From the Archives - June 20, 2024
Contraband whiskey bottles piled in rear of courthouse during local prohibition in 1918. Photo taken by Chester Simonds, article about photo in the Bonners Ferry Herald, April 16, 1918.
Photo courtesy BOUNDARY COUNTY MUSEUM
In this week's newspaper: This Week in History ~ 100 Years Ago (1924): "Seventy cases of whiskey, a quantity of moonshine, and some beer was destroyed at the county jail this morning in the presence of a number of citizens, by U.S. Marshall Breshears and his deputy. This was the largest amount of liquor which has been destroyed in one batch in Northern Idaho."
The destruction of liquor in Boundary County happened many times in the early 1900s. This photo was taken at an earlier event on April 16, 1918. The caption for the photo reads: "Contraband whiskey bottles piled in rear of courthouse during local prohibition in 1918. Photo taken by Chester Simonds, article about photo in the Bonners Ferry Herald, April 16, 1918. The courthouse and jail viewed from the south looking north. The first school was built in 1894 and became Boundary County courthouse in 1915. The brick jailhouse was built in 1916."
The Boundary County Historical Society and Museum, 7229 Main, Bonners Ferry, Idaho sponsors this column.
Visit the museum, Thursday-Saturday 10 a.m.-3 p.m., or visit the website at boundarycountymuseum.org or the museum’s Facebook page for historical photos and stories, and to see upcoming events. The museum can be reached via email at doyouremember@meadowcrk.com or by phone at 208-267-7720.