 1986; many tears flowed down
the Samaria Saints cheeks as they held the last
Sacrament meeting ever to be held in this building.
This adjustment was very hard for the Samaritans to
make. After this date they were sent to Malad to
become part of the N4alad Second ward. The last
Bishop of Samaria was Rex D. Mills. The building was
then sold and purchased by Rex Waldron. Rex and his
wife Donna, still graciously allow the community to
use this building for social gatherings.
The people of Samaria, even though
they were heavily involved in educational,
religious, and their work duties they always found
time to have fun and were a very social group. Many
people who have lived in Samaria cannot forget the
4th and 24th of July Celebrations. Elizabeth Hughes
Ballard can distinctly remember such times,
“The morning of July 4th opened with
a 16 gun solute over the
graves of the
veterans.. The gathering under the bowery for the
days event was always
opened with a prayer. The events of the
day was much like the
Eisteddfod in Wales; racing, games, ball
games, horse racing,
foot racing and contests of all Bolts with
dancing in the
afternoon for the children and dancing in the
evening
for the adults,
Lemonade was served at intervals during the day
from
a large wooden barrel,
everyone of us kids used the seine dippers or
cup. Much of the same
kind of celebration took place on the 24th day
of July.
The Samaria Brass Band, led by Thin
Morgan, played for these celebrations and many other
in and around Samaria.
During the summer, men woul4 quit
working at noon each Saturday to participate in
baseball games and a rodeo at the town square.
The Samaria team was known as “the buttermilks” and
had one of the best teams in the entire valley. They
competed with the teams of Portage. Pleasant View,
Malad, St, John, Cherry Creek, Woodruff Holbrook,
and any other community that could get a team
together. Many also enjoyed swimming at
warm springs or fishing in Samaria Lake in the
summer. Dances were held regularly throughout the
years in the upstairs of the Ben Waldron Store.
Margaret Jane Powell Hill could remember such
dances, “All the community would come out to the
dances. Bill Morgan would call the Virginia Reels
and square dances. If any mistakes were made, Bill
would jump down from the stand and give the
individual a good bawling out.”
In the winter folks
kept themselves just as socially involved. The woman
would hold quilting bees, have guests over for
dinner, organize plays, and exchange recipes for
different remedies of sickness. The young people
were always happy when the snow came. They would
pile as many kids as they could into the Sleigh and
ride around town. The boys enjoyed frightening the
girls by having the team of horses cut “geesers”.
This was done by having the horses go round and
around. This is similar to what the
boys in Sa4iaria do today, only they use cars and
call them “cookies”, The people of Samaria still
lead active social lives but usually go to Malad for
most of their entertainment.
Even when people did have to work,
they could spare time for socializing. Men and women
could be found socializing in front of the stores or
at the town springs where everyone had to come for
water in those days. Ann Powell Olsen remembers such
times, “Arriving at the spring was a thrilling
experience for one so young. Water was gushing out
of a large square wooden pipe. Many other people
with their water barrels were there waiting their
turns, having a chance to visit with one another by
doing so.” According to William M.
Price,
“All
families had in their possession, or had some access
to, what was known as a water sleigh which carried a
fifty gallon keg in which water was hauled from the
Samaria spring to their homes for drinking, as well
as for all household uses. The water was dipped by
bucket from the spring into the keg.”
Livestock was also brought to water here each
night and morning. In 1906, water became more
readily available for many through the digging of
wells. Levi Savage Waldron could see the need for
wells to be dug in the valley so he and Dick Reese
traveled to Collinston where he placed an order for
a well machine. When the machine arrived, Levi went
to work and dug the first well in the village and
continued to dig many more through out his lifetime.
Levi, sold the well machine to his son Ernest. who
also used it to dig many wells a throughout the
Malad Valley. With wells now at many of the
residents’ homes, water was now not as difficult to
get as it was before. Many of these original wells
are still being used today.
Water was also urgently needed for
the farmers’ crops. In the spring of I 869, a canal
was constructed from the John Thorpe Spring, a
tributary of the Malad River, which provided some of
the much-needed water for irrigation. This first
canal was three miles long.
Also when Lorenzo Snow had made his visit to Samaria
in 1868, he had encouraged the people to get water
from the Big Malad River for irrigating crops.
However, the people of Portage (A town located about
10 miles south of Samaria, just over the Utah
border) also had such plans. This race for the
control of the water west of Malad is perhaps one of
the most thrilling events in the history of Samaria.
The story goes like this:
“The
Portage people keeping things quiet, set out on a
secret expedition to gain prior right to the water
west of Malad. The Samaria people saw them coming
and W.R Thomas, William Williams, Ben Evans, and
Owen Thomas secured the fastest mules in the town,
hooked them on a light cart and raced the Portage
people to the headwaters. The Portage people were
driving horses. A long hard race took place, but the
mules, having the greatest endurance reached the
spot first. The Samaria men jumped out of the cart
and turned the water down toward Samaria. There was
a serious argument but that act established
permanently the origin of practically all the
present water supply of Samaria. The water from the
Warm Springs [in Pleasantview] was turned into the
same canal.”
