Geneva

Edward Lashbrook, Andrew and Jim Westfall, Steve Green and Enoch and William Bagley settled in Geneva in 1878. In 1881 the Alfred T. Price and the John and George Blechert families and John Bauman arrived. In 1888 John Bischoff came. Geneva was named after a city in Switzerland by the Swiss settlers in 1898.

The people from Geneva, Thomas Fork, Alton, Nuphur and Raymond socialized and attended church together. In 1890, eight Tueller brothers joined the community. By 1893 Henry Teuscher, Sr., Christian Hirschi, Frederick Boehme and Samuel Widmer arrived.

It is a wonder what a man will give up for his freedom of religion. When Lord Thomas Lashbrook died, Edward and Lawrence Lashbrook were notified that they had inherited family lands and a castle in Croydon, England. However, they would have to return to England to inherit these lands, or they would revert to the crown. They turned the offer down, for they had a ranch to run in Geneva, Idaho.

The first school and church house at Geneva was a log building with rough lumber floors and a dirt roof There was one window and one door. A long table made of rough lumber and a long bench made of a rough board placed on wood blocks served as the pupil's desk. Slates and slate pencils were used for writing. Arithmetic, reading, and writing were the only subjects taught. School was held from three to five months, depending on the weather. Pupils went to about the fifth grade. Fritz Spurlock was the first teacher. Alfred T. Price, Edward Lashbrook, and John Bauman were the first trustees. This building was located on the present property of the Reynold Hirschi Ranch, in an area south and east of the present ranch house. In 1899, an acre of ground was purchased from the Teuscher property, and the log building was moved to the present site.

A log church was built on the south side of Thomas Fork. It was called the Thomas Fork Branch. In 1915 they built a frame church. Gustaf Peteriet used the old one as an addition to his home. Neils Peter Larson was the first presiding elder of the LDS Thomas Fork Branch. He served until 1893. In 1895, Upper Thomas Fork was named Geneva, with Arnold D. Hirschi as the first bishop, Jacob Tueller and Alfred T. Price as counselors, and Frederick W. Boehme as the clerk.

Mrs. Blechert was the midwife who helped with medical needs. Mary Ellen Lashbrook Leissring was the first child born in the upper valley. John Blechert was the first merchant. He delivered small items like buttons, oils, and needles from his home. He also cut hair, sharpened scissors, and repaired kettles.

The residents of Geneva faced many hardships. They had to cross Montpelier Creek 16 times just to get to Montpelier. The firsts two years, the squirrels destroyed all of the crops, but the people were very industrious, worked hard and poisoned the squirrels. Soon they built houses and Andrew Westfall erected a sawmill that he sold to Alfred T. Price. Other businesses were cattle ranching, dairying, and butter and cheese making. In 1923 Mutual Creamery Co. bought out Arno Boehme and built a creamery. John Gigi had a good business extracting salt from Salt Creek near Allred Flats.

Entertainment consisted of bobsled riding, coasting, ice skating, quilting bees and baseball games between Geneva and Raymond. In about 1920, John H. Boehme built a dance hall for parties and dancing. It had a dark, rusted exterior. Later on, movies were shown there for many years. In 2007, the first post office adjoining this building fell down, but the rest of the building is still standing.

The post office was opened on March 22, 1898 with Henry Teuscher as the first postmaster. It was located in his home until 1906 when a general store was built. That is when the community voted for the name of Geneva for their town. The mail has been delivered on a number of routes. The earliest mail was carried by John Bauman from Cokeville, Wyo. to Raymond. Lack of roads and deep snow made the mail irregular. At one time, it was carried from Montpelier, later it was dispatched from the train at Border, Wyo. In 1933 it was carried in on a Star route between Cokeville, and Afton, delivering mail to Raymond, Geneva and Smoot.

Stories about the early days are abundant. One in particular is told by an old trapper named Andy Westfall. He states that Enoch and Bill Bagley left Montpelier in the fall of 1878 to settle in Thomas Fork. They had to put their horses in the house in order to save them from freezing to death. They ran out of food and went to Montpelier in the snow for provisions. They made it back to their cabin with many mishaps and most of their potatoes frozen.

The early settlers not only had to deal with harsh winters, but also mountain lions and Blackfoot Indians. The Indians were never hostile, they just asked for biscuits, traded horses, and camped nearby where they made arrowheads. Geneva has always been a remote spot where it is hard to get any communications or travel to and from that valley. In 1918 the settlers wanted telephone service so they had to build their own. They set the poles and strung the lines and there were 16 parties on two lines. It was not until 1953 that they ran another line for eight more parties and replaced the old wall phones for desk-style phones. The residents of Geneva had to maintain the lines and repair them. When the county was surveyed and the roads were set between the sections, Geneva residents continued to travel the trails through the canyon until November 1892, when they petitioned the county to establish a road district in their locality. In 1902 a dugway was built through the canyon to Montpelier. The present road was built in 1932. It was gravel at first, but in 1939 an oil surface was laid. Before 1935 this road was closed after the first snowfall of the year, except for sleighs and horses.

Resources:

1. The History of Geneva by Jennie B. Sleight
2. J. Patrick Wilde, Treasured Tidbits of Time, vol. 1
3. Unpublished life sketches of Mary Eleanor Johnson and Edward Laker Lashbrook owned by Bill Parslow, a descendant.