Not quite carved in stone

July 4, 1931, was to be a celebration recognizing the emigrants that crossed the Portneuf River near Pocatello on their way to Oregon. The Wyeth Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) gathered around an Idaho-shaped stone monument for a group photograph at the corner of South Fifth Avenue and East Carter Street on what is now the Idaho State University campus. While there were some genuine smiles, others seemed a bit forced and one woman in particular does not appear to be terribly happy. No wonder: The text on the monument was ridiculously wrong. It said, “One half mile west is the old ford where the Oregon Trail crossed the Portneuf River. Erected by Wyeth Chapter, D.A.R., 1931.” The problem was obvious, one half mile west of the monument is the railroad depot, not the Portneuf River.

The woman leaning against the monument appears to be Dr. Minnie Howard, a truly remarkable woman in Pocatello’s history. Her Wikipedia page lists her numerous accomplishments including being instrumental in founding the Pocatello library and marking the exact location of the Wyeth’s Fort Hall trading post, identified by Indian scout Joe Rainey. Her knowledge of local and state history was extensive, she was a conscientious historian, and she knew many people who lived during the city’s founding. How then could the monument be so wrong?

That was exactly the question asked by noted local railroad lawyer and historian Chilton Phoenix. It clearly grated on his nerves each time he passed the ISU campus to see a memorial so blatantly wrong. So, he decided to do something about it. In 1993 he convinced the university, DAR, and the historical society to remove the old memorial and replace it with one reading, “The route of the Oregon-California Trail utilized by pioneers is approximately 11 miles north of this monument.” Phoenix further clarified his thinking in “Rocks, Rails, & Trails” a book he co-wrote with Paul Link. Under a photograph of the original monument, he bluntly wrote, “Incorrect historical marker… The monument was corrected in 1993. The Oregon Trail did not cross the Portneuf River in the Pocatello area.”

Except, Minnie Howard got it right even if the memorial was inscribed wrong. As stated in the 1936 “History and Register” of the DAR, the original text of the monument was supposed to read “Four and one half miles west is the old ford,” but somewhere along the way the text was changed and carved improperly into stone. How and why remains a mystery, but the “old ford” Howard and her fellow DAR members intended to identify with the marker was four and one-half miles northwest-by-west of the monument and it truly was an important site along the Oregon Trail where emigrants, freighters, trappers and stagecoaches forded the Portneuf River.

The old ford is exceedingly difficult to find on any map. During the pioneer era most maps indicated where the main road was, major landmarks like Fort Hall, a few of the alternate routes, and then left it to the wagon trains to find their own way. Since the wagon roads were well worn and easy to see, not much detail was needed and what would become Southeast Idaho was not considered a place anyone really cared to settle anyway. Accordingly, most maps show the Oregon Trail leading directly to Wyeth’s Fort Hall in the river bottoms. However, not every wagon went to the fort. During wet weather, the Snake and Portneuf rivers swelled, making the roads into the bottoms treacherous and even impassable by wagon. So they skirted the bottoms and headed for the point of the mountains where the Portneuf enters the Snake River Plain. Also, some emigrants had no need to stop at the fort and took the more southern route to avoid the multiple stream crossings in the bottoms.

This southern road was also used by the first freighters who hauled supplies from Utah, up Arbon Valley, along Bannock Creek, across the Portneuf at the old ford and northward to the gold mines in Montana. The bullwhackers were unlikely to enter the river bottoms with their multi-ton freight trains where they would have to navigate numerous streams and springs over uneven ground. Prior to the Harkness Toll Road in Marsh Valley, the old ford was the safest and quickest way to get freight outfits to the east side of the Portneuf.

After the pioneer era, settlement began and the first road between Pocatello and American Falls also crossed the Portneuf at the old ford. It was there that the stagecoaches exited the Pocatello area and headed to American Falls, Rockland and the placer mines near Massacre Rocks.

The location at the point of the mountains was ideal for a ford. The Portneuf could not spread its waters out as it did near Batise Springs, and the ground was flat enough to traverse by wagon. In all seasons, the freighters, emigrant wagons and stagecoaches could cross there with the least difficulty. There are even hints that the old trappers and explorers like Captain Bonneville used the ford, too, which hints that it was used by the Shoshone and Bannock people long before them.

Dr. Howard knew Effie Swanson whose family owned land at the old ford and it is possible it was through her that Howard first learned of its importance. In addition, Ezra Meeker camped in the area during one of his trips to commemorate the Oregon Trail as he retraced the route he took west and almost certainly mentioned it to Howard.

Why was it called the old ford, though? The most likely answer has to do with the Oregon Short Line. The railroad also saw the advantage of crossing the Portneuf at the point of the mountain rather than trying to cross the marshy land of the bottoms. When the tracks were laid, they crossed at the same location and the railroad crews were forced to build-up the grade a bit. Another crossing was then used by wagons one mile to the northwest just above Batise springs. This later ford shows on several maps as being either a true ford or a short bridge across the Portneuf. Subtle hints remain along the Portneuf just south of the springs indicting where this road crossed the river.

With the advent of the automobile, the state began building paved highways and it again chose the location of the old ford as the most logical place to cross the river for state highway 16. Remains of that highway crossing can still be seen just west of where Batiste Road intersects Highway 30. The highway itself was rerouted slightly north when it was widened to four lanes as part of Highway 30.

Sadly, Minnie Howard’s goal of marking the importance of the old ford was lost. The marker was removed and replaced with one that did not serve the same purpose that Howard intended. Every day, thousands drive right next to the old ford, one of the oldest continually used river fords in the state, and have no idea of its significance.

As for the new marker at ISU, Chilton Phoenix was fortunate that he added the word “approximately” to the text. The Oregon Trail did not pass 11 miles to the north of the marker. It passed 11 and one-half miles to the north of the marker. Still, the marker feels odd and out of place memorializing such a distant point in another county. Yes, the new marker is “approximately” correct, but that is very different from the original intent of the one placed in 1931.