In the early 1900s, Pocatello was a growing town thanks to the thriving livestock and railroad industries (Pocatello was an important transportation hub). Opportunities for employment attracted large numbers of workers including Greek immigrants. In fact by 1910, 35% of the Greek population of Idaho lived in Bannock County. One of these immigrants, Alex Katsilometes, chose the name of the new church. He donated a significant amount of money for its construction and was considered the church godfather. For this reason he was asked to choose the name. Local architect Charles B. Onderdonk designed it. The church continues to be an important center for the local Greek Orthodox community today.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church was built in 1915.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church is the oldest Greek Orthodox church in the state. It was built in 1915 and remains an important religious and cultural center for the local Greek Orthodox community. Its Byzantine Revival design is notable as well. Interesting features include a red-brick exterior, round-arched windows with stained glass, a square bell tower above the main entrance, and a round tower with small windows in the center of the roof.  The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church

This diving tour through Pocatello is a work in progress. 

Drew W. Standrod was born on August 12, 1858 in Kentucky. In 1873, after his mother passed away from cholera, his father relocated the family to Malad City, Idaho. As a young man, Standrod returned to Kentucky to study law school and graduated in 1880. He then moved back to Malad City where he started a private practice. He was elected district attorney in 1886 and two years latter married his wife, Emma. In 1890, he became a member of the Idaho Constitutional Convention and was elected to Fifth Judicial District State Judge. Five years later, he and Emma moved to Pocatello, which was a more convenient location for him to travel in his role as district state judge. He served in this position until 1899 when he returned to private practice.In addition to law, Standrod had other interests as well. He was successful financier and held a number of positions in banks, including as president of D.W. Standrod and Company Bank, which was based in Blackfoot. He also supported water and irrigation projects and was appointed to the state's first Public Utilities Commission.Emma was a prominent figure in the community as well. She served in a number of roles including as principal of schools in Malad City and Bellevue, Idaho; Chapter Regent of the Wyeth Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (she also founded the chapter) from 1915-1917; State Vice Regent from 1922-1924; and for eleven years served as Regional Vice Chairman for an organization called Historical and Literary Reciprocity.The Standrods had children (a son and daughter) but they died at a young age. Their daughter, Cammie, passed away of illness when she was 16. Their son, Drew Jr., died when he was 45. Drew Sr. died in 1942 and Emma passed away in 1946.The house passed to Drew's widow, who lived in the house for a few years before moving away permanently. After a series of private owners, the city acquired the house in 1974 and restored it. The house still retains much of the original woodwork and lighting. Until 1995, the house was open for tours and used for private events. It has been a private residence since then.

Built in 1902, the Standrod House is one of the most beautiful and unique homes in Pocattello. It is also considered one of the most historic homes in the state. It is significant for its architecture and its association with its builder, Drew W. Standrod. Standrod served in a number of prominent positions including district attorney. As for its architecture, the house was designed in the Chateauesque style and bears a castle-like appearance. Notable features include a rusticated grey and red sandstone exterior, two stone towers (the large one has a cone roof, and the smaller tower has a metal cone on top), and a large veranda with decorative woodwork that wraps around a the southern corner. Inside, the home features a floor with geometric designs, leaded glass windows, and glazed tile. A private home today, Standrod House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.  

Standrod House

When the church was built Pocatello was a thriving community. Thanks for the Union Pacific Railroad, the town became a major trade and transportation hub in the Northwest (for many years it was an important stopping point for settlers, gold miners, and pioneers who passed through the town on the Oregon Trail). Immigrants also came to Pocatello to find work and many of them were Catholics from southern Europe. St. Joseph's, no doubt, was built to serve this community. Another notable feature of the church is its historic organ, which was installed in 1915. Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie donated $1,000 to an Idaho Senator to help pay for it. It was restored in 2014.