On May 12, 1872 the Articles of
Agreement were drawn up for the purpose of
constructing this canal. The canal
was then constructed by the men of Samaria and it
still provides most of Samaria’s irrigation water.
Mountain streams also provided some water for
irrigation. A few farmers today water their fields
with modern sprinkling systems but most fields are
still watered the same way the early pioneers had
done it, using the system of ditches that get the
water from the canal.
In the early days everyone was a
farmer out of necessity. Although other occupations
have been held, the main source of livelihood in
Samaria has always been agriculture. Traditionally
the most commonly grown crops have been hay and
grain. In 1897 it was estimated that 40,000 bushels
of wheat and 5,000 tons of hay could be produced
annually in favorable years.
Most of the hay was consumed during the winter by
the sheep and cattle. Some of the grain could be
taken to the flourmill just one mile outside the
village but the rest had to be hauled by wagon to
Corrtne or Collinston, Utah. Until the railroad came
to Malad in 1906, it was a hardship to get their
grain to these markets. Daniel M. Price writes about
such trips, “When I was a small boy, I used to
travel with my father to Corrine and Collinston
where we hauled grain to be shipped on the railroad;
then we would haul supplies back. It took three days
to make the trip because we traveled with
team and wagon.”Also, In
1897 it was estimated that there were 75,000 sheep
and 25,000 cattle within Samaria’s trade territory
which spanned sixty miles northwest, thirty miles
north, thirty-five miles west and many miles south.”
Today sheep raising has decreased and cattle
ranching dominates livestock industry in the valley.
The dairy industry has also played an important role
in Samaria’s agriculture. According to Viola Reese,
“Every farmer had at least one cow for family use
for milk and butter” Excess
butter was taken to the Ben Waldron store to be sold
to help pay for their Groceries.
Today, a large prosperous dairy farm is being
operated by the Spencer Atkinson family. Today with
technological advances, farming and ranching in the
village is done using mostly modern equipment,
however, there are still some in Samaria who do
things the old fashioned way and still milk their
cow by hand and haul their hay on wagons as did
their pioneer ancestors.
Although the chief
industry In Samaria has always been agriculture, by
the turn of the century, with the increasing numbers
of settlers that continued to arrive in the
settlement, other industries and businesses were
needed. By 1897, there were over 8000 prosperous
people living in the town. At this
time, two of the strongest mercantile institutions
in the whole valley were located in Samaria, the
foremost being the Ben Waldron Store.
In 1869, when Ben Waldron came to
Samaria he saw the need for a mercantile institution
to be established. He first went into business with
W.E. Hawkins under the name of Hawkins and Waldron,
but about three years after the business had begun
in 1881 they sold out to the Samaria Co-op.
Mr. Waldron then perused his education during the
winter months with two years of home school and two
years at the Brigham Young College in Logan. In 1886
be went into business for himself. He started out in
a small log dwelling but with his success he soon
built a large two-story brick building which
advertised such things as “Dry 43oo4s and Notions,”
“Hats and Caps,” “Furnishings,” “Boots and Shoes,”
and “Groceries.” He operated this business until his
death on April 13, 1914.
The store was then bought and run
for many more years by Daniel Morse Williams. In
1945, it was sold to his son-in-law and daughter
William A. and Sylvia Hill. With Bill and Sylvia’s
Old age, and no longer able to run the store, it
closed in 1968. It was then rented out as a living
quarter to Don and Tern Tubbs who maintained
residence there for only a couple Of years. On
September 25, 1973 the building was purchased by
Bill and Sylvia’s ~on James (Jim) T. Hill.
Unfortunately, not long he bought the store, a
significant earthquake hit the village and the store
received considerable damage. The county after this
declared it unsafe and asked that it be torn down.
Jim had torn off the top floor of the building and
had begun repairing the ground floor and was going
to put a roof on it. But again the old store was hit
with more destruction. The quiet afternoon on August
1, 1978, was soon filled with the sirens of fire
trucks and many of the townspeople coming to
the stores aid, however nothing could be done to
save it. The fire was believed to have been set by
an arsonist, who had been paid $500 to burn it to
the ground, by a man who had a grudge against James
T. Hill. Only a few bricks still remain standing as
a reminder of this once flourishing business.
Ben Waldron also operated a livery
stable, butcher shop, icehouse and a large two-story
brick hotel. The hotel was a welcome sight to many
weary travelers who were passing through or had come
to purchase supplies in Samaria.
