Early Spirit Lake had its share of characters
Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of articles exploring the history of Spirit Lake and its environs as the community nears its centennial in August. Spirit Lake native Keith Spencer became interested in local history when he came across some old photographs while remodeling his home. He and his wife, Janette, researched the photos’ origins, began collecting old documents for posterity and now can’t seem to stop.
SPIRIT LAKE – Spirit Lake’s renaissance period started around 1891 and concluded in 1907, when Fredrick A. Blackwell arrived with his railroad, huge sawmill and the Village of Spirit Lake. After his arrival, the whole ambience changed in a few short months, and changed forever.
But back to the the renaissance period. In 1891, there were only two or three settlers living a quiet and isolated life on the eastern edge of the lake. By 1907, while there were a few more settlers, they were now far outnumbered by the pleasure seekers, including vacationers, summer residents (mostly well-to-do), primitive resorts with their supporting staff and lake steamers. Spirit Lake had become a playground for the Inland Empire.
Here’s a synopsis of a few more of the early pioneers, characters and movers and shakers.
Peter “Swede Pete” Samuelson must be included for several reasons. I cannot prove it, but he likely was the second resident in the area and he best represents the early settlers as a class. He immigrated from Sweden in 1890 and soon found his way to Spirit Lake, homesteading 160 acres just east of the lake. He must have had a difficult life as there was no water and every drop had to be hauled by horse or wagon from the Rhodebeck place on the lake. The 1900 Census reveals that, surprisingly, he could speak and write English and he viewed himself as a laborer. He was well regarded and lived on his homestead most of the time until his death in 1937. Note that in 1896 “Swede Pete” became Spirit Lake’s first naturalized citizen.
While no census records him, there is plenty of evidence that Charlie Soderstrom arrived in the Spirit Lake area in the late 1890s and homesteaded the mountainside above Silver Beach on the north side of the main lake. He obviously tried his hand at mining, as there are still remains of mining activity in that area. He later moved down to the lake, with a place just west of Silver Beach.
He must have been a real character, as his name kept cropping up in the newspaper, and not necessarily for doing good. In 1903 he was arrested for grand larceny, but the case was dismissed when the prosecution did not show up for the trial.
His final contribution to Spirit Lake lore comes in 1913 and is best described in the May 23 edition of the Rathdrum Tribune: “Charles Soderstrom, an old Norwegian settler at Spirit Lake, possessed by the idea that a young woman of the town was pursuing him with a band of seven red devils armed with knives to cut his heart out, was taken to Coeur d’Alene Thursday to be evaluated as to his stability.”
Thomas Hooker, the adopted and grown son of the Whartons, probably arrived with them around 1891. He homesteaded Cougar Point (the site of Rhodebecks’ first cabin) and lived there at least part time until his mother, Marion, died in 1915. Her will provided Thomas with all her massive Spirit Lake holdings, but there was a serious catch – Hooker was shocked to learn that he would be cut off without a dime if he married Jenny Baxter. Marion, quite a socialite, must not have appreciated Jenny. Needless to say, he later married Edna and the two of them upgraded the Wharton place, with a quarter-mile of lake frontage, and operated the Hooker Resort on the east side of Spirit Lake for many years.
By all accounts, Thomas, who died in 1932, was a solid citizen contributing greatly to Spirit Lake culture. The flat area at the top of the hill and just west of Nautical Loop road is still known by some as the Hooker place, which was platted by The Bank of Spirit Lake in 1934.
Charles Brickell, a notable entrepreneur, arrived at Spirit Lake in the early 1890s. He initially homesteaded what is now called Velguth Island at the head of the lake. By 1895 he had established a resort on the island and operated the steamer Viola to all points around the lake.
Brickell, like Soderstrom, also seemed to make the paper regularly, but except for an arrest or two for poaching, seemed to receive positive press. The main watercourse flowing off Mount Spokane and into Spirit Lake was named after him. It is curious as to why the island doesn’t bear his name. Brickell didn’t hang around Spirit Lake too long, as he sold the island to William Shaw in 1890 and departed the area.
