Blackfoot Idaho

Blackfoot, Idaho, serves as the county seat of Bingham County and proudly bears the title of the “Potato Capital of the World,” a nod to its significant role in potato cultivation and research. This distinction is celebrated annually at the Eastern Idaho State Fair, drawing visitors from across the region. Founded in 1885 and incorporated in 1907, Blackfoot’s name has variously been attributed to the Blackfoot River and the Blackfoot tribe, though the tribe historically resided primarily in Montana. The city’s geographic location along the Snake River Plain has been instrumental in its development as an agricultural hub.

Makinson, Robert D. – Obituary

Halfway, Baker County, Oregon Robert D. Makinson, 68, a resident of Blackfoot, Idaho, and former Halfway, Ore., resident died Nov. 30, 2005, in Blackfoot, Idaho. A Graveside memorial services will be held Saturday, March 18, 2006, at 11 a.m. PST in the Pine Haven Cemetery, Halfway, Ore. Pastor Ray Wilson will officiate and military rites will be accorded by the Halfway Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #7847 Services are under the direction of Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814. Used with permission from: The Record Courier, Baker City, Oregon, March, 2006 Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor

Young, Steven Eugene – Obituary

Steven Eugene Young, 55, of Hereford and formerly of Blackfoot, Idaho, died May 2, 2005, at Holy Rosary Medical Center in Ontario after a long illness. His graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Gilliland Cemetery in Sweet Home. Vault interment will be at Gilliland Cemetery. Steve was born on Aug. 5, 1949, at Longview, Wash., to Oscar Gene Young and Betty Alaine Wood. As a family they traveled extensively, wherever the logging jobs took them. The family finally settled at Sweet Home, where Steve attended high school. Steve became quite an athlete and loved sports, especially football. … Read more

Biography of Henry W. Curtis

There is a sprinkling of English blood in Idaho which adds to the moral and financial vitality of the state. One of the leading citizens of Blackfoot of English birth is ex-County Treasurer Henry W. Curtis, who was also the pioneer hardware merchant of that city. Mr. Curtis was born in London, England, August 9, 1854. His father, Joseph H. Curtis, of an old English family, married Miss Sarah Morrell, a native of London. They had seven children born to them in England, and in 1860 they came to the United States, to found a home in the New World. … Read more

Biography of Frank Sigel Dietrich

The day of the lawyer who depended upon inspiration, and whose chief preparation for forensic victory was the acquisition of alcoholic stimulants, is past. The lawyer of today depends not alone upon inspiration, but also upon hard work in preparing his cases for trial, and upon their careful presentation and handling in the courts. Usually he has to convince hard-headed business men of the merits of his case, which involves nothing of sentiment or of sensationalism and much of pecuniary interest and of commercial right and wrong, pure and simple. He goes before a judge and jury cool, collected, alert, … Read more

Biography of William Kirkpatrick

Wherever his lot may be cast in the north, the intelligent, progressive southerner finds a welcome and makes many friends. If he fought on “the other side” in our great civil war, he is everywhere regarded more highly than the southern union man or the southern non-combatant. He is made to feel at home by Grand Army men and is quickly on fraternal terms with those whom once he faced on the field of battle. William Kirkpatrick is one of the prominent pioneer farmers of Blackfoot, Idaho, where he located in 1873, on one hundred and sixty acres, west of … Read more

Biography of William H. Stufflebeam

There is not a more popular man in Idaho either as Elk or “landlord” than William Herman Stufflebeam, proprietor of the Blackfoot Hotel, at Blackfoot; there is not a man better liked on purely personal grounds; and there is not a man to whom the citizens of Idaho would more confidently entrust the unraveling of a difficult problem or the settlement of important monetary interests than to Mr. Stufflebeam, who is a business man of careful and comprehensive training. William Herman Stufflebeam was born at Whitehall, Washington county, New York. His paternal great-grandfather and his grandfather fought together in the … Read more

Homan, Steven Warren – Obituary

Elgin, Oregon Steven Warren Homan, 52, of Echo and formerly of Elgin, Enterprise and La Grande, died April 13 at his home in Echo. Services will begin at 2 p.m. April 26 at the Lighthouse Pentecostal Church in Island City. Loveland Funeral Chapel and Crematory is in charge of arrangements. Steven was born June 26, 1955, to Arthur Warren and Janet (Moys) Homan in Enterprise. He was raised and educated in Enterprise. After high school, he was a police officer in Enterprise, Elgin, La Grande, Hillsboro and Boulder, Colo., county sheriff’s departments. He moved from La Grande to Blackfoot, Idaho, … Read more

Biography of C. W. Wernicke

The County treasurer of Lincoln County, Idaho, C. W. Wernicke, is also the pioneer hardware merchant of Shoshone, and throughout the eighteen years of his residence here has been prominently connected with the various interests which have contributed to the growth, prosper-ity and advancement of town and County. He belongs to that class of progressive German citizens who have severed the ties binding them to the old world in order to seek homes in the land of the free. He was born in Goldburg, Germany, on the 13th of January, 1847, and in the land of his nativity acquired his … Read more

Smith, Pearl E. Knudsen Mrs. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Pearl E. Smith, 72, a longtime Baker City resident, died Sept. 12, 2001, at St. Elizabeth Health Services. At her request, there will be no service. Disposition was by cremation. Mrs. Smith was born at Blackfoot, Idaho, on June 3, 1929. She was a daughter of Rasmus and Lona Jones Knudsen. She loved to dance and decorate the homes of others with her knitting and crochet projects. She embraced the love to travel with her husband, Ken, visiting places in the Northwest, Canada and snowbirding in Arizona last year in their RV. Camping was her favorite pastime, … Read more

