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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

100 years ago in North Idaho: Search for missing Porthill man abandoned

A neighbor two miles below the Klockmann home said he was out working in his yard next to the river all day and did not see the missing man or a boat. (Spokane Daily Chronicle archives)

Relatives of Chris Klockmann of Porthill, Idaho, were giving up hope of finding the young man alive.

Klockmann left his home on the banks of the Kootenai River to take a sack of potatoes to Porthill by boat.

When he had not returned several hours later, his relatives became concerned. They began a careful search of the river and found only a single oar from the boat.

A neighbor two miles below the Klockmann home said he was out working in his yard next to the river all day and did not see Klockmann or a boat. His relatives were becoming resigned to the possibility that he might have met with an accident soon after leaving his home.

The search had been abandoned.

From the city planning beat: Spokane was working on a plan to confine future factories in the greater Gonzaga neighborhood to four distinct districts.

One of those would be be from the Spokane River to Howard Street, south of Cataldo. Others were specified as: from Cleveland south to Montgomery between Ruby, Mayfair and Standard streets; from Atlantic to Howard between Sinto and Mission; and along the Spokane River east of the Great Northern right of way.

This was one of the city’s early attempts at zoning, with “development along existing lines” being the priority. In other words, largely residential areas would remain residential.