One of the most successful and progressive businessmen of Idaho, and the leading landowner of Kootenai county, is Marcus D. Wright, of Rathdrum. He was born in Kentucky, April 16, 1851, and is a son of John W. and Mary (Gipson) Wright, both of whom were likewise natives of Kentucky. The father died in Illinois, at the age of sixty-four years, but the mother is still living, at the age of eighty-seven, and is a resident of Germantown, Kentucky. Of their seven children six yet survive.
Marcus D. Wright was reared in Kentucky and acquired his education in the public schools there. At the age of seventeen he left his native state and went to Missouri, making his home in St. Joseph until he had attained his majority. In 1871 he went to Montana, in which state he lived for six years, and in 1877 he removed to Spokane, Washington. In 1881 he came to what is now Kootenai county, Idaho, locating on the present site of the town of Rathdrum, with whose interests he has since been prominently identified. He was one of the first merchants of the place, and for thirteen years he has been engaged in furnishing railroad ties, under contract, to the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, which he has supplied with more than three million ties in that period. The period of his mercantile career here covers eleven years. He has a well selected stock of general merchandise, and commands an excellent patronage by reason of his courtesy, his enterprise and his reliable business methods. He is also the most extensive landowner in Kootenai county, having four thousand acres, of which eight hundred acres are planted to wheat, oats, hay and potatoes. His agricultural interests add materially to his income, and the various departments of his business have proved profitable, owing to his sound judgment and capable business management.
In 1881 Mr. Wright married Miss Bertie Piper, a native of California, and they have eight children, as follows: Florence A., May W., Elida R., Zella Z., John J, Bertie D, Stella H., and M. Gordon.
In his political adherency Mr. Wright is a Democrat, and he keeps well informed on the issues and questions which affect the public policy and the national welfare. He aided in organizing Kootenai county, and served as its first collector and assessor, yet has never been an office-seeker, preferring to devote his energies to his business interests. He belongs to that class of representative American citizens who promote the general prosperity while laboring for individual success, and is a man of pleasant demeanor and genuine worth, having gained the confidence and regard of all whom he has met.