The hotel, after Ben’s death, was purchased and
lived in by Sam Williams. Then one day, as the
people were gathered together at the church for a
funeral the building caught fire. Ernest Waldron was
one of the first to spot the smoke and run up there.
He said that it was only a very small fire at first,
and if there had been some water close-by it could
have been easily put out. Practically everyone in
the village was scrambling with buckets of water
from nearby wells and the town springs, but it was
not enough to stop the fire from taking the building
down to the ground. (This
fire happened much earlier than the Waldron store
fire.)
The other large mercantile institution
in Samaria started out as the business that Hawkins
and Waldron had sold to John Jenkins, the Samaria
Co-op. After Mr. Jenkins death in 1894, a few years
later the Peterson Brothers began conducting
business in the large brick store, and again in a
few more years the entire stock was sold to Davis
and Morris. Around 1907 the store was purchased by
Lewis and W.W. Williams Jr. By 1910 the store was
carrying $15,000 in stock. This
store had flourished until the population in Samaria
dropped to the point that two large stores were more
than adequate to serve the villages needs and the
store was closed. It was torn down some time later.
Many other businesses also once rendered
service to Samaria. The town had a furniture store,
which was built by Isaac Evans sometime nearing the
end of the 19th Century. It then became the D.D.
Williams Candy Kitchen. Since then it was made into
pool hall and throughout the years passed through
many owners. This
business closed in 1976 but the building is still
standing today. The village also had the first
blacksmith shop in the entire valley that was built
and operated by Levi Savage Waldron.
Also a United States Post Office was ran in Samaria
until 1963. Another store known as the Samaria
Co-op, this store was a branch of the Malad Co-op,
was run by Richard Morse and Jonah Evans. Samaria
also had a jail, Millinery Store, and not to forget,
the several Saloons.
Another significant business, situated
just outside of Samaria on the Big Malad River, was
the Oneida Milling and Elevator Company that was
built in 1882 by Emery Davis. This large flour mill
operated solely by water power. In 1894 it was
bought by two brothers, John E and Daniel Jones. By
1909 they had totally rebuilt the Mill, which was
now valued at not less than $12,000. At this time
this finely equipped mill far exceeded any other in
all of Idaho. It boasted of producing 50 barrels of
flour per day and had the storage capacity of 4,000
bushels. The mill took in business as far as 200
miles north and as far south as Ogden. In 1916, it
was renamed the Gwenford Mill and Elevator Company.
The Mill closed in 1923, but stood
in the hollow for many more years as a recognizable
landmark for many travelers. Then on November 8,
1988 the owner of the property burnt the Mills
skeletal remains.
Many Samaritans feel
that the primary reason why many Samaria businesses
have all since gone out of business is because of
the railroad being routed to Malad instead of
Samaria, as it had been originally planned.
“Sometimes to lose a fight ordains the future,
Samaria attests to that.” Samaria
had bright hopes of the future when they received
word that the Utah Northern Railroad was coming to
Samaria. However, Malad also had such hopes of a
railroad. At this time both towns about the same
population, with around 800 people,
but Samaria was ahead in industry. Some even felt
that Samaria should be the seat of Oneida County.
The towns both continued to offer more “stuff and
things” to the railroad. In the
end, Malad won. And the first train arrived in Malad
in 1906. Samaria just had to try to go on as before
and many of the Samaritans did continue to be
faithful. The Samaria Cemetery attests to this, as
it is filled with many of the faithful pioneers and
is the only thing that has been growing since that
time. But ever since that time there has been a
decline in the population, by 1910 the population
was already down to 428 souls,
and Malad has been gradually drawing at the heart of
the community.
Today, those who drive
through Samaria will find that it is only a shell of
its former self and may find it hard to believe that
it was once the most up-to-date town in the valley.
There are no longer any businesses, schools, or even
a church in the township of Samaria. The nearest
place to even buy a coke is 9 miles away in Malad.
Each year more and more of the old buildings are
disappearing. Many of the original homes are still
being lived in today but are slowly being replaced
with modem homes. Advancement in transportation and
the mechanical age has also brought about many
changes. Most of the young folks do not stay in
Samaria but set out in the world to seek their
fortunes, and the old folks just get older. Ralph
Hughes holds the honor of being the oldest man in
Samaria at age 85 and Edith Price Evans, the
granddaughter of Samaria’s founder John Evan Price,
has the privilege of being the oldest women at the
age of 93. Today the population of Samaria numbers
around 150 citizens, many of whom are descendants of
early Samaria Pioneers.
Although the Samaria of today may
not be what it once was, there is still a great love
for this community in the hearts of many. Even if
the population continues to decrease, Samaria will
never die as long as people never forget the great
legacies of this town. To the 150 people in the town
who call Samaria home, they would rather not live
anywhere else in the world. For the people of
Samaria are still the same hospitable and kind
people, as were their ancestors, and are indeed
still “the Good Samaritans”.
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