Slippery history of the Ash Street hill

March 22, 2017

With all the mudslides occurring this year and in particular the slide off on the South Hill on Ash Street Saturday, the staff at the Boundary County Museum thought the folks of Boundary County might enjoy a “slip sliding away” history of how the South Hill arrived at its current predicament.   1946 slide.  In 1892, the Great Northern had laid tracks through town and had begun construction of a temporary depot. A new 24 x 70 depot was soon constructed 125 feet west of the first one. It was a fine structure, but the station agent had a problem. His view from the station of trains coming in from the east was obliterated. A portion of the hillside extended out just enough to block his view. Not a problem. The railroad crew removed just enough of the hill to restore his line of sight. And so it began. Removing a chunk of the hill was like opening up a can of worms. Soon other chunks were removed to be used as fill for various projects. Not only did the railroad crews help themselves, but the growing village of Bonners Ferry also needed fill material. The surrounding area resided on a flood plain and did not have the level appearance that one sees today.   1954 slide that claimed two, but spared three children.  Low spots were filled and railroad beds were raised, along with the streets and the business buildings. Over the years, that small notch in the hill became a much bigger notch. Even after the hillside was no longer being dipped into, it continued to erode and the base of the hill had to be cleaned out each year. Sloughing, now and then, spilled onto the road, but was usually quickly cleaned up by the highway department. In 1935, during the Great Depression Era, there was government money available for putting unemployed men to work. A project was created to terrace the South Hill and curb any future sloughing. Fourteen terraces were scheduled to be constructed across its eroded face; only four were completed before the funding ran out in 1936. Things seemed to be okay until 1946, when a large portion of the hill gave way, covering not only the highway, but the railroad tracks as well.   Saturday's slide is just the latest, and likely not the last.  Back in 1954, east of the erosion site but still on Ash Street, the then South Hill Grocery & Locker was destroyed by a slide. The owners were asleep in the rear of the building and were killed. Their three daughter’s bedrooms were upstairs and the girls survived. In 1972 a small slide occurred next to Dr. McIntosh’s Dental Building on Ash Street. In recent times, further efforts have been made to stabilize the hill. However, when weather conditions become like what we are experiencing now one never knows what might happen. Perhaps the moral for this story is, "don’t mess with the natural settings of steep hillsides unless you’re willing to pay the price sometime down the road." Unfortunately, even that is not a sure guarantee.

News Bonners Ferry thanks and a tip o'the hat to the Boundary County Historical Society for researching and writing this article!