Table Rock Table Rock can be seen from this side. Table Rock was near some hot springs and served as a favored Indian camping ground. Tribes congregated in this area for fishing, trade, and ceremonial purposes. Later, a stone quarry was opened at Table Rock when Fort Boise was established in 1863. Stone from the quarry was used in the construction of many local buildings, including the Idaho Statehouse. Quarried stone is loaded at Table Rock. Table Rock is a Boise landmark, visible from downtown in this historic photograph.

Boise Avenue, Boise, ID, United States

Farming in Boise "...The valley is a very rich looking place. Wheat, oats, barley and all kinds of vegetables. There were orchards, and the trees were all full of fruit...Boise City was a lovely town." Emily Towell, 1881 Oregon Trail Pioneer Boise City was a major distribution site for supplies and fresh produce to overland emigrants and miners. Enterprising entrepreneurs found more profit in establishing local farms and ranches, providing ready food sources. By 1864 all easily irrigable farmland was in agricultural production. Within twenty years, emigrants noted the abundance of fruits and vegetables growing in the area.

Boise Avenue, Boise, ID, United States

South Boise Village Beginning in the 1840s, thousands of emigrants traveled west through the present-day Boise Valley. After the founding of Boise City in 1863, numerous travelers noted the abundant farms and ranches in the area, many on the south side of the river. By the 1890s, this area was known as "South Boise Village" and boasted a school, a church, and several businesses. Streetcar on Broadway Avenue. The old Garfield School was built across Boise Avenue from its current location. View of Broadway from the Bench.

Boise Avenue, Boise, ID, United States

Fighting Fire in Boise "At the end of eleven miles we found a gap in the bluffs of Boyse valley...Here we had good water but poor grass; the grass had been burned off." P. V. Crawford, 1851 Oregon Trail Pioneer Boise has maintained a fire department since 1876, when the first volunteer forces were formed. Station houses were located throughout Boise, including historic Fire Station #3. The station was built in 1914 for horse-drawn wagons and served South Boise until 1978. Firemen at Station #3 on Williams Street

, Boise, ID, United States

Developing Roads The Oregon Trail followed a network of routes first established by Indians. Emigrant wagons followed these trails until the early 20th century. Western mining booms created the need for further road development from mining camps to supply centers like Boise and Salt Lake City. Freight and stage companies often used old emigrant routes to Boise and to other mining areas until rail service supplanted most routes.

Boise Avenue, Boise, ID, United States

Developing Roads The Oregon Trail followed a network of routes first established by Indians. Emigrant wagons followed these trails until the early 20th century. Western mining booms created the need for further road development from mining camps to supply centers like Boise and Salt Lake City. Freight and stage companies often used old emigrant routes to Boise and to other mining areas until rail service supplanted most routes.

Boise Avenue, Boise, ID, United States

Black Pioneers Many emigrants came West in the 1840s and 1850s because of increasing political and social tensions over slavery issues. In an effort to avoid the same problems in the West, laws were passed to keep slaves and free descendents of slaves from settling in the Oregon Country. Still, a trickle of black emigrants settled in the West. One early black pioneer, Elvina Moulton, came to Boise in the 1860s. She walked the trail and when she arrived in Boise refused to walk any further. She made a living taking in laundry and was a charter member of Boise's First Presbyterian Church.

Boise Avenue, Boise, ID, United States