The 28th Annual Swan Valley OldTimers Reunion (1990)

 

The 27th Annual Swan Valley Old Timers Reunion (1989)

 

The 26th Annual Swan Valley OldTimers Reunion (1988)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 25th Annual Swan Valley Old Timers Reunion (1987)

 

Stump Creek Salt Works

When I started to look into the Stump Creek Salt Works, I immediately saw how important salt is to humans. Salt has played a central role in human history, from its use as a food preservative to a valuable trade item to a symbol of permanence and loyalty. Salt was a highly sought-after commodity from the beginning of civilization until about 100 years ago. It was used to cure meat and fish, and soldiers were sometimes paid in salt. The word "salary" comes from this practice, as does the expression "worth his salt". In the Bible, salt is a metaphor for permanence, loyalty, and purification. It can also represent usefulness, value, and fidelity.

 The U.S. salt market size was valued at $4.12 billion in 2023. Salt is a mineral found in seas and has various industrial uses, including de-icing, water treatment, and chemical manufacturing. In chemical manufacturing, it is essential for producing soda ash, chlorine, and other chemicals. Additionally, salt is widely used for de-icing roads in colder U.S. regions during winter, contributing to market growth. The steady demand for salt in the food industry also supports overall market expansion. Lithium is also extracted from salt mines and has seen an increase in demand with the growth of the battery industry.

Salt was a vital resource for pioneers, particularly during westward expansion in the 19th century. Its need was crucial for several reasons: preserving food, health benefits, trade and economy. Salt was a valuable commodity. It was traded by pioneers and played a role in the economy of the frontier. The scarcity of salt in some regions led to salt mines or trading posts becoming important centers of commerce. 

In 1869, B. F. White and J. H. Stump began operating commercial salt works at the head of Salt River, northeast of Soda Springs. Salt was purchased locally and in nearby towns like Fort Hall and Soda Springs, but salt was needed for more than just food preservation. Mines needed salt in far larger quantities than the pioneers. The nearby gold rush town of Caribou City needed salt and for some years, most of the salt used in Montana smelters was furnished from the Oneida Salt Works. J. H. Stump ran the salt works on the creek in Star Valley that carries his surname. The mine produced as much as 1.5 million pounds of salt in the late 1800's. B. F. White traveled around southeastern Idaho and southwestern Montana, managing a bank in Caldwell, selling salt and proliferating his business and political interests across Idaho and Montana. In 1876, he was living in Montana territory and by 1880 he had co-founded the town of Dillon, Montana. He also started a canal company in eastern Idaho in 1879, one of the first to do so in the area. There's little doubt that his reputation as an entrepreneur made him President Benjamin Harrison's pick to be the last Montana territorial governor, inevitably a short term meant to help Montana transition from a territory to a state. His success can be directly tied to the salt mine in Star Valley.

 

Harve Kennington later homesteaded the land where the Stump Creek Salt Works operated. There are pictures of Harve hauling salt in pack strings but not much to indicate he operated the salt works commercially. The Kenningtons' were some of the earliest settlers in Star Valley and continue to farm and ranch there today.  Harve Kennington was a dedicated cowboy, working cows on his ranch until he was nearly 90 years old. 

The story of the salt mine disappears at the turn of the 20th century. I searched through 'Our Turn in Paradise' and the Star Valley Historical Society's archives, as well as the sources listed below and others, but didn't find anything about the operation after B. F. White left in 1879. If you have information to add or correct, please email me at svoldtimers@gmail.com. Thanks - Audi

Picture of Harve Kennington and his horses.

Rick Just: The Oneida Salt Works 

US Salt Market Value

The Snake River Valley: Reminiscences of the early days

 

The 24th Annual Swan Valley Old Timers Reunion (1986)

 

Law Comes to the West: Miners Moonshiners and Outlaws

 

In the mid- 19th century, the western United States was often portrayed as a lawless frontier, a vast expanse of rugged wilderness where justice was as unpredictable as the landscape. With the rapid expansion of settlers, miners, cowboys, and enterprising folks alike, there was need for justice. Most of Wyoming was in the Louisiana Purchase. Idaho however, was west of the Louisiana Purchase boundaries, occupied by native Americans and was sparsely distributed with French and British fur trappers, some Spaniards from the south and some Asian and Russian explorers. The Corp of Discovery Expedition set up forts in territories west of the Louisiana Purchase's boundary and sent US Army soldiers to assist the settlers with law and order. John Jacob Astor commissioned westward explorations and used the forts to set up commerce trading sites for the American and Pacific Fur Companies. By the Civil War, there were nearly 7 million Americans living west of the Appalachians. 

At the end of the Civil War in 1865, another migration of various peoples came from the east and across the Mississippi River into the American frontier. The eastern United States was battered from the war and everyone wanted a new start. The Homestead Act of 1862 promised 160 acres of land to every man and married woman willing to 'proof up' on the property. In addition to legislation designed to facilitate western settlement, the U.S. government assumed an active role on the ground, building numerous forts throughout the West to protect and assist settlers during their migration. The US Army was the law of the land before, during, and after the Civil War. 

Idaho and Wyoming were granted statehood in 1890. Local governments were fledgling and still relied heavily on Army rangers to uphold the law. Neighboring Utah did not become a state until 1896 and the boundaries between the 2 states and a territory were disorderly.  

PBS American Experience: The Path to Utah's Statehood

Law and order came to the land over time. Vigilante justice was offered a civilized alternative through a system of local courts. Towns were building courthouses, appointing judges and sheriffs, and the federal government was still there to back them up, especially helpful in the rural outreaches of the jurisdictions. The US Forest Service had rangers upholding the law as soon as the Caribou National Forest was designated in 1907.

 

Grand Valley and the Caribou mountains were quite lawless until the rangers started to pass through the mining towns, sheep camps, and little homesteads. Mining towns were notoriously rough places. Bars made up the bulk of businesses in mining boom towns like Caribou City but were condemned by prohibition and it was the task of the US Forest Ranger to hold these operations accountable to the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. The stories of moonshine operations being found in the hills, and drunk sheepherders stretched across Grand Valley were told by these rangers. Watch for those stories in future posts.