From the Archives - Sept. 21, 2023
This pair of roller skates is the only pair in the museum's collection. It is unknown if they were used in the skating rink in Kent's Hall.
(Photo courtesy BOUNDARY COUNTY MUSEUM)
James Plimpton created a pair of "dry-land" skates in 1863. His design had two parallel sets of wheels, one pair under the ball of the foot and the other pair under the heel. The four wheels were made of boxwood and worked on rubber springs. The skates were considered the birth of the modern four-wheel roller skates.
In 1923, S.M. Soule and Oliver Cromwell leased Kent’s Hall (which sat on the lot south of the Eagles Lodge). They used the building for a roller skating rink. The men purchased 100 pairs of roller skates and remodeled the hall, laying a new floor.
This pair of roller skates is the only pair in the museum's collection. It is unknown if they were used in the skating rink in Kent's Hall.
The Boundary County Historical Society and Museum, 7229 Main, Bonners Ferry, sponsors this column.
Visit the museum Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and you can visit the website at www.boundarycountymuseum.org or the museum’s Facebook page for historical photos and stories, and to see upcoming events. The museum can also be reached at doyouremember@meadowcrk.com or by telephone at 208-267-7720.