The Hope/Clark Fork region stretches from the Pack River to Clark Fork River on the shores Lake Pend Oreille. These are the important waterways that supply the Pend Oreille. Lake Pend Oreille has the largest freshwater body of water in the West. It is home to several islands, including Hope, Warren, Cottage and Pearl Islands. The Clark Fork River also feeds the Clark Fork Flats Islands. Sunnyside and the Hope Peninsula are the three main peninsulas that reach into the lake. Sagle looks more like an area where the lake wraps about, but it is still a key abutting feature for Lake Pend Oreille.
Important to remember that both communities have a shared history. Both have shared histories of mining and railroads as well as logging and other sportsman activities. In recent times, the Clark Fork River as well as Lake Pend Oreille have become a popular destination for those who want to live in a mountain/lake environment. The area has been featured in numerous broadcasts and articles as well as by developers. Jack Nicklaus purchased Hidden Lakes Golf Course in North Idaho. The Idaho Club is expected to open in 2009. Growth has been limited due to the fact that the Federal and State own over 70% of this land.
Glacial Floods & Lake Pend Oreille
Lake Pend Oreille is the most distinctive feature in Hope and Clark Fork Idaho. The lake is a prominent feature of North America and has a shoreline of 111 miles. It covers 148 square miles. These massive floods created the landscape and lakes in Bonner County, Montana and Western Montana. One of the deluges had a volume ten times greater than all other rivers combined, and walls of water moved at highway speed. Ice Age Floods Institute.org has more information.
The first white man to discover the area was the Kalispell Indian tribe, along with other Indian tribes like the Flatheads. North Idaho History: The intrepid adventurers were the first to make trade in North Idaho. “Big Finan”McDonald’s and Explorer and “land geographer”David Thompson was the one who built the first wooden permanent structure on the Hope Peninsula in 1809. He took advantage of Lake Pend Oreille’s Clark Fork River. Kullyspell House was established as a trading post on the banks of Lake Pend Oreille. Kullyspell House, Idaho’s oldest home, still exists on the Peninsula. You will find it at the far end of Kullyspell Road. You will see several white homes on your left as you continue on David Thompson Road. The Kienholz family has their summer retreat in this collection of summer houses. Ed Kienholz, one of America’s greatest artists is no surprise.
Steamboats from the Oregon Steam Navigation Company were the first real transportation in the area. They brought their first engine and hardware to Portland. In 1866, they built the Mary Moody, a 108-foot vessel.
Northern Pacific Railroad created the Henry Villard 150 foot in order to provide men for laying rails when railroads arrived. The steamboats remained an integral part in transportation around Lake Pend Oreille through the 1930s. Steamboats were popularized later in this era as an excursion, similar to Pend Oreille Cruises today. Guests at Hotel Hope or other resorts could spend several days on the water.
Congress gave the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1864 a charter for a line that would run from Lake Superior to Puget Sound. It was to be built on the route north of 45 degrees. The Clark Fork Pend Oreille route became a reality in 1872. The railroad brought people to Clark Fork Pend Oreille and Hope.
Railways were first popularized in the 1880s when local construction started on the Northern Transcontinental Line in 1881. Trestle creek, which is more than 1 mile in length, was established as the longest railroad structure. Hope was the centre of all railroad activity and became the biggest city in the county. In a camp city built along the Clark Fork River lived over 4,000 unemployed railroad workers. Railways were a source of people. The lumber industry became the mainstay of North Idaho’s economy over the next 100 year.
History of Hope Idaho
Hope at first was only a point of stopping along the railroad. However, in 1890, Northern Pacific moved the division point west from Montana, to the shores on Lake Pend Oreille. Hope was incorporated on July 17th 1891. East Hope was founded on June 28, 1902. Hope was bustling in its early years. Before roads were constructed, steamboats carried supplies and mail across the lake to the mining areas along the shore. During construction of the railroad, the boats carried supplies from Clark Fork River up to Cabinet Gorge. There had been a long-standing fishing fleet that brought in thousands of fish each day to the lake. Introduction of small krill decimated fish populations. In an effort to boost fish populations, the Federal government introduced these tiny shrimp. The experiment was unsuccessful. The recent years have witnessed a slight recovery of fish population, with Hope now being the centre for some excellent sports fishing.
