“Historic Firsts of Lewiston, Idaho: Unintended Greatness” by Steven Branting The History Press 176 pgs., $12.99
“Lewiston policemen often had to defend themselves from the association,” Lewiston historian Steven Branting writes in his newest book “Historic Firsts of Lewiston, Idaho: Unintended Greatness.”
Like the Montana vigilante group that eventually hung Plummer, the association took justice into its own hands.
In November of 1862 its members overpowered guards at Lewiston’s city jail and removed three men accused of robbery.
They were found the next day lynched in a barn. By spring of 1863, association leaders claimed to have rid Lewiston of “200 thieves and gamblers.”
Lewiston was the site for many Idaho “firsts,” according to Branting’s research, including the state’s first newspaper, brewery, photo, female photographer, dentist, fruit orchard, public library, all female jury, municipal park, and independent film — 1922’s “Miss Lewiston,” no copies survive.
The first telephone call on the Pacific Coast was made by John P. Vollmer (Idaho’s first millionaire) from his former home on Snake River Avenue.
The book lists more than 100 firsts and includes documentation of their primary sources that Branting gleaned from archives nationwide.
He will speak and sign copies of his new book from 2-4 p.m. Saturday at And Books Too, 918 Sixth St., Clarkston.
