Trudy and Dale Buxton
Biggar Independent
After a much-needed rest in Lewiston its back on the road as we head north towards Canada and British Columbia.
It has been a great trip so far and we have struck off a few bucket-list items along the way, but now it’s time to make our way home. It’s a great morning to be on the road, not a breath of wind and the temperature is moderate.
We head north on Highway 95 out of Lewiston, and once you get out of the valley you come across miles and miles of flatland. It’s August and by the look of the fields most of the harvesting is already done.
Along the way we pass by the small community of Genesee, incorporated in 1889. Genesee is mainly an agriculture city and a today’s population around 1,050 people.
The name Genesee seems to have two origins – first, it was named after the Genesee region of Western New York or it’s a slight modification of the biblical name of Genesis. Which ever you believe when we drove through the community looks clean, and one of the favourite vehicles in the community is a tractor.
Next up we come to the City of Moscow.
Moscow has a current day population of just over 25,000 people and was originally settled in 1871 because of the lush grasslands and the abundance of timber for building.
The first name given to this new community was Hog Heaven – can you imagine living in a community called Hog Heaven? The name Hog Heaven came from the abundance of a plant called Camas which is a favourite of hogs. This name was changed five years later to Paradise Valley, but didn’t stick with one of the residents, and a year later Samuel Neff wanted to get a post office and filed a postal permit under the name Moscow, because it reminded him of his hometown Moscow, Pennsylvania. The name stuck because all mail came to Moscow.
Moscow is known for Heart of the Arts, because throughout the year Moscow plays host to several arts’ festival, jazz festival, renaissance fair and the ever-popular ArtWalk, solidifying it as one of the best 100 small art towns in America.
The railroad came to the community in 1885 and from there the community grew, mostly an agriculture city with an intellectual flair. Moscow is home to the University of Idaho which was chartered in 1889 and opened its doors in 1892, which gives many jobs as a university town. Moscow has many features, being in a valley and surrounded by rolling hills, there are many hiking trails, one being about 17 miles long, biking, skiing and many other outdoor activities.
It is also supposed to have one of the premier Farmer’s Markets in Idaho, if you are there on a Saturday.
Nice community to travel around and have a look at the different features offered. You are also quickly reminded that the pronunciation of Moscow is moss-cow not the Russian pronunciation of Mosk-vah.
Stay tuned next week as we continue our way north and back into Canada.
Trudy and Dale Buxton are the publishers of the Biggar Independent.
