Pioneering family life was one of difficulty and hard work. The mountains of the Wood River Valley, although creating stunning scenery, were a harsh environment to establish a homestead. Short growing seasons, heavy snowfall in winters, and isolation from other communities made the early communities tough and perseverant.

Persevere they did, and the earliest pioneers created their townships and established a tight-knit community.

On display in the BCHM are numerous examples of life for the early pioneers. An early 1900s kitchen shows how everyday tasks as simple as preparing food and washing laundry were challenging experiences.

The general store display in the BCHM models Friedman’s early store, a community fixture lasting over 65 years on Main Street in Hailey. S.M. Friedman and S.J. Friedman emigrated from Prussia in the 19th Century to to pursue economic opportunities in the growing western United States. They learned the trade first in Utah by selling wares and necessities to prospecting miners heading toward California mineral claims in the mid-1800s. The Friedmans arrived in the Wood River Valley with the local mining boom, opening store to serve the community. The Museum storefront display features the original cash register, weighing scales, and other items from Freidman’s Dry Goods.

In the pioneer schoolroom, children can sit at desks and experience how differently school looked and felt over 100 years ago. Chalkboard slates, dictionaries on stands, and the stern-looking schoolmarm with her pointer stick complete the scene. 

Transportation has played a crucial role in the settling and growth of the Wood River Valley.  From the late 1800s, the Oregon Short Line (OSL) facilitated a rail route through Idaho, with a spur line reaching the Wood River Valley through Shoshone. Train accessibility accelerated successful settlement of the difficult to reach region.

With the mining boom, train transportation became essential to the economy, transferring ore from the mining operations and delivering supplies. Meanwhile, the growing sheep industry relied on the OSL as the carrier of sheep loads.

World War I became an important time for the economy of the Wood River Valley. Idaho’s minerals and metals became integral to the war efforts. Agricultural products were also needed, further boosting the local farming sector.

The end of WWI brought stemmed the demand for these exports, leading to an economic downturn in 1920s Blaine County.  Railroad consolidation led the Union Pacific (UP) Railroad to incorporate the the Oregon Short Line and the rail section serving the Wood River Valley into a new UP system.

Under H. Averell Harriman, UP developed the Sun Valley Lodge in 1936.  The company launched a successful promotion of the new ski resort, even using their railroad engineers to design new chairlifts.

In 1958-1972, the extremely popular “Snowball Express” train from Los Angeles to Sun Valley carried passengers in style to the winter resort. Business grew, marketing its association with visiting celebrities, and Sun Valley’s popularity continues to this day.

In May 1975, the last passenger train pulled into the Sun Valley station.

By 1982, UP ended the Wood River Branch line, removing the rails in 1987.  The Idaho Department of Transportation and Blaine County Recreation District converted the track line to a recreational bike trail. Now the Wood River Trail, it was completed in 1992 and is a well-traveled link connecting the towns of Bellevue, Hailey, and Ketchum. It remains open in all seasons, hosting walkers and bikers in warm weather and cross-country skiing in the winter months.

As far back as the 1870s, farmers and ranchers were settling the Wood River Valley.

Ranching was prominent, and the sheep industry in particular became a strong economic boom alongside mining in the 1880s. John Hailey, owner of a stagecoach company and the namesake of Hailey, Idaho, is reported to have brought the first sheep to graze in the late 1860s.

Edward Wentworth’s 1948 book America’s Sheep Trails notes: “The sheep industry began to boom in 1882 and 1883 with the advent of the railroads. The sheep business was firmly implanted by the 1890s in Idaho.”

Wentworth’s book details the sheep population growth in Idaho grew, from 1,021 in 1870 to 27,362 by 1880. By 1890, the numbers had reached 357,712 and continued to expand to an estimated 2.65 million sheep by 1918. By comparison, the number of sheep in 1918 equaled six times the population of Idaho.

To this day, thousands of sheep still pass through the Wood River Valley annually on a permanent sheep right-of-way. Blaine County celebrates and preserves this heritage with an annual Trailing of the Sheep festival every October. A statue commemorating this history stands on the corner of Main and Myrtle in Hailey, Idaho.

With the waning of mining boom in the 1880s, many miners turned to ranching. Some homesteading families stayed for generations, developing successful ranches and farms that have survived the changing of the times.