Island Park Idaho Historical Society

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by Renee´ Foster

The city of Island Park, for all other descriptive words, is “unique” in its entirety. It was incorporated in May 1947 to meet a state law requiring businesses that serve or sell alcoholic beverages to be within incorporated towns. The city’s government at the time drew up the city’s boundaries to include all the businesses from the Last Chance area north to the Montana border that desired licenses to serve and sell alcoholic beverages. All other areas of what is now known as the Island Park Recreational area remained in Fremont County.

Moose on river near Mack’s Inn - July 2006

Because of this, most of the city’s “main street” is U. S. 20, a major highway lined with fine lodges, motels, restaurants, lounges, C-stores, gas stations, tackle shops and recreational vehicle and snowmobile rental businesses. And since 36.8 miles of U. S. 20 are in the city, the city of Island Park proudly boasts that it has the “longest Main Street in America,” although its width is 500 to 5,000 feet!
Most people would say Island Park is the gateway to Yellowstone National Park, since the park’s West Entrance is just 14 miles from the north end of Island Park. But the city government, the Island Park Area Chamber of Commerce, and most residents view Island Park as a vacation destination and second home paradise in its own right.
The area is known for its wildlife, beautiful mountains, Henry’s Lake, the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River, the Island Park Reservoir, and many small lakes and streams. Most of the Island Park Recreation Area and several miles of the city are in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. The forest is mostly lodgepole pines, with several areas of old growth Douglas fir and spruce trees that are habitat for a variety of songbirds, raptors, large and small mammals, and wildflowers.

