By then, he’s living on a ranch on the Weiser Flat and at age 50, the first of his 7 children (all girls) are born. Jeanna in 1898, Catherine in 1900, and Roberta in 1902. Sadly, tragedy struck in January 1903 when all three toddlers become ill. Within a few days of one another, Jeanna and Catherine succumbed. Years later they would be joined in rest near a large headstone at Hillcrest Cemetery by their parents and two sisters, Roberta and Willie. Before her death, Roberta would tell us that what saved her was the whiskey she was given! For years, the family attributed those deaths to a viral condition. During a house centennial reunion, we hosted for more than 50 family descendants, they conjectured the more likely cause was botulism! Whatever the cause, I’ve often wondered what that must have been like for Wilhelmina, losing two children within days, only a few years after moving to desolate sagebrush country with no family to support her but a husband old enough to be her father. But that was a different world and life went on. Roberta was soon followed by Chris(tine) in 1904, (Frances) Mary in 1907, (Wilma) “Willie” in 1911, and Bea(trice) in 1915.
By 1907, James was a well-respected figure in the Weiser community. It was time to retire from the ranch and move to town, so a larger and more substantial home was commissioned to local and regional architect H. W. (Herbert Weston) Bond. Early in our ownership, we learned that Bond designed the similar looking (but larger) home to the east of ours for the Broderson family in 1915, what is now the Hartland Inn on highway 95 in New Meadows, and the now extant New Meadows Hotel which was located near the intersection of highways 55 & 95. He likely designed others in our region as well. More recent research I’ve done suggests Bond was only in Weiser early in the 20th century. He lived and worked for several years in Baker City, Or, as well as Santa Barbara, Ca, after coming out west, so he apparently had some level of success.

Construction on the house got underway in 1907 in what was then countryside, just outside of town. Our home would soon be joined by the Leighton House to the west in 1909, and the previously referenced Broderson home in 1915. Each were situated on generous ten acre lots which ran up to the Galloway ditch. The original blueprints and multi-page typewritten specifications which have remained with our house, contain a handwritten note disclosing the Fishers moved into their new home on March 1, 1908. At that time, the house was heated by a fireplace in the living room, wood stoves in the rear parlor and dining rooms, and the cookstove in the kitchen. All three chimneys still stand proudly. There were 3 bedrooms upstairs accompanied by a rudimentary bathroom in the attic area above the kitchen, at the back of the house. The family tells us they called the 4th bedroom located downstairs off the kitchen, “the infirmary”. It seems when family members got sick, they were isolated near the kitchen and downstairs bathroom until they were well.
With more kids on the way, the Fisher family soon outgrew this house and in 1911, they raised the roof over the kitchen and “infirmary” at the back of the house, and added two more bedrooms, modernized the upstairs bathroom, installed a back stairway, and added an attic stairway which led to two unfinished rooms on the third floor.

More importantly, they added a hot water heating system to the house. The family told us that a trainload of hot water heating systems came through Weiser and they weren’t going to be left out! That original boiler (converted from coal to oil, and then natural gas) and radiators were still providing faithful service when we purchased the house in 1981. We’ve since installed a high efficiency boiler which still feeds those radiators!
James was a good provider and saw that all his daughters received college educations, four of them graduating from the U of I. We have one of the steamer trunks that accompanied them on the train to school and back each year. When he died in 1935, his wake was held in the front room! His wife survived him by 25 years, passing in 1961, with both of them having lived to the same ripe old age. Roberta, the oldest surviving daughter, had married late in the 1920’s and moved to Pocatello, where they had a daughter. She soon divorced and moved back with Jean to the family home, where she became a much beloved schoolteacher and librarian in the Weiser School District. A few years after her retirement, she sold the house and moved to Oregon in 1974 to be closer to her daughter. In 1957, Jean married Bill Marshall at the Weiser Presbyterian church and made their home in Oregon. In fact, all the daughters eventually married and moved away. However, they always returned home through the years, with Roberta and Chris returning frequently during the early years of our ownership. We were blessed to have experienced relationships with the Fisher women, Roberta (“Bert” to her family), Chris, Willie, and Bea. Sadly, Mary passed away in 1982 before we could meet her, but her children have given us a good idea of what she must have been like.
At the time we decided to move to Weiser in 1981, we told our realtor, Louise Tarter, we wanted an original, unaltered house and that’s exactly what she brought us. It’s the only house we looked at when we came to Weiser that February. The Merrill’s were in their third year of ownership, having bought the house from Delbert and Carolyn Petty, who had purchased it from Roberta in 1974. By then, the back acreage had been sold off, leaving just the acre on which the house sat and the acre to our east. When we moved in during Fiddle Week 1981, 6th Street dead ended at the recently built apartments directly behind us. The original barn was gone but the Leighton barn remained. The original, solid concrete-walled, one car garage was still standing, though listing more than the Titanic! With no practical way to resurrect it, a little nudge created a pile of rubble which we stacked into low landscape walls that still remain around the yard. Though the garage is now gone, we’ve often laughed as we’ve recalled the story Roberta and Chris told of how every time they’d pull their 1916 Buick touring car through those narrow swinging doors, they’d “knock off a piece of brass”!

