The University of Idaho Library has a new digital collection! 

The Stonebraker Photograph Collection is a collection of 540 photographs from the William Allen Stonebraker Collection, which was donated to the University of Idaho Library in 2003. Stonebraker took photographs in Central Idaho’s remote Salmon River and Frank Church - River of No Return areas a the turn of the twentieth century between 1900 and 1931. Topics and themes include a focus on his homestead (Stonebraker Ranch, still in existence today); photographs of his businesses, including his dude ranch, pack train and dogsled operations; photographs rich in documenting wildlife, scenery, hunting, railroads near Kooskia and Stites, and early aircraft operation to the Chamberlain Basin.

In 1902, Stonebraker helped build the Three Blaze Trail that ran from Grangeville, crossed the Salmon River at Campbell’s Ferry and continued into the Thunder Mountain gold mine area, near the mining town of Roosevelt, which turned into a lake in 1909 as a result of a landslide. In 1932, the same year as Stonebraker’s death, American author Zane Grey popularized Idaho’s last gold rush in his book “Thunder Mountain,” which was made into a film in 1935.

“The history of mining prospects indubitably remains a fascinating part of Idaho history,” said Garth Reese, head of the library’s Special Collections and Archives. “Thousands of men and women flooded into temporary camps in the state looking to prosper either through discovery or by offering their services to prospectors.”

Stonebraker’s photographs document his entrepreneurial spirit and his numerous businesses related to gold mining, including mail and supply pack strings, big-game hunting and ranching.

The collection was researched and described by Erin Passehl-Stoddart, digital projects manager, in fall 2014. Questions and comments about the collection may be directed to Devin Becker, digital initiatives and web services librarian, at dbecker@uidaho.edu. 

This collection was featured our local news station KLEW! See the video here: http://www.klewtv.com/news/local/U-I-Digitized-photos-280710422.html