The mere prospect of a bridge proved a boon to the fledgling community. As a result, Eagle emerged victorious in the bridge site vote. Without hesitation he hired a fancy touring carriage and proceeded to transport residents of the Old Soldiers Home on what is now Veterans Parkway to the polls, offering them a complimentary picnic as a bonus. Aikens responded with a little act of theatre that definitely proved to his advantage. When Star questioned the need of a largely empty town site to have a bridge, the county commissioners decided to take the issue to the voters. His sparring partner in this effort was the settlement of Star, six miles to the west. Moving his family from the island to his new development, Aikens began a lengthy campaign to have the county build a bridge across the Boise River that would anchor his two properties. This property made him the proud owner of frontage on the south side of Valley Road (now State Street), at that time the main highway between Boise and the small towns to the west. In the early 1890s Aikens began to purchase property on the north bank of the Boise River, directly across the channel from his Eagle Island holdings. Conway, a founder of Boise who had a home and stage station east of Eagle's present downtown, and moved with his new bride to a homestead on the island. Just six years later, in 1883, Aikens married Mary Conway, daughter of Henry B. Although the year of Aikens's arrival in the area cannot be neatly pinned down, his first water right to the Boise River involving property on Eagle Island can be dated to mid-1877. The natural outcome of these efforts was the nine major canals that by 1903 had been constructed to irrigate what is today’s Eagle.ĭespite these early efforts of Catlin and Mace, the development of Eagle as a settlement owes its place in history to a Nova Scotian surveyor by the name of Thomas Hugh Aikens. This original attempt at irrigation diverted enough water from the Boise River to irrigate 700 acres on the island and initiated a 40-year effort by local settlers to bring water and crops to ever higher elevations. Together with his neighbor, Polete Mace, Catlin also built the first irrigation ditch in the area in 1864. Originally naming his island home after his native state, Catlin was soon persuaded to rename the island to reflect the large number of bald eagles that made it their home as well. An Illinois native, Catlin used a preemption claim to acquire 160 acres on Eagle Island during the last half of 1863. Catlin was one of those farsighted settlers who quickly realized that his real gold was to be found in farming. Many chose to seek their fortune mining, but a select few came to understand that the mining towns desperately needed the agricultural products that were fast becoming the mainstay of Boise and its river valley to the west, and they centered their efforts on those needs. Located near the Boise River, it has as much to offer newcomers today as it had to offer those who came in the mid-nineteenth century.Įagle’s early history was set in motion when gold was discovered in the Boise Basin in 1862 as well as in other Idaho mountain locations farther north. Well-planned, family-oriented and with a finely-honed appreciation of both small-town aesthetics and its rural roots, the modern City of Eagle has grown from a sleepy village of 350 in 1970 to today’s bustling community of just under 20,000. Nowhere in Idaho can you find a community as dynamic as today’s City of Eagle. By Laurie Baker, Curator, Eagle Historical MuseumĪll photos courtesy of Eagle Historical Museum
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