Boom Town Development
Wellfirst/Rupert sprang up in the desert around the
Reclamation well, adjacent to the new railroad. Within three
months, the twon had expanded by 90 railcars of lumber and
construction materials with more arriving with every train.
Following an August 21, 1905 directive by the General Land
Office, the Reclamation Service platted the Rupert town-site
between October 2nd and 19th. Because of this unique history,
Rupert is the only
town in southern
Idaho built around a
central square.
In the rush to
build their businesses,
there had been no
time or mechanism to
obtain title to the land
under their businesses. They had built on speculation. If the town folded, they
could easily pull up stakes. Platting the town forced the land ownership issue.
The General Land Office proposed selling the lots around the square to the
highest bidder, disregarding ownership of the buildings sitting on them. The
buildings would be appraised and new landowners would have to pay the building
owners for the improvements. Rupert merchants objected to the plan, because it
could cause them to lose their hard-earned businesses.
Forty-two Rupert merchants banded together in January of 1906 and petitioned the U.S. Government for permission to
buy the land under their buildings. In response, Congress passed a sepcial Act selling the lots to the owners, setting a
nationwide precedent.
The first brick building, still standing, appeared on the square
in 1909. Disastrous fires hastened the change from wood to brick
and concrete. In the summer of 1910, two fires swept through the
business district, the second leveled all but two buildings on the
north side of the square. However, may storeowners were able to
rescue much of their inventory and were open for business in other
locations within two weeks.
Rupert was born out of water, its form set by the hands of
government and made permanent by disastrous fires. The early
wood structures clustered around the first well are long gone, but
they set the template for the community of today.
[Picture Captions]
Rupert Square - 1911
The 1910 Fire on the North Side of the Square
The First Brick Building in Rupert