Constructed in 1897, St. Joseph's Catholic Church is the oldest church in Pocatello and one of the earliest stone churches in Idaho still standing. In addition to its age, it is also historically significant for its Gothic Revival architecture. It was built with rough sandstone and features a wood-frame belfry with a copper steeple, Gothic arched windows, and round windows (one of which has a star-of-David motif). The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

St. Joseph's Catholic Church

Trinity Episcopal Church was founded on September 29, 1889. At that time, Pocatello only had one street but the town would grow quickly in the coming years. The congregation initially gathered on the second floor of a building owned by a railroad but built its first church in November. This church was located at the corner of present-day North Main and West Lander Streets. Interestingly, the church was built on a large buffalo wallow (a watering hole for wildlife including buffalo). Apparently, cows would gather next to the church in the shade and even rub their backs on its pilings. The congregation had enough of the cows and relocated to where the church is now in 1893. It was moved once again in 1897 to make room for the current church building. The old church was moved behind the new church and was used for a variety purposes including Sunday school. It was replaced in the mid-1930s when a new church hall was built.

Trinity Episcopal Church is the second oldest church in Pocatello. It was built in 1898, a year after St. Joseph's Catholic Church (the oldest church in the city) and is an excellent example of Gothic architecture. It was constructed with rough sandstone and features a bell tower topped with a spire that rises to a height of 92 feet, red rock trim, and gothic arched windows with stained glass. All of the windows except the one above the main entrance were manufactured in Ireland; the window above the entrance was made in 1976.  

Trinity Episcopal Church

The Carnegie Library was named after philanthropist <a href="https://www.biography.com/business-figure/andrew-carnegie" target="_blank">Andrew Carnegie</a>, the steel magnate who was one of the richest men in the country in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He donated money to Pocatello and countless other communities around the country to enable them to build libraries. The library was the town's first building designed to resemble buildings from the Classical (ancient Greek and Roman) period. At the time, most of the buildings in Pocatello were designed in the medieval styles. The library, then, was a notable departure for the community. For many years, it was the home of the Bannock County Historical Society. It is unclear when the Marshall Library addition was built.

The old Pocatello Carnegie Library is a somewhat simple but historically significant building. Built in 1907, it was designed in the Palladian style, which resembles Classical architecture. It features a beige brick exterior with light sandstone trim, pilasters (architectural features that look like columns), pediments (triangle structures), and an arch over the main entrance. It is now a part of the Marshall Public Library (an atrium connects the two buildings). The old library was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Pocatello Carnegie Library

African Americans represented just one-fifth of one percent of Idaho's overall population throughout the 20th century. In Pocatello, the African American population ranged from 1.5% to 2%-a relatively small number but a significant proportion of the state's Black population. This small Black population made segregated schools impractical and the state ended racial segregation in school in 1873-a reflection of the Republican Party's gradual movement against racial segregation following the Civil War. Of course, the state law also reflected the impracticality and financial burden of trying to maintain separate schools in cities and towns that only had a handful of Black families.    In the early 1900s, a small number of Pocatello businesses displayed "white only" signs outside their restaurant. In the wake of World War I, African American veterans organized protests against segregation in many northern cities. In 1919, several men from Pocatello’s African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church entered the Louvre Café and attempted to be served despite that businesses' policy of racial segregation. The men sued the restaurant for discrimination, but failed to win their case. In many cities during the 1920s--a decade that saw great hostility against immigrants and the revival of the Ku Klux Klan--a number of rural Black families in Idaho were driven from homes and farms. In general, however, racial discrimination was more subtle, with Black families being made to understand that they would not be welcome in white neighborhoods. Residents of Pocatello recalled that during the 1940s and early 1950s, there were many restaurants and other establishments throughout the city where African Americans were made to understand that they were not welcome. The city's YMCA maintained a "white only" policy until African Americans in Pocatello led a protest against the organization in 1952. While the handful of "white only" signs in Pocatello were removed by the mid-1950s, African American residents still understood that they lived in an informally segregated community.

In 1954, African Americans in Pocatello organized protests against racial discrimination. In response, the owner of the Cowboy Bar, which was located on this corner, placed a "white only" sign in his window. Signs like these were rare in Pocatello. Similar to other Northern communities, however, African Americans and other minorities were often made to feel unwelcome at white-owned restaurants and stores even when there were no signs or other explicit outward markers of Jim Crow. Following a state-wide campaign by a coalition of Black, Asian, and Native American citizens, and with the strong backing of liberal whites, the state of Idaho passed a civil rights law in 1961--three years prior to the federal 1964 Civil Rights Act. In 1963, this same coalition secured the passage of a resolution barring discrimination by employers. These laws and resolutions were an important step towards challenging the attitudes and preconceptions of minorities expressed by this sign and other manifestations of racial prejudice. 