Also present in the house at our purchase were most original light fixtures, wallpaper in three bedrooms, varnished woodwork, and even some wool carpeting dating to James’s last years! This was due perhaps to the Petty’s children being grown by their family’s ownership and while the Merrill’s seven children certainly left their marks, their ownership was so short that the house survived pretty much intact. The house was always a single-family home and by 1986, we’d already become the second longest owners. Sadly, the end of the century would also bring an end to most of the mature trees in our front yard, grown from mail order nurseries in Chicago when the house was built.
We’ve strived to honor the legacy bestowed on us by good fortune and the original family. We replaced the garage with a building sympathetic to the style of the home. The original footprint and fabric of our home remains, which was a real challenge in a kitchen with five doors, two windows, a chimney stack, and no uninterrupted wall! The litmus test for all modifications is “would it still be recognizable and feel like home to the Fishers”? That family has blessed us with some original artifacts, including the rocker on which Wilhelmina nursed all seven of her children. Perhaps most treasured by us is how they’ve welcomed us into their family, sharing stories and memories which remain with us long after many have passed. Besides many photos, we have a copy of a video oral history done here at the house during the centennial reunion in 2008. We stay in touch with the Fishers, having spoken by phone recently with Jean who turned 90 last year and whom we’ll be visiting in the coming months. We also received separate visits from descendants last year, one of them flying in on a private plane. I took a video of them buzzing over us when they flew home to Washington. Our story, their story, continues as does our work and woeful maintenance on their home. We’ve put on two roofs and masonry has been repointed, though painting, updating plumbing and electrical is ongoing!
Of the 4 surviving daughters, we came to know Willie more intimately. She referred to herself as the black sheep in the family because learning was difficult. She managed to get through St. Margaret’s School for Girls in Boise, but instead of going directly onto college, she took her

allotment money and went to Paris! She eventually completed university, but it was only later in life when she was finally diagnosed with dyslexia! As young girls she and a sister left several inscribed messages on our attic walls, some of which were only discovered during the centennial celebration of the house. They have all been preserved! All five sisters became remarkable, independent, and successful women.
I hope you enjoy the photos. In the coming months, look for other member stories about their historic properties, projects underway or completed, or just experiences and hobbies they enjoy and feel you might too. New members are always welcomed, whether you own a historic property, just appreciate them, or want to have a little fun with like-minded souls!

