Dennis W.C. Dunwell was born in Pleasant Valley, NY, Aug. 13, 1817, the son of George and Orailia Dunwell. When he was an infant, the family moved to Connecticut. When he was about 20 years old, he went to Michigan and sold stock ant later taught school in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, according to Illustrated History of North Idaho.

In 1850, he came to St. Paul, MN, and there did contracting and building. He formed a company known as Dunwell, Harthorn and Coulter Company, which dealt in grain and handled stock. It did very well until the crash of 1857 when it went down. Dunwell lost as much as $250,000. He then came west, first to Walla Walla, WA, and then on to Boise, Lewiston, Pierce City and Florence.

In 1867, he bought a ranch in the Sweetwater area. Through dishonesty, his partner stripped him of his holdings and his experiences about that time were very discouraging. His family came to him about that time.

He took a position as secretary of Agent O'Neal at Lapwai and was later elected assessor of Shoshone County in 1871 and was soon on his feet again. He then bought a farm near Lewiston, returned to Lewiston ot school his children, held the mail route from Lewiston to Pierce City for four years and bought the old Greer Ferry. In 1876-7 he was representative of Shoshone County in the territorial Legislature at Boise. In the spring of 1877, it was reported that Indians burned the ferry, house and goods leaving him with misfortune again.

Dunwell gathered the remnants of what was left, sold it, and later bought a ranch five miles east of Lewiston.

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