Holbrock, Idaho ~ Index
Holbrook, Idaho, lies in the north end of what is known as Curlew Valley. The Curlew Valley received its name from the Curlew Snips. This is a rare type bird found only in a few places in the entire world. Curlew Valley must have been a natural habitat as these birds were here in large numbers especially by a lake on the south border of Holbrook. This lake was discovered by George Steed in 1872. He fenced the lake and built a small home and lived there and built on the land. George Steed later sold it to Christian Anderson. This lake was located along the Old Oregon Trail. After many years of serving the travelers on the Old Oregon Trail, Christian Anderson became ill and sold it to Emma Murphy.
The lake was known among the Old Timers as Curlew Lake. About three miles west of this lake was a large spring of warm water which came directly out of the ground. Even to this day Indian relics such as arrow heads and etc. have been found showing that this was a permanent camping ground for the Indians. At the North end of Holbrook lies a very famous ranch. It was started in 1869 and was known as the Bar M Ranch and was owned by the Union Pacific Railroad for many years. In about 1895 the U.P.R.R. sold this ranch to a man known as Dolph House. Soon after Mr. House acquired this ranch all the old log buildings burned to the ground and a rock house was built to replace them. For many years this ranch was known as the Rock House Ranch. This ranch was also on the Old Oregon Trail and was a natural haven with its green meadows and mountain streams for the tired traveler.
The actual settlement of the Holbrook Valley began in 1899 when Robert L. Sweeten and his son-in-law Heber Angell Holbrook entered the valley with the idea of homesteading the land. In this fertile valley they found sagebrush nine feet high which was an indication of excellent soil, but which presented a real problem to remove. Two homesteads were located and these two rugged men began the work of removing the sagebrush, digging wells and building temporary living quarters. From the early morning hours until dark the clang of hammers and axes could be heard by these two pioneers. By 1902, there were a number of families in the valley, the Robert L. Sweeten and Heber A. Holbrook family, Fred W. Christensen, Carl Hammer, Sr., Andrew Olsen, and Peter M. Kofold.
The valley grew rapidly with settlers and because Heber A. Holbrook was a college graduate, a natural leader, organizer and builder, and he had owned his own lumber yard in Bountiful, Utah, the people decided to name this valley Holbrook and petitioned the United States Post Office department for this name and it was accepted. On June 25th, 1901 Bishop Arnold Goodlife of Snowville Utah called a meeting at the home of Emma Murphy’s ranch with President Charles Kelly of Box Elder Stake to organize Holbrook into a branch of the Snowville Ward. Heber A. Holbrook was chosen and set apart as the presiding Elder. He immediately called the people of his branch together and a plot of ground was filed on and dedicated as the Holbrook town site. A well was dug and a bowery built to take care of temporary demands. Meetings were held on the 1st and 3rd Sundays on each month because of weather conditions.
In the spring of 1902, a petition was present to the Oneida County, Idaho commissioners asking for a voting precinct, road district and a school district. The first two were granted, but the school district was delayed for a year and a half. Mr. Dalley, county superintendant of schools, refused to recommend the district. Donations were taken from forty-eight donors in the amount of $581.64 and all ward members worked free under the supervision of Heber A. Holbrook and a new ward building was completed on October 25th, 1902 and paid for with the exception of $50.00. This money was later raised and the chapel was dedicated in the fall. This building was also used as a school house for many years.
October 26th, 1902, Holbrook was made a ward of the Malad Stake. Milton H. Welling, President of the Malad Stake, with headquarters in Portage, Utah, sustained Heber A. Holbrook as bishop of the ward with Silas Thompson and Ephraim Briggs as counselors. A general mercantile store was established at Holbrook by Wallace Cragun. In 1905, an application was made to the Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company for a telephone line into Holbrook. This application was denied, but the telephone company said if the people in Holbrook would supply the line, they could connect onto the line in Malad City which was thirty miles away. It took three years for the people to buy the wire and secure the poles from nearby canyons which had to be done with horses and wagons.
During the time of construction of the telephone line it had doubled in length extending north to Arbon, Idaho and south to Snowville, Utah. When completed Heber A. Holbrook was elected manager and president which position he held for some ten years.