The Birth of Pocatello

In 1864, William Murphy built a toll bridge over the Portneuf River at what is now known as McCammon. The toll bridge and the road north, through the Portneuf gap and the area that is now Pocatello, transformed transportation by providing a more direct route from Salt Lake to the mines in Montana. It was not long before the idea of a railroad through the region was being considered. However, the situation was complicated in 1869 by the establishment of the Fort Hall Reservation, which originally included Marsh Valley and the Pocatello area.

By late 1878, the Utah & Northern Railroad arrived in the area of Pocatello Creek. At that time the only "settlement" of any kind was a freighter stage station northwest of where Alameda and Jefferson meet and a boxcar "depot" on Pocatello Creek near where Yellowstone and Alameda meet today. However, the railroad had neglected the not-so-small detail of securing the needed right of way through the Reservation. To complicate matters, 1878 was also the time of the Bannock War, and relationships between the government and the Tribes were significantly strained by the conflict. 

The U&N Railroad continued north to the Montana mines while Union Pacific contemplated the construction of an east-west line from Wyoming to Oregon. Named the Oregon Short Line, the new venture would need significant space where the U&N and OSL lines would meet. It was not until 1882 that the railroad secured forty acres of land from the Tribes for the junction of the two railroads. That junction was named Pocatello Junction. Tents and boxcars were used for shelter by the railroad employees.

The next year the railroad built a hotel between the tracks at Pocatello Junction. The hotel also served as a depot and section house for a short time. Originally known as the Keeney Pocatello House (named after its proprietor), it was renamed in 1885 to the Pacific Hotel. Along with the hotel, workers were allowed to build shacks and erect tents on the forty-acre easement as long as their homes did not impede railroad operations.

On October 14, 1886, a petition from forty-one of Pocatello's workers was sent to the Secretary of the Interior pleading for more land at Pocatello Junction:

"When the Union Pacific Railway Company built their line through the reservation they were given 40 acres of land for the purpose of side tracks, depot buildings, etc., on all of this land not used for the purpose above mentioned, they erected dwellings for the accommodation of their employees, but largely and especially in the past year their business has increased to a great extent, this necessitated the enlargement of their machine shops, facilities for transferring freight from broad to narrow gauge cars, thereby giving employment to double the number of men, these men have all brought their families here, and as true Americans with due respect to the majesty of the law, and the rights of the Indians, we were during the warm weather content to live in tents or wherever we could find a shelter, but now as the winter is at hand there is no alternative left but to build a small dwelling house to protect our families from the awful cold of the Idaho winter or let them perish, and we must stay here where we have employment in order to maintain our families."

Despite their request, Pocatello Junction remained a small railroad village until 1887. In that year, the railroad decided to move its workshops from Eagle Rock (Idaho Falls today) to Pocatello Junction. That decision brought approximately 1,000 new people to Pocatello. With the reservation on every side, there was no room in the original forty acres of railroad right-of-way for those people to live. This issue was partly resolved by expanding the right-of-way to 79 acres.

The railroad brought in housing for its management employees on what was originally known as "Eagle Rock Row". That road was where North Harrison is today. In subsequent times, it was renamed as "Quality Row" and finally "Company Row". Some of the forty houses were brought in already built, while others were constructed on site. The houses were all painted the same - railroad red with black trim. A few of these houses still remain in Pocatello (although moved to new locations) and are the oldest standing structures in the city.

With the junction of the two railroads established, Pocatello began to rapidly grow. Numerous changes occurred in 1887. Behind Company Row was "Quantity Row" (possibly named because of the numerous children who lived there). While the railroad got its water from City Creek, Quantity Row had to make do with water from the Portneuf at fifty cents a barrel.

On the east side of the tracks, then known as the "Business Side", Front Street appeared (today's First Avenue). There, businesses sprouted up, including saloons and restaurants, eventually, warehouses would also be built on the south end of Front Street. Citizens could cross from the east to the west side using a foot crossing through the railyard.

The railroad also built a two-story assembly hall just to the west of the Pacific Hotel. It was a well-used building. No fewer than eight churches met there, and lodges also met in the building. Bazaars and social events were also conducted there. During the week, the upper floor was used as Pocatello’s first school. The downstairs floor was used for equipment storage for the fire department. 

By 1888, it was clear that the railroad's right of way was again insufficient for the businesses and residents that did business with the railroad and the railroad workers. So, in September of that year, an additional 1,840 acres were purchased from the Tribes for a townsite. 

On April 29, 1889, Pocatello was incorporated as a village in Bingham County (Bannock County not existing yet). Pocatello was on the fast track for further growth.

Sources:

•    Wrigley, Robert L. “The Early History of Pocatello, Idaho.” The Pacific Northwest Quarterly, vol. 34, no. 4, 1943, pp. 353–65.

•    "History of Bannock County, Volume I, 1893-1993", pp. 164-165

•    Gittins, H. Leigh, "Pocatello Portrait, the early years, 1878-1928", pp. 18-38