Idaho National Laboratory Cultural Resource Management Plan

In the 1890s another way station or stage
station was established along the banks of the Big
Lost River approximately 2 miles north of the
Radioactive Waste Management Complex
(RWMC). This station, known as the Powell Stage
Station, was located along a trail or route that ran
parallel and several miles to the north of
Goodale’s Cutoff. George W. Powell, the
proprietor of this station, constructed a rock
building that housed a store and post office.
Powell also maintained the only known bridge
crossing of the Big Lost River in the area (Gilbert
2009).
A second stage station known as the Birch
Creek Stage Station existed at the north end of
INL along the banks of Birch Creek. Established
as early as 1884, it was a stopover for travelers
and freighters bound for the mining camps in the
Birch Creek and Salmon River valleys.
In 1901, completion of the Oregon Shortline
railroad between Blackfoot and Arco signaled the
end of stage and freight lines in the area
(Sedgewick n.d.). As horse-drawn wagons became
obsolete, many drivers increasingly relied on small
farms and ranches in the area.
Eventually, many of the mining boom towns
folded when initial expectations of productivity in
the surrounding mines were not realized
(Bottolfsen 1926a).
One last minor boom occurred in 1925 when
gold was discovered in the Lost River sinks, but
within a month it was realized that the gold was in
such minute quantities that extraction was
economically infeasible (Crowder 1981; Olsen
1978).
Ranching
As transportation through the desert became
more reliable, settlers began to make their way
into the area. Many of these early occupants began
ranching in the northern reaches of present-day
INL. Sources report that there were six or seven
ranches in operation on the Little Lost River and
Birch Creek in 1882 (Edelman n.d.). Among these
early cattlemen were:
The Hawley brothers, whose descendents still
operate a large ranch on the Little Lost River
near Howe (Edelman n.d.)
The Hollands, who also raised cattle near
Howe and routinely ran their stock between
there and the Big Southern Butte (Gerard
1982; Pettite 1977)
Dave Wood, who maintained several ranches
in the area, one of which was located on the
Birch Creek sinks (Oberg 1970)
Frank Reno, whose family still operates a
ranch in the Birch Creek sinks area today
(Edelman n.d.).
The disastrous winters of the 1880s killed so
much stock that the local cattle industry never
quite recovered, and sheep were moved into the
grazing areas once dominated by cattle.
Major sheep drives across the INL area began
in the 1860s, and the growth of this new industry
paralleled that of the cattle industry (Wentworth
1948). As the demand for mutton and wool
increased and sheep became a profitable
commodity, many cattle ranchers added flocks to
their cattle herds or completely switched to raising
sheep. By the early 1900s, sheep were very
common in the area and are still moved today
from pastures near the Big Southern Butte across
the INL area to Howe. Many of the isolated
historic sites encountered within INL boundaries
are remnants of the small temporary camps created
by sheep and cattle drovers as they moved their
stock through the region around the end of the 19 th
century.
Homesteading and Agriculture
While the northern portion of what is now INL
was used primarily by ranchers, the western and
northeastern portions were geared toward
homesteading and agricultural pursuits. The first
settlers in the area were members of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, who established
residence near the northeastern boundary in 1855
(Clements n.d.). In these early days, farming was
oriented toward family subsistence because
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