Discovering the history of a local treasure

To the Editor:

Last summer I stopped at the Yaak Falls to marvel at nature's awesome display of beauty and power as the river charges through this narrow chute, I've stopped and admired this spot many times in the 57 years I've lived in the Kootenai Valley. This time I noticed a large sign at the site and expected a summary of the falls geology or perhaps a historical account of the bridge that crossed the river here and whose piers still remain. Instead, the sign is used to commemorate the existence of some variety of trout I had never heard of.

My curiosity provoked by this disappointment, I delved into the history on my own. Here is what I discovered:

In 1896 wagon roads were constructed that connected Troy to Bonners Ferry. The impetus for these early roads was the mining potential at Slyvanite, but they also served as the only road connection between these towns until 1912 when U.S. Highway 2 was constructed. The original bridge at the falls was built in 1896 using log construction and resting on piers made of cribbed logs filled with rocks. The bridge was rebuilt in 1910 and the piers replaced by the concrete piers that remain today. The 1910 forest fire that occurred later in the year destroyed the town of Slyvanite as well as the nearby mining properties, but the bridge survived. The bridge was no longer needed when the 17-mile bridge was built in 1934 and a road connecting this bridge with the old Slyvanite/Troy Road was constructed along the east bank of the river. The old Yaak Bridge was finally removed by the CCCs in 1935 and only the concrete piers remain to give a hint of this early river crossing.

My thanks to Ken Beckstrom and Jim Calvi's "Trails and Roads to Slyvanite and The Yaak Mining District" for information provided that satisfied my curiosity.

William Payne

Libby