Idaho community opens historical homes
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FRANKLIN, IDAHO
More than 100 dignitaries, Franklin County residents and some of Lorenzo Hatch's descendants, attended the Franklin Historic Site Preview of the interpretive panels in the newly restored Bishop Lorenzo Hatch and John Doney houses in Franklin, Idaho, on Oct. 14.
Franklin, with a population just under 700, is the first permanent settlement in the state of Idaho. Thirteen pioneer families settled Franklin in 1860. Some of the historical buildings can still be found on Main Street in Franklin, about a mile over the Utah state line.
Idaho Historical Society executive director Janet Gallimore said the site will be a gateway to other state historical attractions in Idaho. "This open house is a chance to give those involved a chance to see the improvements. The houses will be open to the public next spring during the tourist season from Memorial Day to Labor Day. This will be an excellent place for people to come before entering the state. Visitors will be able to pick up historical brochures and information guiding them to other historical sites throughout Idaho," Ms. Gallimore said.
Next to the Bishop Hatch house is the John Doney home, the first stone and mortar home built in the state of Idaho. It was moved from a farm about a mile away to be a part of the other historical buildings in the Idaho border community. The houses have new wood floors installed and the new walls have panels with Idaho historical information, including that of the early pioneers who put down roots in the northern end of Cache Valley. "Tony Varilone of the Pioneer Historic Byway Committee was impressed with the interpretive panels and the efforts of the three entities involved. The Idaho State Historical Society, the Franklin Pioneer Association, which oversees the Relic Hall, and the City of Franklin have invested almost a half million dollars in this and other Franklin projects.
Mr. Varilone spent some time before the open house reading the panels. The panels with historical information discuss the geology, the early pioneers and the Shoshone Indians who seasonally migrated throughout the area. In 1872, Lorenzo Hill Hatch built a prestigious stone house on one of the Franklin Main Street lots across from the city square. Hatch was the Bishop of Franklin from 1863 to 1875. He was the second bishop and the first mayor of Franklin. He also became the first Church legislator in Idaho.
The stone Greek Revival style of the house was the same as those built in Utah during the 1870s. Descendants of Bishop Hatch lived in the house until the 1940s. It was acquired by the Historical Society in 1979, when ownership of the house was assumed by the state of Idaho. The second story has not been worked on yet. In 1910 an addition, made of a hard yellow brick, housed a new kitchen and pantry, later altered to a bathroom. This section of the house has been altered by the previous owner.
