THE PALOUSE RIVER

By Gavin Carter

The Palouse River stretches from East Harvard, where three creeks meet to form the headwaters of the Palouse River, on down to the Snake River, which eventually goes to the ocean.  The Palouse River was a much bigger river at the turn of the century, capable of supporting an abundance of life, but it is much smaller now and cannot support as much life.

Two of the reasons people started coming to the Palouse region were the large amount of timber in the Idaho forests and the gold discoveries at the headwaters of the Palouse River. 

In 1875, the first saw mill was established on the Palouse and was powered by steam.  Logs could be floated down the river to the saw mill and stored behind a low dam.  During high water periods, the logs would be floated to Colfax and on down the river.  It is hard to believe that the river could float as many as 30,000,000 feet of Idaho forest timber in one season.

When there was a log jam, the dam workers would use a tool called the peavey.  A peavey is a strong stick with an iron or steel tip.  It also has a hinged hook near the end.  The hook would grab the log and the dam workers would push the logs away.  If the peavey did not work and there was no other way to get the logs apart, they would use a type of explosive, mainly dynamite.

The Palouse River was not just an attraction for businessmen, but also for kids.  During the summer when the logs were gone, kids would swim in its waters.  With the two dams in place the river was always deep.  Because of the dams, there were many holes in unexpected places.  And since it was their first time swimming for many kids, it was not uncommon for a drowning to occur each year.

During the winter, the backwater from downstream extended through the town of Palouse.  When the water froze, the ice was smooth and was cleared off for skating.  Almost all of the town came to skate on the Palouse River.  Also during wintertime, when the ice was a foot or more thick, there would be an ice harvest.  The ice was cut into squares two or more feet across, then packed by bobsleds to businesses on Main Street.  It was stacked in an ice room with sawdust placed all around it to keep it insulated until it was needed. 

The main attraction on the Palouse River is Palouse Falls, located in Western Whitman County.  The river falls nearly 200 feet over a cliff on its course to the Snake River six miles downstream.

The nature of the river changed drastically after the old growth timber was logged off the Idaho mountains and the dams were removed.  After that it overflowed its banks regularly.  Also, with the removal of many trees, the land would let go of the water much quicker, causing the river to go very low during the summer. The river would eat away at its silty banks, causing the brown color of the Palouse River.  With the nature of the river greatly changed, it serves almost no purpose in the Palouse region today.