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Tag Archives: Idaho history
Entertaining Sandpoint: They “seemed to be having an awful good time”
It was the highlight of the 1892 social calendar: a Washington’s birthday dance at the Spinks Hotel. Mr. Spinks, the genial proprietor and “champion yarn-spinner of the Panhandle,” issued an open invitation to Sandpoint residents. All were welcome, he announced … Continue reading
Entertaining Sandpoint: From Roller Skates to Moving Pictures
A roller skating fad swept the nation in the early 1900s, starting in eastern cities in 1905 and working its way to the west coast a year later. Seattle had three skating rinks by September 1906 and a fourth one … Continue reading
Bonner County’s (Very Brief) Gas and Oil Booms
In recent years, our area has seen an increasing number of trains hauling coal and oil from Montana to refineries and ports on the coast. It’s not uncommon to see trains, with up to one hundred tanker cars, crossing the … Continue reading
Dr. Hendryx and Early Kootenai
You’ve probably driven past this intersection many times without a second thought. It’s located about five miles east of Sandpoint where Shingle Mill Road joins Highway 200. It’s usually a pretty quiet spot today, but more than once in the … Continue reading
What’s with Main Street?
Streets in Sandpoint generally intersect at right angles to form a tidy grid pattern – except for Main Street. It slashes a bold diagonal line across the grid, leaving a scatter of triangular blocks in its wake. What’s the matter … Continue reading
Pend d’Oreille, Sand Point, or Both?
Can a town have two names at the same time? In the case of Sandpoint, the answer is, “Yes . . . but it’s complicated.” Several sources – quoted often – say that the town’s name at one time was … Continue reading
Who Was Robert Weeks?
Most histories of Sandpoint, Idaho, include a few lines about Robert Weeks. He opened the first store in 1880, we are told, and also owned a hotel, bar, and sawmill. Meanwhile his son Barton ran a general store with his … Continue reading
North Idaho Past/Present 