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Edwin Robertson Coulter came to Weiser from Mayfield, Kentucky, where he was raised, after passing the bar to practice law. Having contracted yellow fever while serving in the Spanish-American War, he was influenced by reading a brochure about the healthful climate of the Weiser River Valley and moved here in 1902. He met Lucina Alice Williams a year or two later, at the Hotel Meadows in Meadows, Idaho, where he had gone to stay while meeting a client in the area. Lucy had been invited to come west by her sister, Oriana. Oriana, the oldest of the five Williams girls, had returned to the family home in Peckville, Pennsylvania for a visit, to try to convince her parents and sisters to follow her to Idaho; Lucy was the only one who
took her suggestion to come ‘see the West”.
Oriana had married Frank Hubbard, who owned the Hotel Meadows, and that was where Ed and Lucy met. The following winter found her in Boise, living in a boarding house on Hayes Street and teaching school. By June 5 of 1906 they were married in Boise, and Lucy moved with her husband to Weiser. According to a clipping I found, they first lived in the Uhr building on West Main (I’ve never heard of that) and then living in a rental at 125 E. Galloway, where in 1908 they welcomed their first child, a son Gus Givens, named after Ed’s oldest brother. Ed then set about buying land and finding someone to build them a home of their own. The Coulter house at 729 West Third was finished in July of 1909, in time for the birth of their second child, and first daughter, Elizabeth. A story about the house, which has no fireplace (unusual at the time), was
that Ed was running out of money and since he had no intention of mortgaging his new house, told my grandmother Lucy that she could choose between a fireplace or a stained glass window. Reportedly Lucy said she had started enough fires to last her the rest of her life, and she wanted the window. Regardless of the lack of a fireplace, the house was cozy with radiators throughout the main floor (still providing the best of heat), and one in the master bedroom and bath upstairs. The sleeping porch (where both daughters Elizabeth and Emily were born), was heated by a wood stove. When the cook stove in the kitchen was replaced by an electric one, the chimney that served both it and the wood stove in the sleeping porch was taken out, and glass windows were added to the screened sleeping porch.
Designed by the architect H.W. Bond and built for the cost of $3,250, the Coulter house features two large pocket doors that shut off the front room, as well as a number of ‘built-ins’, glass-fronted cabinets in the dining room, front hall, master bedroom and library, and closets tucked into spaces under stairs and eaves. The original blueprints, still in the house, showed the large dining room on the north side of the house with a bay window and serve-through cabinet from the pantry. By the time I spent summers in the house, the dining

room was the smaller room on the south side, with cabinets for dishes and linens, and the dining room was the ‘den’, with a wall of built-in bookcases added to the design. Probably about that time, the pantry had been converted to a half-bath. My guess is the original den was not only too small for Ed’s use, but too much of a traffic pattern, as it was a straight shot through that room from the front door and down the hall to the kitchen. By the time I lived in the house with my mother and brother Eddie (Edwin Coulter) in high school, the den was the family living room and library, and the front room was for visiting with guests.
The upstairs and dining room and kitchen have always, in my memory, had the Craftsman style fir woodwork painted, but the front room, foyer, hall and library have retained the lovely unpainted woodwork. In the sixties, one of Elizabeth’s friends told her she “needed to paint all the woodwork white and get rid of all the dark wood because it was all wrong.” Fortunately for us all, she smiled politely and ignored that advice.
The Coulters had a large garden on the same block, a clay tennis court (the heavy roller for flattening it and the lime roller for marking the lines are here) and a horse pasture for their
horses at the end of West Third. They also had a cabin on Fourth of July Creek, which the kids would ride out to while Ed and Lucy followed in the car, and they spent a week or two every summer in a cottage on the boardwalk in Seaside, Oregon, going over on the train as a family.

As a child, spending summers at this house, my brother Eddie and I spent many hours playing in the concrete pool, repaired by Elizabeth and filled each summer. This pool, we were told, had been built in the hole caused by a heavy windstorm blowing over an old cherry tree. We also spent time lying in the old striped hammocks after our frequent trips to the
library, reading Oz books, or playing Bomba, the Jungle
Boy (and his little sister), in the large old pecan tree by the shop. Or playing on and around the old root cellar (gone for many years) that was built in the backyard across from the shop and filled with the canned fruits and vegetables my grandmother produced out at the old cannery near the old Institute.
This house was, and is, a magical place to spend time in, and I am happy it is so close to the original.

