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The Poujade's and their ranch is the answer for Week 366 of Orofino History Trivia a special feature to celebrate the history and heritage of Clearwater Country.

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Monday: A place that offered many things

Tuesday: Was located about five miles west of what is now Weippe

Wednesday: Was especially popular in winter

Thursday: They helped people with snow blindness.

Friday: They provided shelter, beds and food.

Saturday: In the winter, those going to Oro Fino used snowshoes beyond this place.

Monday: The family had French ancestory.

Tuesday: The pony express stopped there.

Wednesday: It was sometimes called Fords Creek Station.

Thursday: They saved lives with ingenuity during the winter of 1861-62.

Friday: They soaked sliced potatoes in vinegar and it helped with the scurvy.

Monday: They came to the area from the Willamette Valley.

Tuesday: After gold wad discovered at Idaho City the family left for the Boise Basin.

Wednesday: They later settled at Silver City, NV.

Thursday: The couple had a son.

Theodore Poujade, his wife and young son, Ted were the family that ran the Poujade Ranch, sometimes known as Fords Creek Station, according to John H. Bradbury in his history series on Clearwater County. It was located about five miles of what is now Weippe. They provided shelter, beds and food to those traveling both ways from the gold strikes around Pierce City. It was a popular place for travelers, especially in the winter because deep snow often prevented traveling further by wagon. People often had to use snowshoes to travel from the Poujades to Orofino or Pierce City during winter.

Bradbury recounts how Mrs. Poujade, though she was not a doctor or nurse, concocted a poultice from tea leaves and applied it to the eyes of those suffering snow blindness and it worked. She was also probably the person who figured out how to treat an outbreak of scurvy at Pierce City and Oro Fino the harsh winter of 1861-62. Due to the deep snow a packer who could not make it past the ranch buried several sacks of potatoes. When the lack of fruits and vegetables caused an onset of scurvy, the Poujades dug up the potatoes and hauled them by snowshoe to Pierce City. There the raw potatoes were sliced and soaked in vinegar. They worked a cure. The Poujades were credited with saving many lives.

Bradbury says not much is know about the family except they were of French ancestry. They came to the area from the Willamette Valley and when gold was discovered at Idaho City they left for the Boise Basin. Later they settled at Silver City, NV.

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Orofino, ID 83544
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