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A LITTLE HISTORY
Maybe you don’t even think about it, but do you ever wonder as you are driving by an area, who has traveled there before? I mean WAY before, a hundred yrs ago, or two hundred? When I make my home here, I do frequently. Turns out we are filled with history here at Henrys Lake.
Some of the most commonly known stories surround Gilman Sawtelle and his commercial fish business on the north shore of the Lake. He was the first white settler in 1869. He was followed by many pioneering settlers including Ed Staley, Joe Sherwood, Dick Rock, George Rea and others that settled here in the late 1800’s. But they were not the first people here.
Historians say that several tribes of the Shoshonean people either frequented this area for hunting, trapping or simply travelling through. This includes the Eastern Shoshone (Snake), the Bannocks, the Lemhi and the Tukuarikas (Sheepeaters). The Blackfeet, Crow, the Flathead and the Nez Perce also came through here.
In terms of explorers and trappers, we have a rich history filled with famous names. Jim Bridger, Osborne Russell, Jedediah Smith, Jim Beckworth, Joe Meek, Hugh Glass, Andrew Henry and others. Andrew Henry is the first recorded white man to visit this area. The Lake is named for him. He was working for the Missouri Fur Company, leading a group of trappers up the Missouri in 1810. Once they arrived at ‘the three forks’ of the Missouri, the majority of the group felt they had run out of beaver country. Henry wanted to push on. Ultimately, the group divided and some went back the way they came, while Henry led a smaller group up the Madison over Raynolds Pass (named for an early explorer) and came into the Henrys Lake basin, trapping along the way. He followed the Henrys Fork on down into the Snake River plain, building Fort Henry just below St. Anthony along the way, where they spent the winter of 1810-11.
Then there is General O.O. Howard for whom Howard Creek is named. He was hot on the heels of the Nez Perce after the surprise attack on the tribe by Col. John Gibbons on the Big Hole. The Nez Perce, on the run from their home in the Wallowa Valley, fled the Big Hole country and moved back into Idaho, being chased by Howard all the way. Howard pursued them across the country of the Camas meadows (now the Yale Kilgore Road country). You can still see the rock abutments the soldiers hastily built for protection against the arrows during battle. The Nez Perce moved quietly in the night to gain ground on the pursuers. General Howard had sent Lt. Bacon ahead to Henrys Lake to hopefully blockade the Indians at Targhee Pass (named for a Bannock chief) by digging breastworks at the sides of the pass (the pass that Targhee Creek flows through- a mile west of where Hwy 20 is).
Back at Camas meadows, various shenanigans of stealing cavalry mules, setting fires, sneaking away quietly in the night all enabled the tribe to gain ground and outsmart Howard’s brigade. Meanwhile, back at the pass, Lt. Bacon either got bored waiting for someone to show up, or got cold feet with his smaller contingent of fighters, and came back to where Howard was battling it out. Somehow Bacon missed the tribe, and two days later the Nez Perce were able to sneak through, going around the blockade Bacon and his men had built, via the easterly pass a mile away. We all know this didn’t end well for the Nez Perce, escaping with their lives but their hopes and dreams were crushed 40 miles from the Canadian border. Their battles go down in history as some of the best.
There are many other stories to tell about the history of this area. Lots of sturdy, brave souls settled this area with crude protections from the harsh winters. Many of their homestead ranches are still in the family name and ownership. Battles for native sovereignty were fought here. Many men who had no love for “civilization” struck out into the wild to make a living in a new frontier, braving all the elements and hazards the land could put forth as mountain men.
As you can see, there are many place names we know today from this rich history. Next time you go over Osborne bridge or Targhee Pass, or fish the Howard Creek mouth on your boat at Henrys, think about the folks who gave the places their names. It is a fabulously rich area in our common history of native cultures, exploration, commerce and homesteading settlers. Think twice about it.
Newsflash: If you have not heard, quagga musses have been identified again in the lower Snake River, in the Shoshone Falls pool and below near Twin Falls. If you are fishing the lower Snake River at all and coming to Henrys to fish at any time of the year, please make sure your boat and gear have been decontaminated and washed well before entering Henrys Lake.
Thanks, from HLF
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