By founding member Tony Edmondson

What’s that old saying about how you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone? Well, that could easily describe how we got started and what motivates us to this day.
Back in about 1983, the Intermountain Cultural Center and Museum (ICC&M) had only been operating in Hooker Hall (former Admin building for the Intermountain Institute) for several years. Previously, when incorporated as the “Washington County Museum”, it was in a downtown Weiser location which was the former site of the Vendome Hotel and is now the site of the Vendome Center. With an auditorium and abundant physical space, the museum had expanded its activities which were organized through several “committees”, including a theater committee led by Marvin Triguiero and Blake Coats.
When a fire ravaged a corner building in our downtown that fall, several of we ICC&M Board members were prompted into action hoping to save the structure which featured the last remaining turret on a commercial building in Weiser. We actively engaged with property owner Al Lightfield to save the building. Unfortunately, city officials were concerned that the unsupported second floor masonry wall posed a safety threat. We were told that the Hotel Washington fire a few years earlier that resulted in a burned-out hulk sitting empty for an extended period, was an unspoken motivation to quickly move this building into the past as well. While Mr. Lightfield was compelled to demolish the second floor, he agreed not to level it entirely and so a remnant of that building remains today.
That experience awakened us to the blossoming field of “historic preservation” which was beginning to take root across the country in the 1970’s. So much of the historic fabric of Weiser’s commercial district had already been lost or remodeled into oblivion, we decided a formalized committee of the museum would allow us to focus on saving the architectural legacy of our community. It was then the Weiser Architectural Preservation “Committee” was formed. And none too soon.
One evening in 1985, we got a call from a kindred preservationist in Payette, that UPRR had just demolished their depot and was headed to Weiser to do in ours. It wasn’t a total surprise. Our depot had discontinued passenger service years earlier and was being manned only by a skeleton crew who seemed aware of the inevitable. Fortunately, our committee now had some negotiating experience under our belts and within 24 hours, had already engaged UPRR in negotiations to preserve the depot. Simultaneously we began fundraising and contracted a professional planner to develop a site proposal we could present to UPRR. This included the park grounds you see today. We learned early that negotiations with UPRR were akin to working with a foreign country. They had their own bureaucracy and things took time. After two years of negotiations with our group, UPRR was prepared to donate the building and enter into a long-term lease for a parcel of land. However, they were unwilling to negotiate this agreement with our group. They explained some of their past depot donations to well-intentioned groups ultimately led to abandoned and derelict buildings on their right of way. Despite the 20+ year history of the museum, they would only complete the transaction with the City of Weiser.
We approached City officials who were reluctant to accept such an offer. Eventually we devised a plan whereby the City would accept the proposal and once secured, quit claim deed the property and transfer the lease to the WAPC. In 1987, the official transfer took place with the city and in the months to come, a quit claim deed and transfer of lease was completed to WAPC. There were restrictions within the agreement that challenged us through the coming years, but which were eventually overcome. We were off and running, doing fundraising, making repairs and renovations, applying for grant assistance, and even hosting community events. Soon we had historic walking tour brochures printed, conducted seasonal historic home tours, etc. All the while our depot sat quietly, waiting for its day in the sun once again. Many of us knew if ever we were to have a downtown revitalization plan, having a beautifully restored building at the foot of our commercial district could play a vital role in its realization. We couldn’t have been more right.
It was also about this time that WAPC officials approached both City and County officials to enact historic preservation ordinances for the creation of historic preservation commissions which would qualify our communities for grants to do preservation work. Since that time, many grant projects have been completed in our community with the matching funds or in-kind services provided by WAPC. Because some of WAPC’s Board members also serve on these commissions, there’s been some confusion among some about the two distinct preservation organizations. In a nutshell, the “commission” is the official government arm, and the “committee” is the private nonprofit arm of preservation in our community. We work together to achieve our kindred missions.
Unfortunately, disaster soon struck again. In 1997, fire ravaged ICC&M’s Hooker Hall. Fortunately, it was contained before too many artifacts were lost and structural damage occurred. Even so, it was a tremendous blow to the museum and its future viability. The depot among other interim locations, was used as a transfer site where artifacts could be sorted, stored, and conserved. A year or more passed with no real plan for the museum. WAPC was still active since we had both a building (the depot) from which we could base, and our mission/ work was in the community at large. Given the tenuous future of the museum, a decision was made to separate our committee from the museum and incorporate as a non-profit. WAPC now became WAPC “Inc”.
As the museum struggled to work toward a new future, the future of our commercial district was in full swing. In 2000, the City of Weiser implemented a downtown revitalization project which among other grants, included $200k specifically for street improvements at the depot location along with a new roof and exterior paint on the building itself. We were getting closer to having a viable building and a major contributor to attracting visitors to our downtown. As a part of the comprehensive revitalization taking place, the City of Weiser constructed the Vendome Center just a block from the depot on the site of the old Vendome Hotel.
It was about this time, that the Knights of Pythias chapter in Weiser decided to disband. Being one of the most notable and identifiable buildings in our community and even the state, the lodge was concerned that it’s legacy might not be preserved if the building were to pass into private hands. WAPC was approached and we excitedly accepted the donation of their building in about 1999 which we own to this day. The long-time renter of the 1st floor commercial space was Mel’s Trading Post. Mel and his business were landmarks in their own rights within our community. Regrettably, he soon retired closed his business. Being landlords has had its challenges through the years, especially trying to find a compatible and sensitive tenant for our space. We got lucky a couple of years ago when the Coopers entered into a long-term lease and established their Bee Tree educational center at that location. Of course, we’ve made our share of improvements to the building along the way, including new roof, masonry repairs, a structural engineering assessment, etc. Presently we’re about to begin repairs to damage resulting from the fire in the building next door. Fortunately it was minor, and no historic fabric or artifacts were lost.
In 2005 we completed the next phase in the restoration of our depot with a $1m grant to restore the interior, recreate and install roof dormers, and install an HVAC system. This allowed us to begin renting the building on a limited basis for private functions which continues to this day. In about 2012, we negotiated with a local organization allowing them to host an annual farmers market on the depot grounds which also continues to this day. Countless folks use the site as a backdrop for photos or even just to “flip the cookie” as young folks did in the 1950’s.
In 2020, WAPC and its calendar of community events was challenged by Covid like many organizations and businesses throughout the country. Restrictions on our depot rental as well as the suspension of our public events were implemented. Despite a less visible public presence, our Board has continued to meet monthly almost without exception for more than 35 years. We’ve kept dues affordable and continue to advance our mission objectives. 2022 is already shaping up to get us back into a more public forum, with us hosting a visit from a train enthusiast group as well as a walking tour of historic properties planned in May. We encourage owners of historic properties or those just interested in their preservation, to become a member. This year we’ve initiated a member story sharing project we hope sheds additional light on our members and a welcoming flavor to the public we serve.
You don’t have to own a historic property to join us, but you’ll certainly become part owner of two when you do! If you appreciate historic property, community history, are looking for a way to give back to community, you’ll fit right in. A membership form is available on this website!

