History of Treasure Valley’s Electric Railway Explored in New Book

March 5, 2013 - PRLog -- New to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of Rail series is Treasure Valley's Electric Railway by local authors Barbara Perry Bauer and Elizabeth Jacox. This pictorial history boasts more than 200 vintage images.

Idaho's Treasure Valley, named for the gold and silver once mined in the area, encompasses Ada and Canyon Counties in the southwest corner of the state. Boise City was founded in 1863 when the US Army built a fort at the crossroads of the Oregon Trail and the road to the Boise Basin gold mines. Boise soon became the major distribution center for supplies and fresh food for miners.

By 1890, with the development of agriculture and the expansion of the railroad, towns stretched west along the Boise River to the Oregon border. A boom in the early 20th century was due in part to the electric railway, a modern transportation system linking Boise to the communities of Meridian, Eagle, Nampa, Caldwell and Middleton. The electric railway era lasted from 1891 to 1928 and supported the growth of neighborhoods and communities, inspired the creation of local parks and provided recreation and entertainment opportunities to rural and urban residents.

Today, there are few remnants of the electric railway. Evidence is buried under modern streets and sidewalks, rediscovered only when street repair or utility work requires destruction of the modern surface. Arcadia Publishing’s Images of Rail: Treasure Valley’s Electric Railway allows modern readers to glimpse into the past and view vintage images of the electric railway in its heyday.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or online.

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States.  Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places.  Have we done a book on your town?  Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com.