Hope began to flourish in 1882, when the Northern Pacific reached out. It also established its Rock Mountain division point at the hillside village in 1900. The village, which was founded in 1903 and named after the vet who cared for the horses during construction, was established. He was a wise, kind and generous man who is widely respected. Hope, the Rocky Mountain Division point of the Northern Pacific Line in 1880s, was the biggest town in the region. The large roundhouse was used to turn engines, and railroad workers built offices and shops. “beanery” there.
Hotel Jeannot was now known as Hotel Hope. Because it is located right above the depot with easy access for travelers to its hotel, the tunnels allowed them to make this opportunity a viable business. Many believe that tunnels were built to entertain Chinese tourists. “coolees,”Working on railroads was a privilege that most people were not permitted to do in places that provided services for locals or travelers.
Sandpoint’s growth was slower than Hope’s in the early days of its boom. A 1883 traveler found that only 300 residents were in the city. The report was confirmed nine years later by another traveler. “Sandpoint is made up of between three and four dozen rude shacks and perhaps a dozen tents.”However, it experienced tremendous growth after the beginning of the new century.
Hope fell when the division line moved to Sandpoint. The picturesque location of Hotel Hope near Lake Pend Oreille attracted many visitors. This helped to keep the hotel hope a popular choice until the 1960s. Some notable: Teddy Roosevelt, J.P. Morgan and Gary Cooper.
Hotel Hope was the original Hotel Jeannot. It was built from wood and burned to the ground in 1886. Joseph M. Jeannot, his brother Louis, began work on his commercial fireproof building. The hotel was completed in 1898 with three bays and two stories. Two stories are above the two basement levels. This facade can be divided into three roughly equal bays that differ in their design and materials. It indicates that the hotel was constructed over several years. The theory was based on the structural analysis during restoration and oral stories. First was the story of the East Bay with its wall of random-coursed rock-faced granite ashlar and beaded joints. The first story in the middle bay was next, with its lower façade walls made of concrete poured concrete. The second story of red brick, possibly constructed simultaneously, followed the first stories in the east and center bays. It was either completed in one or two phases. The west bay was built last. First floor is made of concrete and second floor red brick.
The building was occupied over the years by several businesses including a saloon as well as a restaurant and a meat market. Louis built the vaulted cooler that is located in the west basement when he ran his general shop and meat market during the 1895-1897 period. As a monument to those times, Hotel Hope stands today.
J. M. Jeannot was not only interested in his hotel and saloon. Jeannot was also involved with mining, and had many claims in Lake Pend Oreille near Green Monarch Mountain. Jeannot claimed that Hope was home to a significant Chinese community who had arrived via the railroad. Jeannot then allegedly took advantage of this cheap labor source for his mines. Jeannot was said to have allowed them to use the meat cooler below the hotel as a bar. This tunnel connected to the depot and allowed access. It was a small way to get into the room. One of Hope’s few remaining sites, this vault is connected with the large population of Chinese once living in Hope.
Jeannot lost his fortune at gambling and his mining activities led to financial instability. This may be one of the reasons that it took 10-12 years for Jeannot to build his hotel. One source claims that the hotel was delayed for over a year after Jeannot’s 1896 bet against William Jennings Bryan resulted in Jeannot losing all his funds. Jeannot’s insecure finances continued to haunt him. He mortgaged and refinanced the hotel throughout the 1907-1918 period, and eventually lost the property in 1918. The debt was paid by a friend, who ran the hotel until Jeannot’s death in 1968.
The era of timber and trains is over. Today, Bonner County has become a hub for tourism and manufacturing. Hope and Clark Fork became known as an artists colony. Ed Kienholz has played a significant role in this.
Fairfield, Washington: Born 1927. He attended schools and colleges throughout the Inland Northwest. As a nurse at a mental hospital and as a manager in a dance group, he also worked as a secondary car dealer, caterer, decorator, and salesman for vacuum cleaners. He moved to Los Angeles in 1953.
In 1954, he created his first reliefs from wood. In 1956, he established the NOW Gallery and the Ferus Gallery. Walter Hopps joined him in 1957. He completed Roxy’s first environment in 1961, which was a big hit at documenta. “4”1968. The County Board of Supervision attempted to end the 1966 retrospective of his work at Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He focuses on how the environment can influence the private lives of individuals.