The area is known throughout the world for its excellent fishing, hunting, bird watching, photography, boating, camping, hiking, OHV riding, mountain biking, snowmobiling, and cross- country skiing. Two state parks are also in this area — Henry’s Lake State Park and Harriman Sate Park, as well as a National Water Trail — a stretch of the Henry’s Fork from Big Springs to Mack’s Inn. The Mesa Falls Recreation Area includes a visitor’s center in an historic lodge near the Upper Mesa Falls, Lower Mesa Falls, trails, and picnic areas. The Big Springs area is home to the Johnny Sack Cabin and Waterwheel, which are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Also in the Island Park area are three historic byways — the Fort Henry Historic Byway, the Lost Gold Trails Loop, and the Nez Perce Historic Trail, as well as the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has a large holding in and adjacent to the city known as The Flat Ranch, which has a visitor center that hosts educational programs about the area’s natural resources. Also of note is that several ranches in the Henry’s Lake area are part of a TNC project, known as the Henry’s Lake Ranchland Project, that has placed valuable ranchland and riparian habitat in conservation easements to preserve open space from development.
Geology buffs and rockhounds also love Island Park because it lies in an ancient volcanic caldera, with many areas of volcanic rock in clear view. Garnet Hill, a hill in the city near Henry’s Lake, is a favorite spot for rockhounds seeking garnets, especially during the spring run-off period.
Island Park is a wonderful place to raise kids, run a business that serves thousands of travelers from all over the world every year, or have a second home to enjoy the outdoors.
Island Park’s first human visitors were members of the Shoshone-Bannock and Crow tribes who used the area for summer hunting and fishing excursions. White settlers came here at the turn of the 19th Century to trap. Later settlers raised cattle, dairy cows for cheese factories, grew acres and acres of hay and lettuce, logged, and ran commercial fisheries. Many of the logged trees were fashioned into railroad ties by a culture of hard working men known as “tie hacks.” Other endeavors included guiding visitors who wanted to hunt and fish in the area. It wasn’t until the roads and railroad lines were built that the area became more accessible.
In 1916 Yellowstone Park roads were opened to automobiles. In 1924, the Henry’s Lake Dam was completed, introducing irrigation water storage for lower Snake River Valley farmers. In 1933, the power plant on the Buffalo River, built by the CCC, introduced hydroelectric power to an area that had relied upon gas generators. In 1935, the Island Park Dam was completed.
Tourism and real estate are the two biggest industries in the community today. Some of the most famous fly fishing shops and guides in the world are located in the city and serve fly fishing enthusiasts who enjoy first class fishing on the Henry’s Fork and in other streams and lakes.
Winter used to be a slow time, but is no longer, thanks to the snowmobiling industry that serves riders who enjoy more than 500 miles of groomed and marked trails in the National Forest.
Trends in architecture during the Depression Era included widespread standardization of materials and construction methods. This corner of Idaho bordering Yellowstone National Park had some of the state’s earliest recreational use. The Island Park area, with the development of private
fishing resorts, ranch resorts, and summer homes, utilized log construction combined with the rustic, bungalow, colonial revival, and Tudor styles. The rustic style became synonymous with recreation. It made sense for Island Park because logs are readily available in the National Forest, as are rocks used for indoor and exterior trim.
The most recent U. S. Census Bureau report has Island Park listed as having 215 city residents — however, in 2004, the city logged 239 registered voters. The city estimates that the city’s actual population is around 400.
Island Park is a mountain community, with an average elevation of 6700 feet. Residents joke about having only two seasons — summer and winter. On an average during the winter, the high temperature is 26F, the low is 2.8F, precip. is 10.24, snowfall is 132 inches. Spring high is 48, low is 21, precip. 6.9, snowfall 45.4 inches. Summer high is 79, low is 40, precip. 5.54 inch, snowfall .5. Fall high is 55, low is 25, precip. 5.97 inches, snowfall 32 inches.
Island Park has nine hard liquor licenses and 21 beer and wine licenses. This covers the bars, lodges, restaurants, and convenience stores in the city.
The city’s first governing board came into being on May 16, 1947, when the Fremont County Commission appointed a board of trustees for the “Village of Island Park.” They were Harvey Schwendiman, chairman; Frank Kuck, Horace Pond, W. L. Fitch, and Fred Rich.
On August 18, 1949, there were 70 registered voters in the village. Fifty-eight cast their vote in this election. The village’s first mayor was Harvey Schwendiman, who garnered 57 votes. Trustees were Frank Kuck, 57 votes; Horace Pond, 55 votes; Chet Ellicott, 51 votes; and W. L. Fitch, 38 votes.
The city of Island Park has had six mayors in its 58 year history. The first mayor was Harvey Schwendiman (1947-1971). Next came Mayor Glen McKay (1971-1994); Mayor Sherri Owens (1994-2000); Mayor Lauri Augustin (2000-2003), Mayor Brad Smith (4 months). The sixth and current mayor is Tom Jewell, who took office in January, 2004.

 Posted by:Elizabeth Laden

By Donald B. Lindsey, Ph.D.

Island Park is a unique historical and geological area in north Fremont County, Idaho. The area covers a wide strip from what is locally known as the Ashton Hill to the Montana border, in a shallow high altitude basin formed by an ancient caldera.

Within the area is a city by the name of Island Park that was incorporated in 1947 because Idaho’s liquor laws required a city for the purpose of regulation. The city lines were drawn around existing lodges along the old Highway 20. This gives the city a peculiar configuration, and the distinction of having “the longest Main Street in America.”

“Main Street,” or U. S. Hwy 20 in Island Park, is 33 miles long from Last Chance to Valley View. Its width, however, is only an average of 500 feet from the center line of the old highway, where most businesses serving spirits exist, plus extensions to the west that reach Staley Springs and to the east that reach Big Springs.

Island Park was named for its many natural clearings, some bounded by water, that appear in this otherwise heavily timbered area. These openings in the forest were likened to islands where travelers could stop and “park” to rest or otherwise transact their business. The first humans to do this were members of various Native American tribes: the Blackfeet, the Bannock, the Crow, the Flatheads, and bands of the Shoshone Tribe, including the Sheepeater band.

