Bayview Historical Society
BAYVIEW, ID
dedicated to preserving the history of Bayview, Lakeview and other locations on Lake Pend Oreille
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dedicated to preserving the history of Bayview, Lakeview and other locations on Lake Pend Oreille
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Probably the best known early miner was Fred Weber, often referred to as the "father of mining in north Idaho." Fred, born in 1847, raised in Indiana, moved to Colorado and then Utah in his 30s attempting to learn the mining trade. He learned of the gold strikes near Pritchard, Idaho, while in Salt Lake City. Armed with a map of the Idaho creeks of the Pritchard area, he set out for Idaho in1884. After spending four years around Trout Creek, he and his partner Simon Donnelly began exploring north over the Bitteroot Mountains above the east shore of Lake Pend Oreille. In 1888 they decided to grubstake 3 miners to do some exploration above Lakeview when outcroppings indicated potential silver ore. Fred took samples from the area to an assayer in Spokane. It ran 483 oz. to the ton. Elated, Fred galloped back to Bayview by horse and hired all the available steamers, so that no one could follow him across the lake to Lakeview. Unfortunately his actions didn't go unnoticed and by the next morning the beach at Lakeview was lined with men eager to see where Fred was heading. He and his partner Donnelly managed to stake four of his eventual 11 claims that made up the Weber mining complex on South Gold Creek. Later they bought out the three prospectors who assisted them with an offer of five thousand dollars in gold for each man.
In 1890 Fred sent samples of silver ore to San Francisco to be assayed. According to records from his grandniece, Caro Lou Weber Bastian, an erroneous article was published in a San Francisco paper claiming that gold had been found above Lakeview along Chloride Gulch. The stampede to Chloride began! Another man, Jack Needham (b. 1853, d. May 29, 1922), told a different story of how the gold rush to Chloride began. Needham had homesteaded north of Lakeview at Cedar Creek in 1882. He and a partner, Jim Alexander, ran a 60 mile trap line in the area equipped with several tiny cabins. One of these cabins was located on Chloride Gulch. Through his son Gordon Needham, the story was told about how a mule packer working in the Murray, Idaho, mining district became disgruntled when a narrow gauge railroad was built to take out the gold and his was put out of business. He took a sack of gold to San Francisco and let it be known that the gold came from Chloride Gulch - some 30 miles over the mountains northwest of Murray. A newspaper heralded the news prompting the rush to Lakeview. Needham saw an opportunity and sold lots along Chloride Gulch to eager miners, carried mail and supplies from Hope once a week and provided deer meat for the camp. Soon upwards of 3000 men had arrived. Among the prospective miners was a man by the name of Charles Magee, (b. 1866, d. 1934). The two became good friends and later Jack married Charley's sister. Magee didn't remain at Chloride for long before he moved south along the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River where his established his homestead and where the Magee Ranger Station is located today. Chloride became an overnight tent city with 15 saloons, a bank and other businesses associated with mining camps. But little, if any, was found and the disgruntled miners left. Two mining companies, the Swastika and Venezuela, did find limited success looking for silver.
But Lakeview continued to grow - buoyed by a more stable influence of silver and limestone mining. The Swastika Mining Company built a fancy hotel overlooking the lake along North Gold Creek. They planned it as a destination resort, much like the one on Lake Louise. In cooperation with the Northern Pacific Railroad, visitors were brought to Hope and taken by steamer down the lake to Lakeview. But business didn't prove profitable and the hotel was closed by the 1930s.
A second establishment, the Lakeview Hotel, was built on Main Street about 1890. Guest rooms occupied the second and third floors and a dining room was on the main floor. Main Street was lined with 17 saloons, a general store and post office. A story is told how young miners with money in hand from payday at the mines would head to Spokane but never make it passed the many saloons before the money would be all gone. Leary of the sordid life along Main Street, parents, who had built summer cabins in town, constructed a trail to the lake for their children to use which bypassed Main Street. Probably
the most well-known family in town was the Webers. Fred Weber enlisted the
help of his nephew Frank Weber in 1901. A few
years later Frank married Lulu and the
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Those
familiar with Lake Pend Oreille know something of the colorful history of the
mining community called Lakeview. Its storied past began in the 1880s when
miners began searching for silver, gold and limestone claims. Situated
just five miles due east from Bayview and directly across the lake, Lakeview has
always been a much more remote location. Early pioneers and miners came by
mule or horseback over the Coeur d'Alene Mountains to the south or by steamer
from Steamboat Landing, Hope or Sandpoint. Trails developed from the west
and by 1930 a road was cut which allowed vehicle access. 
young Weber couple made yearly treks
to Lakeview to assist in the mining operations. They bought a home with a
stunning view across the lake from Idlewilde Bay to the south clear to Garfield
Bay to the north. Lulu loved to entertain. Friends and neighbors
from up and down the lake came for picnics, dances and overnight stays.
The couple had one daughter, Caroline Louise, who was always known as Caro Lou.
Each summer the family traveled from Indianapolis to Lakeview by train and then
crossed the lake by steamer, either from Sandpoint or Bayview.
Many
locals worked in the mines but others were adventurous folks from northern Idaho
and eastern Washington who built summer and weekend getaways in this remote
setting. Included among the vacation home owners were a contingent of
university professors. One of these was Washington State College's
President Enoch Bryan. Dr. Bryan built a
cabin at Lakeview in 1909 which is still being used by his grand- and
great-grandchildren. He loved to come to Lakeview for trout fishing.
He and his friends would climb the 4-5 miles to the Weber mines and stay
overnight at the bunkhouse before continuing the trek to Independence Creek
where the trout fishing was excellent. George
Cerveny, a long-time English professor at NYU and University of Idaho
grad, built a cabin at Lakeview and returned from the East each summer to enjoy
it. Drs. Miller, Chalfont, Meyer, Renfrew and Fulwider enjoyed long
periods of time as residents of this tiny town.