Many of you have heard how Lynda and Dennis ended up in Weiser but humor us. In about 1997 Lynda informed me it was time for a change. My corporate life appeared to be waning so I was finally ready to listen. Lynda said she wanted to have a Bed and Breakfast. Location was yet to be decided. She attended a siminar on owning and running a B&B and we took a vacation staying in a different B&B every night.
During a trip to Stibnite and Thunder Mountain, Idaho for the company I worked for, I came through Weiser and thought it was a nice friendly town and told Lynda about it on my return to Colorado. A short time later Lynda saw a big brick house listed for sale in her B&B magazine and found out it was in Weiser. Sandy Wilson was happy to send glossy photo’s and Lynda was sold. On a trip back from Alaska in September, 1997, we drove through Weiser and toured the Galloway House. Having only been through North Idaho, Lynda was a little shocked. Where’s all the trees? Did that stop us? No, on New Year eve day’ we had sold our house in Colorado and were on our way to Weiser with a Uhaul truck and trailer full of our belongings.
Cold, rainy, inverted, welcome to Weiser! Two weeks later, snow that didn’t melt until March. Dennis spent time commuting back to Denver as his job was winding down and going to auctions. We got the B & B opened in April and spent the next nearly 7 years welcoming guests, cooking breakfasts, swabbing toilets and doing constant maintenance on that wonderful 100 year old house. Finally in 2004 with Lynda’s continuing back and knee issues and frankly just wanting more time to visit family (we went from 0 grandchildren to 5 in those years) we decided it was time to sell. Contract in hand we looked at each other and said “what now?”
Just couldn’t think of anywhere we would rather spend our “Golden Years” so Weiser it was. Luckily Steve and Cheri had a spare house and with a little coaxing they agreed to sell.
In early 2005 we were the proud owners of the Morris Sommer House, located at 548 W. 2nd St., a 1898-99 victorian designed by Tourtellote & Company. Problem was it wasn’t exactly move in ready. Steve had started the restoration with a new roof and paint job on the exterior. He started the demo on the lower level. We continued the demo while renting the small victorian Billy Elwell House at the corner of West 1st and Court St. Five years later after much sweat equity and a thousand trips (approximately) to the dump and Home Depot we were ready to move in. We still find projects that need done and of course although the house is new from the studs out on the inside, the outside is still 123 years old. In the last couple of years the house has gotten a new paint job on the outside as well as getting the front porch and railing replaced, just in time for our 50th wedding anniversary celebration. So now 17 years later I think our home is finished but it may be time to go back and redo a few things if the old body will allow it.
We still ask ourselves if there is somewhere we would rather be and so far the answer still is