The Cowboy Bar and Racial Discrimination in Pocatello

National and local visitors arrive at the Museum of Clean expecting the average 3000-5000 sq ft of history, antiques and pictures. Instead, they walk into an awesome 75,000 sq. ft (on a city block) complex of excitement, education and inspiration for the whole family. &nbsp;Clean applies to 100’s—actually 1000’s of applications. Our museum goal is to touch as many dimensions as we can—in display, art items, slate, and participation. So come prepared to do and get more than just see… remembering this is not a cleaning museum, it is a museum of clean.

The Museum of Clean was established by Don Aslett, the Northwest's "King of Clean." The museum is dedicated to promoting a clean way of life in every aspect. 

Museum of Clean

A railroad line from Salt Lake City had reached Ogden, Utah in 1870, and the Mormons wanted it to continue northward. Construction of this northern route began in August 1871. As noted above, its purpose was to reach the Mormon communities in Idaho to provide them with a means to grow economically, which included trading with mining camps in Montana. Constructing the line was a challenge. The laborers who built it were mostly Mormon volunteers, some of whom had recently converted. Paying for it was a challenge as well. Despite these problems, the line reached the town of Franklin, which is just over the Idaho border, in early 1874.Unfortunately, financial difficulties prevented the Mormons from building the line further. In 1878, the Utah Northern Railroad, as it was originally called, became bankrupt and fell into foreclosure. The Union Pacific Railroad bought it and formed the Utah &amp; Northern Railway. During the next several years, the new company extended the railroad line all the way up to Butte, Montana.

This historical marker indicates where the route of the Utah & Northern Railroad was located. The site, which is situated near the building that houses Idaho Public Television, consists of the historical marker and a short segment of train tracks. The Utah & Northern Railroad was Idaho's first railroad. It was established in 1871 by the Mormons, who wanted a railroad to reach their communities in the Cache Valley (a valley that stretches from southeast Idaho to northern Utah) and further into Idaho to Soda Springs, which is southeast of Pocatello. The railroad was eventually built from Ogden, Utah to Butte, Montana, bypassing Soda Springs altogether.

Utah & Northern Railroad Historical Marker

The Idaho Museum of Natural History was founded in 1934 in Pocatello as the Historical Museum at the Southern Branch of the University of Idaho, as Idaho State University was then called. The Museum was established by a group of professors in an effort to collect, preserve, and display the region’s natural and cultural heritage.The earliest collections, consisting of about 5,000 objects, were primarily anthropological, archaeological and historical artifacts largely donated by the Pocatello Chamber of Commerce and faculty and supporters of the Southern Branch. The biological collections were developed by faculty in the Biological Sciences Department at approximately the same time. The Museum was governed by a 17-member Historical Museum Committee until the mid-1950′s when it was renamed the Idaho State College Museum and its first full-time director was appointed. In 1963, Idaho State College became Idaho State University, and the Museum changed its name to the Idaho State University Museum.For many years, the Museum’s holdings were strewn about the ISU campus in a variety of buildings. In 1976, Museum offices, exhibits and collections finally found a permanent home in the old library building, now known as the Museum Building. In 1977, the museum reoriented its mission to focus on natural history and the Ray J. Davis Herbarium and zoological collections were formally transferred from the ISU Department of Biological Sciences. Its historical collections were handed over to the Idaho State Historical Society, the Bannock County Historical Society, and the Idaho State University Library.

The Idaho Museum of Natural History is home to permanent and special collections in Anthropology, Earth Sciences, and Life Sciences, a place where researchers pursue scholarly study of the collections and publish their findings in peer-reviewed and museum-sponsored publications. Through the Idaho Virtualization Laboratory, the Museum is helping to pioneer the growing field of precise digital collections, making it possible for researchers around the world to study collections housed anywhere, anytime. Exhibitions emphasize the collections and mission of the Museum, and include permanent and special offerings. 

History of Pocatello Idaho Driving Tour

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources