The Flood that Reshaped Southern Idaho
The Snake River Canyon is one of Idaho's most recognizable geologic features. Volcanic forces dating back more than 10 million years ago created the canyon. But it took the second largest flood in . . . — — Map (db m70474)
Historical Spot
Stricker Store and Rock Creek Stage Station. Five miles south, one mile west. First Trading Post to be established west of Fort Hall on the Old Oregon Trail in 1863. — — Map (db m125447) HM
The town of Hansen is named in honor of area pioneer and merchant John Hansen, a native of Denmark. Hansen, who had settled first near Albion in 1876, moved to Rock Creek in 1900 where he owned and operated a store until 1916. John Hansen was a . . . — — Map (db m125449) HM
Until 1919, when a high suspension bridge was completed here, this 16-mile long river gorge could be crossed only in a rowboat. With 14 cables, each more than 900 feet long, a $100,000 suspension bridge was wide enough to accommodate two lanes of . . . — — Map (db m62131) HM
This site, Old Rock Creek, was the transportation center for Southcentral, Idaho from August 1864, when Ben Holladay's stage-coach first arrived here at the stage station, until the completion of the railroad on the north side of the Snake River. . . . — — Map (db m125410) HM
The lush willow bottoms of Rock Creek provided Native Americans with a natural campsite. During the early and mid-1800s, Rock Creek was an oasis for the trappers, explorers and Oregon-bound emigrants attempting to traverse the arid Snake River . . . — — Map (db m31522) HM
An 1864 overland stage station at Rock Creek, 5 miles south and a mile west of here, offered a desert oasis for 40 years before irrigated farming transformed this area. James Bascom's 1865 store and Herman Stricker's 1900 mansion have been . . . — — Map (db m31521) HM
Original building was erected by James Bascom in 1878. The first trading post west of Fort Hall. Station for Pony Express and Ben Halliday (sic, Holladay) Stage Line. The largest artery of wagon travel in United States passed here on old Oregon . . . — — Map (db m125408) HM
Dedicated to
Herman & Lucy Stricker
Pioneers of Old Rock Creek who built an oasis in a sagebrush desert where all could find supplies and help when needed.
Old Rock Creek
1864
Ben Holladay located a stage station . . . — — Map (db m125411) HM
The Stricker house is a stockade type building. The main wall is of 4 inch by 16 inch timber standing up and down from floor to roof.
Sample as shown below. — — Map (db m125412) HM
The waters of Rock Creek and the grass that grew along its banks provided a welcome oasis for travelers traversing the arid Snake River Plain. This combination caused the area to become a favorite camping site for Oregon Trail emigrants and a . . . — — Map (db m125406) HM
Magic in the Desert
Here, at the Hansen Overlook, you are in the heart of Idaho's Magic Valley. Once this valley was a dry sagebrush covered desert. Water from the Snake River magically transformed the desert seemingly overnight into one . . . — — Map (db m70473) HM
