Cris Erbst and Harriet Reece are the winners! The Noble Hotel is the answer for Week 148 of Orofino History Trivia, a special feature to celebrate the history and heritage of Clearwater Country. Check back each day for a new clue on the way to the answer When you think you know the trivia topic, please email us at info@windowontheclearwater.com and be sure to let us know if you are from out of the area. Join in the discovery! Monday: South of Orofino Creek Tuesday: A stable Wednesday: The action was in the kitchen Thursday: It was sold and the former owner bought a store in Greer. Friday: It came to an end in 1906 Saturday: The whole town was impacted. Monday: 1906 Tuesday: The man who built this hotel originally homesteaded near Fraser According to information at the Clearwater Historical Museum, Horace R. Noble was born in Illinois in August of 1856. He married Charlotte Stump Jan. 21, 1879 and the family moved to what was then Shoshone County in Idaho in 1899. He first established a homestead in the Fraser area. He sold it after proving up on it. He moved to Orofino where he built the Noble Hotel and a stable at Johnson Ave. and 3rd St., south of Orofino Creek. These were sold to Payne and Wellman Sept. 24, 1902. He then purchased a general store in Greer and his sons operated it under the name Noble Brothers. The store boasted of carrying $5,000 worth of assorted goods. The Noble Hotel burned down along with most of the rest of the businesses on the south side of Orofino Creek when a fire started in the hotel kitchen Sept. 26, 1906. An article in the Oro Fino News, June 24, 1904 issue talks about how the hotel's team was standing unattended for a short time after the arrival of the train. While the driver was away, the band with Petersen and Dunbar's show came out on the street and began to play. The horses took fright and struck out at a "2:40 gait" pulling the wagon behind. A deputy sheriff attempted to stop them but was not able to do so. They crossed the bridge and ran into the wagon of C.R. Fisk overturning it and dumping Fisk and his son. The son was not injured, but Fisk was badly bruised and shaken up. He was able to walk away but had not been out of bed again as of the article printing. Fisk's wagon was destroyed and his team ran away with the front wheels breaking loose at "old Nancy's house" and went up the road quite a ways. They were caught and returned later in the day, uninjured except a few scratches. The hotel team was not hurt in any way and was driven to Gilbert the same day. This photo shows the Noble Hotel on the left as one looks down Johnson Ave. toward Michigan.(Photo and newspaper account of runaway courtesy of Clearwater Historical Museum) Sponsored by: | |
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