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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Needham/Hartman Families - Cedar Creek: Kit Carson Needham Clara Hutchings Needham Hartman Fred Hartman Fred A. Hartman Members of the Needham and Hartman
families, who came from Iowa, found their way to Lake Pend Oreille. Gordon
Bryan Needham and Irene Eldred Needham raised a family of nine children in Boone
County, Iowa. John Downing Needham, born in 1853, was the second child. Another
son, Kit Carson Needham was born in 1858. The boys’ father, Gordon, had been
previously married and when his second wife, Irene died in 1871, the boys balked
at their father marrying for a third time. This marriage was Kit was named after the famous frontiersman
Kit Carson, who, according to one of his daughters, was a friend of their
family, as was Daniel Boone. Kit came to Spokane and
After 22 years of marriage to Kit, Clara
divorced him in 1905 and married Fred Hartman (left) July
31, 1906 at Cedar Creek. He was 28 years her senior. Kit left the area. Fred
and Clara
An interesting article was written in the Northern Idaho News on January 11, 1907. It told of how Captain Hartman nearly lost his life in a storm on the lake the previous week. His boat was in trouble in the high winds. Captain Childs saw that the boat was foundering and attempted to tow it with his steamer Weber, but the rope gave way near Whiskey Rock and Water Wagon was set adrift. The boat washed ashore, tipped on end and sank. Captain Hartman nearly made it to shore before slipping into the frigid water and became thoroughly chilled. Childs, first thinking that he was safe, went in search of Hartman and found him nearly unconscious. He was given stimulants and taken to Hope to recover. His boat was a total loss. The Hartman’s moved to Lakeview where they
raised their
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to Melvina Hutchings to which there were six additional children. John left
home along with his four brothers, never to return, but Kit must have come back
home because in 1883 he married Clara Hutchings, who was his step-sister. He
was 25 and she, only 16. Kit and Clara had seven children before moving to
Idaho: Lillian, Jessie, Grace, Amy, George, Cora and Mahlon.
(Grace and Cora are shown at right in 1910 on top of Packsaddle Mountain)
An eighth child, Lucilla, was born at Cedar Creek in 1902. 
operated
a butcher shop on Monroe Street for several years before bringing his family by
horse and buggy to Lake Pend Oreille where he cleared land and built a two-room
log cabin. His wife Clara became the first postmistress of the Clara post
office (left) from 1903 to 05. It was located at that
time in the Needham’s cabin above Cedar Creek Landing. Meanwhile his brother
John, who was always known as Jack, had come to Cedar Creek in 1882. Jack’s
story is covered completely in Linda Hackbarth’s book, Bayview and Lakeview.
set
up housekeeping at Cedar Creek. Fred was born in Utica, New York on April 5,
1840. He was a tall man with clear blue eyes and a long white beard. His
obituary related how he left New York and came to Iowa with a wife and
eventually two sons. He separated from his family and headed west engaging in
all sorts of adventures, including time spent as a trapper for the Hudson Bay
Company, an Indian scout, a guide and frontiersman. He was acquainted with
General Custer, Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickock. Fred hunted for meat to
supply the railroad crews building the Northern Pacific Railroad and briefly
ventured to the mines in British Columbia where he lost a lot of money. He
arrived at Lake Pend Oreille about 1890 and took a job delivering the mail
between Hope and Blacktail. He also brought mail from Bayview to Lakeview in a
rowboat. Eventually he bought a small steamboat called Water Wagon.
family.
Fred Arthur was born in 1907 and Lela May arrived in 1910. Fred, Sr. never
really adapted to “civilized” ways. He continued to hunt and fish and sleep
outdoors at night. Eventually Clara tired of this lifestyle, moved to Cheney
with her three youngest daughters and worked as a housekeeper for various
families including the Cole's of Spokane. Fred finally
moved across the lake near Garfield Bay and was befriended by the Osborn
family. He died in 1938 and was buried at the Gamlin Lake Cemetery. Clara
(right) married Ben Tuttle following Fred’s death. She
passed away in Spokane April 18, 1957 at the age of 89.
Young
Fred was left to fend for himself in Spokane when he was just fourteen. He
found a job at the Spokesman Review. At the age of 18 he traveled to New
Mexico with a survey crew and developed skills in surveying. Upon returning to
Spokane Fred (left)
continued
to do surveying work and fell in love with Hazel Rolof (right).
The couple was married in Spokane. Employment took the couple to Ephrata during
the late 1930s where Fred worked for the Bureau of Reclamation. After taking
correspondence courses from Washington State College for many years, Fred
finally received his civil engineering degree in the early ‘40s. He worked for
several years at Grand Coulee Dam reclaiming land affected by the construction.
The family kept contact with their friends and family in Bayview, Lakeview and
Cedar Creek. They were good friends with many people in Bayview, including Cap
Moore and Frank Russell. 
Fred
and Hazel had three children (left): Donald Fred, Donna
Jean and Boyd Arthur. They returned to Spokane in 1943 where Fred opened a home
improvement, roofing and siding company called Empire Builders. He continued to
do surveying on the side. Marital problems caused the couple to separate. Fred
moved to Alaska. Hazel passed away in 1955. Fred returned to Spokane,
remarried and worked for various surveying companies. He eventually had his own
business. Fred died in 1982.