Nancy Reddin was his first love in Los Angeles, and he married her in 1972. He was a guest artist at the German Academmic Exchange Service, Berlin in 1973. After moving to Hope, Nancy and him, he established Berlin. His most important works during this period were the Volksempfänger (radio receiving apparatus from the National Socialist period in Germany). He was awarded the Guggenheim Award in 1975.
In 1994, he passed away, but Nancy Reddin Kienholz (his wife) continues his career as an internationally acclaimed artist and visits Hope often.
Their fame, as well as the amazing beauty of this area, has led to over 600 artists being part of our enclave.
In Berlin, the Kienholz couple was friends with many rich patrons. Over the years, they have created two family retreats at the Hope Peninsula. The Max Factor home group is located on your left as you travel from David Thompson Road to Kullyspell Road. They lead to Kullyspell house’s property line. Groenke is another family. Trigon Holding GmbH is a Berlin-based international realty company. Klaus Groenke serves as the managing director. Groenke is also believed to have been a key shareholder of Coca Cola Company as well as a board member for the Deutsche Bank Berlin/Brandenberg. At the junction of David Thompson Road, Groenke Estate was built. It is an 150-acre estate that they call Kienholz Road. There is still a section of Berlin Wall here, covered in graffiti and lexiglas. Half of the estate was sold by the family, which has seen many homes built for multi-millions and others planned.
Hope, Idaho, is today a popular tourist destination and summer lake resort. There are many artists and other eclectic people. With its stunning lake and mountain views it is considered a charming bedroom community. Many travel magazines call the Sandpoint-Hope drive one of the most stunning in the country.
Clark Fork’s history, Idaho
Although they are two distinct communities, North Idahoans often refer to Clark Fork or Hope as one entity. The two towns share the same Chamber of Commerce website. [http://www.poby.org/]
As the Northern Pacific Railroad built its tracks through the Bitterroot Mountains, Clark Fork became an economically viable city in the mid-1880’s. This tiny community is geared toward mining, logging. sawmills. farming. Fish hatcheries. Dam construction. Fur trapping. collegiate studies. Teen homes. Clark Fork was also home to a section and station crew for the majority of its railroad’s history. Clark Fork became anincorporated city in 1912. There is the University of Idaho Clark Fork Field Campus.
Like the Clark Fork Valley around Lake Pend Oreille, the Clark Fork Valley was home to the Flathead Native Americans in 1903. It was first explored by Meriwether Lewis (Lewis and Clark Expedition) during his 1806 return from the Pacific. William Clark gave the river its name. An area in the middle of the river, Montana, was previously known as the Missoula River.
Clark Fork was largely responsible for the story of the river crossing over the years. Clark Fork River bridge was the first to cross the river. It also provided one of only northbound passes. With steamboats transporting miners to the Kootenai Gold Rush, it was the only way to travel. Clark Fork used a ferry for crossing the river before a bridge was constructed. Early ferries consisted of logs joined together. Some records later indicate that a ferry operated in 1893. However, this date was more than a decade after construction of the Northern Pacific Line. Therefore, it’s safe to say there was some business in ferry crossings while construction was underway.
Important to remember that Cabinet Gorge Dam did not exist at the time. At the same time, reporters from 1916 wrote that it was. “The Clarksfork river handles a volume of water much larger than the Snake river. At times during high water, the flow amounts to as much as 94,000 cubic feet per second. The average width of the river is about 1300 feet. The velocity of the river at certain times is very large, about eight miles an hour. Due to this it is necessarily very hazardous to operate a ferry at Clarksfork at any time and very dangerous and at some times impossible to operate a ferry at all.”
This ferry crossing was a necessity and place that travelers needed to use to not only cross but also to rest and replenish their supplies and enjoy the occasional saloon.
Sawmilling was very common up until WWI, and then declined to some extent through the 1950s. McGillis, Gibbs and Lane were among the first sawmills. Mining operations were a key part of the local economy from the beginning until the mid 1950s. From its inception in 1926, the Whitedelph mill and mine was located close to Spring Creek’s fish hatchery. It closed in 1958. The mine produced galena ore with mainly silver, lead, and zinc assays. Near the University of Idaho Clark Fork Field Campus, on Antelope Mountain was the Lawrence mine. Numerous small mines were found in the hills and mountains of the area, which were tended to by prospectors and small businesses.