Biography of William T. Reeves

William T. Reeves, a prominent lawyer of Idaho, residing at Pocatello, was born at Kinkleville, Kentucky, January 21, 1855, and is of Scotch-Irish ancestry, a combination which everywhere and always produces good citizens and has given to America many of her best and greatest men. George Reeves, Mr. Reeves paternal grandfather, emigrated from Ireland and brought his wife with him. They had four sons and three daughters. William Harrison Reeves, Mr. Reeves’ father, was born in Richmond, Virginia, and married Miss Penelope B. White, a native of Tennessee. While he was a mere boy his father removed with his family … Read more

Biography of N. P. Nielson

N. P. Nielson, treasurer of Bannock County, and a pioneer grocer of Pocatello, is a native of Denmark, his birth having occurred in that country, September 17, 1852. He was the second in order of birth in a family of two sons and two daughters, whose parents were Peter and Mary (Henson) Nielson, also natives of the same country. The subject of this sketch came to America in 1868, and four years later the rest of the family also crossed the Atlantic, taking up their residence in Utah, where the father died at the age of sixty-four years, the mother … Read more

King, Mary Mae Marshall Staley Mrs. – Obituary

Mary Mae Staley King, 88, of Blackfoot, Idaho, a former Baker City resident, died June 18, 2002, at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center at Idaho Falls. Her funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Blackfoot Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Stake Center, 1650 Highland Drive. Gerald Humphreys will conduct the service. Visitations will be from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Thursday at the church. Interment will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Mount Hope Cemetery. She was born April 16, 1914, in Nez Perce, Idaho, the daughter of George Allen and Molly Gertrude Humphries Marshall. … Read more

Biography of Charles W. Berryman

Charles W. Berryman, a prominent citizen of Blackfoot, Idaho, a member of the well known firm of Berryman & Rogers, stock-raisers and dealers and loaners of money and dealers in county and city bonds, is a native of Wisconsin, having been born at Hazel Green, October 10, 1843, of English ancestry. His parents, Richard and Martha (Williams) Berryman, were born in Cromwell, England. They came to the United States and in 1840 located in Grant County, Wisconsin. There Mr. Berryman became a farmer and lead-miner. He died at the age of seventy-three, in 1877, his wife having passed away many … Read more

Biography of John C. Millick

The large steam roller-process flouring mill at Blackfoot, Idaho, represents one of the prominent business interests of that city. It is the property of Mr. John C. Millick, and it is to give some account of Mr. Millick’s career that these paragraphs are presented. Mr. Millick is a very modest and unassumingman, but he is very busy and successful. He is of German descent and was born in Dodge County, Wisconsin, August 4, 1854, a son of Joseph Millick, who had come to that part of the country from Germany, accompanied by his wife and children. Joseph Millick died in … Read more

Biography of Robert V. Cozier

On the roll of Idaho’s statesmen and eminent representatives of the bar is found the name of Hon. Robert V. Cozier, who has left the impress of his individuality upon the legislation and public progress. He is a man of strong mentality, of marked patriotism and broad humanitarian principles, and is therefore well fitted for leadership in the public movements which affect the welfare of the commonwealth. He is now acceptably filling the position of United States attorney for Idaho, and his comprehensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence and his ability in handling intricate legal problems make him a … Read more

Biography of Henry C. Dippel

Our German citizens of American birth are among our best citizens. Most of them are industrious, frugal, enterprising, progressive and strictly up to date. There is a strain of blood, perhaps something in the atmosphere in which they were born, which makes them good pioneers. They have an unerring scent for localities for profitable investments and improvements. Following is one of the many life stories which go to prove all this: Henry Clarence Dippel, a prominent pioneer farmer and fruit-grower of Blackfoot, Idaho, is a native son of California, having been born at Lincoln, Placer County, October 26, 1859. His … Read more

Biography of James M. Stevens

In a new state like Idaho the really prominent men who are native to the soil are comparatively few, for the reason that few men are able to attain prominence young enough to take this distinguished position. James M. Stevens, junior member of the firm of Detrich, Chalmers & Stevens, of Blackfoot, one of Idaho’s law firms, has the distinction of being one of Idaho’s native sons. He was born January 30, 1873, at his father’s home on the bank of the Snake river, in what was then Oneida county, near where the city of Blackfoot has since come into … Read more

Biography of W. H. Puckett

The junior member of the well known law firm of Hawley & Puckett is the gentleman whose name forms the caption of this sketch. He is still a young man, but has attained a position of distinction at the bar that many an older practitioner might well envy. He was born at Herndon Place, Ballard County, Kentucky, on the 8th of August 1869. His father, W. J. Puckett, was a native of Jackson, Mississippi, and became one of the prominent lawyers of Kentucky, where he practiced successfully for a number of years. He is now living retired in Denver, Colorado. … Read more

Biography of Judge Frederick S. Stevens

The distinguished citizen of Bingham County, Idaho, whose name appears above, has lived longer in that county than any other resident now alive. He has at different stages of his life in the county been soldier, pioneer, storekeeper, farmer and jurist, and in each capacity has won the respect of all who have been associated with him, and he is widely known as one of the most prominent citizens of southeastern Idaho. Frederick S. Stevens was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, August 7, 18^8. Benjamin Stevens, his grandfather, was born in Massachusetts, as was also Benjamin Stevens, Jr., his father. Benjamin … Read more

Bingham County

While not one of the most populous nor one of the most wealthy counties in the state, Bingham county does not by any means stand at the foot of the list. In 1891 the Idaho Register, published at Idaho Falls, in giving a description of Bingham County, stated that it was the largest county in the state. Its length was one hundred and seventy-six miles, its width ninety miles, and it contained about fourteen thousand square miles, or about eight million acres of land; it extended from the Montana line on the north to within about twenty-one miles of the … Read more