Next came the first trappers and traders, followed by explorers, guides, and scouts beginning with the summer of 1810. The first of these was Major Andrew Henry, for whom Henry’s Lake is named, and the North Fork of the Snake River that is often referred to as Henry’s Fork of the Snake. The most famous of these early visitors include Jim Bridger, George Rea, Kit Carson, Richard “Beaver Dick” Leigh and Richard W. “Dick” Rock (Rocky Mountain Dick). Of these, Dick Rock and George Rea settled in the area to ranch, hunt, and serve as guides.

Other settlers arrived during the late 1860s, homesteaded, and began to build ranches and engage in other business. Such enterprises included mining, cutting timber, road building, and fish harvesting. Still other businesses were geared to accommodating sportsmen and travelers headed for Yellowstone National Park. Island Park has thus served as an important gateway to Yellowstone since 1872, and significantly helped in opening the park’s west entrance.

Today, Island Park still serves as a gateway to Yellowstone and many of its people work in the tourism industry. In its own right, Island Park is a prime recreation area for those who love to camp, hike, fish, hunt, float rivers, view wildlife, snowmobile, cross country ski or simply view majestic scenery. Island Park is also increasingly becoming a choice summer home area and a retirement area for those who don’t mind more than a little snow.

Geologically, about 500,000 years ago much of what now forms the Island Park area was a large volcano that exploded with extraordinary force. Geologists tell us that fallout from that event has been found as far away as Kansas.

In the aftermath of that explosion, Island Park was left with a world class U-shaped volcanic caldera formation. A caldera is a volcanic crater that has a diameter several times that of the vent and is formed by the collapse of the central portion of the volcano. The Island Park caldera measures 18 miles in width and is 23 miles long. Since that ancient time the crater has largely been filled in by lava flows from the east in Yellowstone National Park. In addition, other elements of nature helped set the stage for the historical developments of Island Park by humans.

Both the Nez Perce and the U.S. Army spent time at this shallow lake located in a grassy, seven mile wide basin surrounded by mountains. Nearby Raynold’s Pass funnels traffic on State Hwy 87 to the north towards Bozeman or Ennis, MT while US Hwy 20 crosses Targhee Pass at the Continental Divide and leads to West Yellowstone. As State Hwy 87 passes the north shore of Henrys Lake it meets Forest Road 55, which continues around the lake to Staley Springs. This is where Gilman Sawtell, the first homesteader in Island Park, bivouacked General Howard’s troops while the general rode to Virginia City for supplies.

A loop can be made around the lake by continuing on to Forest Road 53. The road ends at US Hwy 20 and is a lovely drive on a dirt road.

Island Park was named for its many natural clearings, some bounded by water, that appear in this otherwise heavily timbered area. These openings in the forest were likened to islands where travelers could stop and “park” to rest or otherwise transact their business. The first humans to do this were members of various Native American tribes: the Blackfeet, the Bannock, the Crow, the Flatheads, and bands of the Shoshone Tribe, including the Sheepeater band.

Next came the first trappers and traders, followed by explorers, guides, and scouts beginning with the summer of 1810. The first of these was Major Andrew Henry, for whom Henry’s Lake is named, and the North Fork of the Snake River that is often referred to as Henry’s Fork of the Snake. The most famous of these early visitors include Jim Bridger, George Rea, Kit Carson, Richard “Beaver Dick” Leigh and Richard W. “Dick” Rock (Rocky Mountain Dick). Of these, Dick Rock and George Rea settled in the area to ranch, hunt, and serve as guides.

Other settlers arrived during the late 1860s, homesteaded, and began to build ranches and engage in other business. Such enterprises included mining, cutting timber, road building, and fish harvesting. Still other businesses were geared to accommodating sportsmen and travelers headed for Yellowstone National Park. Island Park has thus served as an important gateway to Yellowstone since 1872, and significantly helped in opening the park’s west entrance.

Source: Donald B. Lindsey, Ph.D. - Island Park Historical Society