History of LaClede, Idaho

The first white man to settle in the Laclede - Seneacquoteen area was Lyman Markham. In 1864, he built the first ferry across the Pend Oreille River from Seneacquoteen to Markham which was later renamed Laclede after a French engineer who worked on the Great Northern Railroad. Lyman Markham built a log cabin in which to live as well as trade with the Indians. 

In 1883 his brother Francis Markham, and his wife Elmina joined Lyman. They had seven children and had traveled from Astoria, Oregon by train and had arrived in Sandpoint on November 2. Elmina Markham recalled that there were no wagon roads from Sandpoint to Laclede and the family loaded into a leaky rowboat for the 18-mile trip. They arrived at the ferry well after dark. Elmina left us a picture of what their life along the Pend Oreille River was like. She stated that the closest white people to them lived in Sandpoint. Her only neighbors were Indians and at first she had difficulty understanding them but eventually she learned to "talk Indian." She found the Indians to be friendly, and established a good relationship with the Indian women.

It was in 1909 that a man came upon the scene that would change the little village of Laclede. His name was A.C. White, and he had had extensive lumber experience in Michigan. He bought the Laclede mill from Andy Christenson and immediately went to work. He hired another 100 men to start building a railroad up Riley Creek. This opened new territory from which to cut the logs needed at the mill. 

Laclede grew rapidily and many of the workers built their own homes. The old school building was replaced by a four-room school house. The religious and social life of Laclede kept pace with the town's growth. Everything went well for thirteen years until disaster struck on August 17, 1922. The A.C. White Mill and all its outbuildings burned in just a matter of hours. Along with the mill there was over a square mile of dry and cured lumber that went up in smoke. All the workers could do was watch as stack after stack of the lumber burned.
 

In 1885 Francis Markham purchased the ferry from his brother and the Markham family ran it for many years. Lyman Markham moved about two miles up river to a farm. In that same year people slowly started coming into the area. In 1901 Andy Christenson built a sawmill in Laclede. Over 100 men were employed at the mill and others were put to work in the logging camps that provided the mill with logs. Laclede began to grow to meet the needs of the workmen and their families. There was a school, houses for the workers, a boarding house for the single man, a mercantile store, and a post office. Laclede was building up around the Laclede Lumber Company owned by Christenson.

Many of the residents of Laclede urged White to rebuild in Laclede. White knew that time was of the essence and if he did not get back in operation he could lose many of his eastern customers. Instead of building in Laclede he bought the mill that was located in Dover, just 10 miles upstream. One by one the houses were moved from Laclede by barge. White's summer home was moved and converted to a church. The church still stands in Dover and is used regularly. By late fall of 1923 Laclede was almost a ghost town.

Today Laclede is home to the Riley Creek Mill, and to many people who have retired there to partake of it's peace and serenity.

• Bonners Ferry
• Clark Fork
• Hope
• LaClede
• Ponderay
• Priest River
• Priest Lake
• Sagle