The sharp point and small island where Spirit Lake bends sharply north, along with its adjacent shoreline, provide both a convoluted and interesting past. Rathdrum resident William G. Marshall somehow procured about a mile of frontage on either side of the point and proceeded to register in 1882 the first plat (Tesemini Plat) on the lake. His plat spanned two sections and this complicated matters. He apparently only had agriculture rights to the Section 7 portion and the Northern Pacific took that part when they received their land grant. Unclear records hint that he ran into financial difficulties with the rest and his name disappeared for good around 1887. While not provable, it is likely that Marshall built the large log lodge still residing on Marshall Point and used by the Tesemini Outing Club to this day. This pristine area, including the lodge, was for years a destination point for numerous excursioners and vacationers, including the Charles Bell family.
During the spring of 1908, Walter M. Burns inspired a group of Spokane businessmen to buy and re-plat most of the previously platted property (80 acres) and form an outing club. He and friend Thomas Brewer, president of Spokane’s First National Bank, recruited members from both the business community and Spokane’s First Presbyterian Church. The Tesemini Club was incorporated in May of 1908 and, according to the Spokane Chronicle, “The plan is to restrict the membership … make the club an exclusive one … build cottages on the property.” Burns was elected first president and the Club prospers to this day.
Pioneer David J. Wright and family arrived at Spirit Lake in 1902 after buying the E.P. Manor farm. He homesteaded the 160 acres at the very edge of what was to become the Village of Spirit Lake and served as the postmaster for a time. Local tradition suggests that his place was built in the 1890s and that it supported the horse riders carrying the mail between Rathdrum and Newport. Its location supports this theory. Various records show that he was both a farmer and merchant. By all reports he was well-to-do and his wealth increased while in Spirit Lake.
In 1912 he built a veritable mansion for the time for his family on a bluff overlooking Spirit Lake. The family soon began spending winters in California and he later sold this wonderful home to the Masonic Lodge and it is still one of the pristine places in Spirit Lake. He had the first phone in Spirit Lake and was obviously a forward thinker.
According to Spirit Lake legend, Wright was a Mormon with four wives and was very hostile as the town was being built, sitting on a stump with a rifle to scare people off. After research, these stories proved false. First, in his will, he asked to be buried by a Methodist minister, Second, there is no record that he had anything but one wife (at a time) and five daughters. Finally, a daughter, Arlene Grace Lassell, completely debunks this myth. Wright actually had two separate families; his first wife died. The oldest daughters from the first wife were apparently mistaken for wives. All evidence indicates that Wright was a solid citizen with real interest in helping the community.
Colonel David Jenkins (a Union officer in the Civil War) purchased Cougar Point from Thomas Hooker in 1906 and immediately built a fine lodge on the site. This is most interesting as Jenkins was around 80 years old and owned numerous other ventures around the Inland Empire.
After the war, Jenkins, a lawyer, moved west trying to find a climate more suitable for his substantial health issues. After stops in Tennessee, Colorado and Seattle as a practicing attorney and judge, he arrived in Spokane Falls in 1879, when the town had only 100 inhabitants. He homesteaded 160 acres in what is now downtown Spokane. He was successful in many ventures (attorney, judge, sawmill operator, and land speculator) and became one of Spokane’s most influential people. When a dispute developed over the location of the Spokane County seat (Spokane or Cheney), he donated a full block for construction of the new courthouse, which still stands today.
All evidence indicates that the lodge at Cougar Point catered to vacationers and the social set, rather then used as a hunting lodge, which initially made more sense. He owned and operated the steamer Echo, which was for a time was piloted by another familiar pioneer, Ole Anderson.
After Jenkins death in 1915, his daughter, Emma, owned the property for a long time. Toe Beito, another interesting Spirit Lake character, bought the property in 1938 and it remains in the family to this day, owned by daughter Alea Beito of Coeur d’Alene.