Editing Idaho Falls, Idaho (section)

===Eagle Rock===
[[File:Idaho - Idaho Falls - NARA - 23939427 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Idaho Falls, 1925]]
By the end of 1865, a private [[bank]], small [[hotel]], [[livery stable]], eating house, [[post office]], and [[stage station]] had sprung up near the bridge. The settlement was initially known as '''Taylor's Crossing''', but [[postmark]]s indicate that by 1866, the emerging town had become known as '''Eagle Rock'''. The name was derived from an isolated [[basalt]] island in the river near the ferry, where approximately twenty [[eagle]]s nested.

In 1874, [[water rights]] were established on nearby [[Willow Creek (Snake River)|Willow Creek]] and the first [[grain]] was harvested. Settlement was sparse, and consisted of only a couple of families and small [[irrigation]] ditches. The first child of [[White people|European descent]] was born at Eagle Rock in 1874.

[[File:UandN Bridge Eagle Rock.jpg|thumb|left|Utah & Northern Bridge, c. 1880, looking north, or upriver, with railroad shops in background]]
Soon, the [[Utah and Northern Railway]] (U&NR) was built, stretching north from [[Utah]] through Eagle Rock and crossing the Snake River at the same narrow gorge as Taylor's bridge. The railway would eventually connect to the large new [[copper]] mines at [[Butte, Montana]]. The U&NR had the backing of [[Robber baron (industrialist)|robber baron]] [[Jay Gould]], as [[Union Pacific Railroad]] had purchased it a few years prior.<ref>Colorado Rail Annual No. 15, 1981, pp 31-39.</ref> Grading crews reached Eagle Rock in late 1878, and by early 1879, a wild camp-town with dozens of [[tent]]s and shanties had moved to Eagle Rock with a collection of saloons, [[dance hall]]s, and [[Casino|gambling halls]]. The railroad company had 16 [[locomotive]]s and 300 [[Railroad car|train cars]] working between [[Logan, Utah]] and the once-quiet stage stop. A new iron railroad bridge was fabricated in [[Athens, Pennsylvania]] at a cost of $30,000 and shipped by rail to the site, where it was erected in April and May 1879.<ref>Deseret News, 1879-07-17 p. article "Utah and Northern" describes the scene at Eagle Rock and describes the new railroad bridge</ref> The bridge was {{convert|800|ft|m}} long and had two spans, with an island in the center. The camp-town moved on, but Eagle Rock now had regular train service and several U&NR [[building]]s, shops, and facilities which expanded and transformed the town.

As soon as the railroad came through, [[settler]]s began [[Homestead Act|homesteading]] the upper [[Snake River Plain|Snake River Valley]] in earnest. The first new settlers carved out homesteads to the north at Egin (near present-day [[Parker, Idaho|Parker]]) and at Pooles Island (near present-day [[Menan, Idaho|Menan]]).<ref>The Snake River Fork County, Louis J. Clements and Harold S. Forbush, 1972 pp 25-27.</ref> The Utah & Northern Railway provided easy access, especially to homesteaders from Utah, who soon populated much of the area surrounding Eagle Rock. Some of these men had initially worked building the railroad, then later returned with their families to stake out new farms. These Utah families brought irrigation know-how developed in Utah's [[Great Basin]] settlements. Through their and others' canal systems, water from the Snake River made the Upper Snake River Valley into one of the most successful irrigation projects in the [[Western United States|Mountain West]].<ref>Pioneer Pathways, vol. VIII, International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 2005 pp 312-318.</ref> Large-scale settlement ensued and within a decade, there appeared [[road]]s, [[bridge]]s, and [[dam]]s, which brought most of the Upper Snake River Valley under [[Tillage|cultivation]].

Then, in 1887, following the construction of the [[Oregon Short Line]] and a railroad workers' [[Strike action|strike]] in Eagle Rock, most of the railroad facilities were moved to [[Pocatello, Idaho|Pocatello]], where the new line branched off the U&NR. This caused a sharp and immediate drop in population, which nearly killed the town. In 1891, [[Marketing|marketers]] convinced town leaders to change the name to '''Idaho Falls''' in reference to the [[rapids]] below the bridge. Some years later, the construction of a retaining wall for a [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric power plant]] transformed the rapids into [[waterfall]]s. On June 22, 1895, the world's then-largest [[Acequia|irrigation canal]], the Great Feeder (located 5 miles northeast of Ririe), began diverting water from the Snake River, helping to convert tens of thousands of more acres of desert into green farmland. The area grew [[sugar beet]]s, [[potato]]es, [[pea]]s, [[grain]]s, and [[alfalfa]], and became one of the most productive agricultural regions of the United States. The city once again began to flourish, growing continuously into the 20th century.

[[File:Falls on the Snake River in Idaho Falls.jpg|thumb|"Falls" on the Snake River]]