Legendary Locals of Boise
About the book:
Boise of the 21st century is a very different place from the tiny community established in 1863 at the crossroads of the Oregon Trail and the road to the Boise Basin gold mines. At that time, Boise was a distribution center for supplies and fresh food for the weary travelers and miners. The development of irrigated agriculture and the expansion of transportation networks during the 20th century, combined with the influx of people these changes brought, helped the city grow into a technology center in the 21st century.
Early residents like Tom and Julia Davis helped create a city filled with green parks and walking paths; author and illustrator Mary Hallock Foote brought Boise to the attention of the nation with her stories and pictures; and businessmen J.R. Simplot and Joe Albertson established local businesses that grew to become national corporations. The music of Curtis Stigers, the literature of Anthony Doerr, and the athletic prowess of Kirstin Armstrong have helped focus attention on Boise, which is now recognized as one of the country’s most livable communities.
Learn their stories and many others in Legendary Locals of Boise.
South Boise Scrapbook: A Neighborhood History
About the book:
South Boise Scrapbook: A Neighborhood History tells the story of a neighborhood’s development over time and the people who helped make it a community. Readers will discover the hidden history of this previously neglected Boise neighborhood. Illustrated with historic photographs and modern color photographs of locations and artifacts, the book also includes a walking tour with a map.
Historian Barbara Perry Bauer has lived in the South Boise neighborhood for over 20 years. She is co-owner of TAG Historical Research and Consulting in Boise, Idaho, serves on the board of Preservation Idaho, and is a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Association for Interpretation.
Designer Fred Fritchman is a fourth-generation Boise resident. He is a founding member of the Original South Boise Village Neighborhood Association and serves on the board of the Southeast Neighborhood Association.
Treasure Valley’s Electric Railway
About the book:
From 1891 to 1928, an electric railway linked the communities of an area of southwestern Idaho now known as the Treasure Valley–Boise, Eagle, Star, Meridian, Middleton, Nampa, and Caldwell. The railway supported the growth of neighborhoods and communities, inspired the creation of local parks, and provided recreation and entertainment opportunities to rural and urban residents.
In Treasure Valley’s Electric Railway, Barbara Perry Bauer, MA, and Elizabeth Jacox, historians and co-owners of TAG Historical Research & Consulting, use photographs from the Idaho State Archives, Canyon County Historical Society, the College of Idaho, and private collections to help tell the story of a now-vanished transportation system that underlies the patterns of development of the 20th and 21st centuries.