Presbyterian minister arrived in Idaho unassumingly, left a legacy with College of Idaho

“Caldwell has a new Presbyterian preacher in the person of Rev. Boone. He has a family.”

This briefest of notices in the Idaho Statesman of Nov. 15, 1887, hardly suggests what a historic moment William Judson Boone’s arrival was in the history of Caldwell and of Idaho, and for generations to come.

On April 12, 1890, the Statesman reported: “The Presbyterian Church at Caldwell will be dedicated on the 17th instant, at which time Rev. Boone will be regularly installed as pastor of the church at that place. He has been preaching there for some time past but the Presbyterians have a method of installation when the pastor is assigned, or rather has a call to take charge of a church.”

A week later: “College at Caldwell. It was learned by telephone from Monte Gwinn last evening that the Wood River Presbytery that has been in session at Caldwell for several days past, has decided to erect a college at that place. The citizens of the town donated a full block in the heart of the city worth $3,000 and $2,000 in cash. Work will be commenced at once upon a $10,000 building, to be devoted to the purpose named. The Wood River Presbytery embraces all the territory south of Idaho County. The Statesman congratulates the people of Caldwell.”

In June 1898, the Statesman noted that a party of men from Illinois had been exploring investment opportunities in southern Idaho. “They have been making some irrigation and general farming and fruit raising investigations and will now turn their attention to mining.” G.W. Sterry, of Pontiac, Illinois, would become one of the young College of Idaho’s major donors, and make possible in 1909-10 the erection of Sterry Hall, the classroom and administration building that bears his name. Nisbet & Paradise of Boise were the architects.

The Idaho Daily Statesman published a story about the college on Feb. 23, 1908, written by a young history professor named Lawrence Henry Gipson who would gain an international reputation as an historian in the years ahead. A 1903 graduate of the University of Idaho, Gipson received a B.A. degree from Oxford University in 1907. He returned to Caldwell and taught history at The College of Idaho for three years.

Gipson wrote in 1908: “The College of Idaho is now in its 17th year of existence, having been established in 1891. During a greater part of this period, as is usually the case with institutions founded through private enterprise, it has gone through many a hard struggle. In fact it appeared at times as though the little school would be obliged to close its doors.

“One man, however, never lost faith in the importance of establishing an institution of higher learning in southern Idaho. He had placed his hand to the plow and refused to look back when others, discouraged, dropped away. The word ‘failure’ has never been used in his vocabulary, and at last his devotion to the cause of advanced education for southern Idaho has been rewarded. Dr. W.J. Boone, president of the College of Idaho and founder of this institution, is that man.”

I will always be grateful to The College of Idaho for hiring me in 1948 and for allowing me to teach a wide variety of subjects. In five years at the college, the Harts made lifelong friends, and came to love this great state and its history. Best of all, I have been able to share this love with my readers in the Statesman for the past 50 years.

This story was originally published September 27, 2019 at 5:38 PM.