History Series: Kayte Casebolt and the History of Potlatch

Join us as we traverse the historical landscape of Kestrel country with the Kestrel Post's very own Kayte Casebolt. 

Kayte digs into the educational ambitions that set Potlatch apart. Discover how a community's investment in education attracted distinguished teachers and cultivated some of Latah County's most brilliant mind

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:12):
This is the Kestrel Country Podcast where we discuss
the people, places and eventsall around Kestrel country

(00:40):
podcast.
We are very excited to bepresenting a history series with
Kate Casebolt, who has been alongtime writer now for the
Kestrel Post.
And if you don't get theKestrel Post yet, head over to
movetomoscocom and sign up toget our free newspaper.
But Kate is going to bepresenting her past articles,
which is a lot of history aboutour area, so looking forward to

(01:03):
hearing what she has to saywhich is a lot of history about
our area, so looking forward tohearing what she has to say.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
According to Allison Laird, potlatch was an
experiment not just in townbuilding but also an experiment
in constructing a certain kindof social order.
Potlatch started as a companytown, meaning most of its stores
and housing were owned by thePotlatch Lumber Company, where
Laird served as the assistantmanager.
He and several otherinfluential men had a vision to
create a thriving communitycentered around the sawmill.
A main part of the motivationbehind establishing a company

(01:35):
town was the desire to limitalcohol intake.
The Potlatch directors wereconcerned that the use of
alcohol would become detrimentalto their success as a sawmill.
They were adamant that theLatah County Commissioners deny
liquor permits along therailways and discourage the
construction of saloons in thearea.
In 1906, the directors settledon a dry company town.

(01:56):
They wanted to create a townthat attracted the best kind of
people and workers.
Clarence Ferris White was hiredto design the town.
He arrived in January of 1906,and by that time there were
already 28 worker houses built.
The town would be divided intotwo halves one on the North Hill
where the workers lived, andone to the South.

(02:16):
This was where the managementhouses were constructed, known
as Knob Hill.
Within a month of White'sarrival, he and his crew had
built 40 more houses, and by thespring that number was up to
100.
Still, their work was not doneand they continued to build
until the town was big enough tohouse 1,500 people.
Meanwhile, william Wilkersonoversaw the construction of the

(02:38):
sawmill and power plants.
The working-class houses alllooked alike inside, although
the placement of the porch,doors and windows were moved
about in order to appear uniquefrom one another.
The houses had at least threerooms, while some had up to
seven.
The houses on Knob Hill were abit more decorative.
While the simpler houses costless than $450 to build, the

(03:00):
nicer homes on Knob Hill mightbe over $2,000 in construction
costs.
In addition to the family homes, boarding houses were
constructed for the single menand women in the community.
Although the Potlatch directorswanted stable workers with
families to support, the millsimply couldn't be run without
the manpower of the bachelors,so boarding houses were built to

(03:21):
accommodate these workers.
Potlatch also heavily emphasizedtheir children's education, so
they provided additional housingfor the single-woman teachers.
The teachers played asignificant role in the Potlatch
community.
A school was built in 1907 dueto the fact that many applicants
at the mill inquired about theeducation available for their
children.

(03:41):
Potlatch brought in the bestteachers they could, paying over
the state average.
Often Potlatch teachers earnedwages similar to those in
Spokane.
Despite being a much smallercommunity, potlatch was home to
some of the best students in allof Latah County.
They often scored higher onstandardized tests than any
other students in the area.
Since the school was also ownedby the lumber company, it

(04:03):
functioned differently thanother schools.
While academic excellence wasexpected of the students, so was
well-behaved manners.
Students weren't sent to aprincipal when they got in
trouble.
Instead they were sent to themill manager.
Student misbehavior could leadto a parent losing his mill job
and housing Again.
The experiment in politics wasnot only in designing a town but

(04:25):
maintaining a certain kind ofsocial order, whether in the
saloons or in the schools.
In addition to the school, thefirst church was also built in
1907.
For the past year, manyministers traveled through the
area, meeting wherever there wasroom.
At last, the potluck'sdirectors had two churches built
at the company's expense.
The first was a Catholic churchcalled St Mary's Catholic.

(04:46):
Shortly after, a Protestantchurch was built as well.
Housing schools and churchesweren't the only buildings
erected.
The lumber company alsoprovided a hospital, bank, post
office, hotel, jail andmercantile.
For many decades, potlatchthrived as a company town.
However, the mill stoppedproduction in 1981 and was

(05:06):
dismantled two years later.
While the company townexperiment did not stand the
test of time, it proved to besuccessful for many years.
Although Potlatch now has halfthe population it once did,
there are still severalbuildings that remain from its
days of glory as the town withthe largest white pine sawmill
in the world.

Speaker 1 (05:26):
Thanks for joining us .
Like, share, subscribe.
We'll see you next week.