Nounan & Lindsayville
The settlement of Nounan began May 1, 1873, when W. H. Hooper of Soda Springs hired Philemon Merrill, his son, and Sylvanus Collett to bring 212 head of cattle into this valley because of the good grass and water. They built three cabins which they stayed in while they checked on the herds. After the winter of 1874, this project was abandoned because when winter was over, 90 cattle were dead, and 18 were too weak to walk.
June 1, 1875 John Skinner and family came to Nounan and moved into one of the original cabins until he could build a better home. He found nine of the abandoned cattle which he took to the Hooper Ranch. He was rewarded with several young bulls.
Phillip Chugg and Andrew Freebairn moved in next. In the fall, James Douglas Nounan arrived and stayed with the Skinner family until April. More families moved here in 1876 to be a part of the Paris Cooperative Dairy Factory, which was located 2.5 miles south of Skinner's land at the mouth of Co-op Canyon. The next year, 200 cows were moved here, and butter was made and sent to Paris and Soda Springs. They tried floating it down the river on rafts, but the venture was not successful.
In the l880s, the southern end of the valley was settled. Edgar Monroe Lindsay homesteaded here in 1881. They had a school and a church. There was a post office for about four years. Lindsayville is no longer a town, just ranches.
The Oregon Short Line had contracted with Douglas Nounan to provide ties for building the railroad. Nounan began a tie camp with 12 men taking out trees from Crossley Canyon. They took the trees to the river and floated them downstream near Preston. After he moved closer to Soda Springs, the settlement used his name for their town.
Lumbering, raising sheep, dairy and cheese making were the industries in Nounan. Brigham Skinner operated a large sawmill until he died there in an accident. He was pulled into the bull wheel when he soaped the belt. After that, John Minnig and Albert Buetler ran the mill. Minnig built a commissary and postal service.
On March 23, 1905, the Skinner Irrigation Company was formed. Nephi Skinner was the secretary, and there were 8,500 shares. Nephi owned 1,600 shares of stock. One hour of watering was allowed for each 10 shares.
Hyrum Skinner was the first postmaster in 1882. A mail route began in 1966. Electricity came to the valley in 1936.
School began at the Skinner Ranch. Etta Morgan was an early teacher who boarded with the Nephi Skinner family. School District #14 was organized in 1875. A new school was finished in 1911.
John Skinner was the first presiding elder. The church was located by the old dairy co-op. It burned in 1928, so they moved into the old rock school, built in 1911. The people from the north and south end of the valley fought over where to build the new church. Bishop Skinner had the new chapel built in the center of the valley, just south of the old rock store. It was finished and dedicated in 1929. Lindsayville met for church in the schoolhouse for a while. In 1931, the ward had 142 members with 174 living in Nounan. Today the ward has been consolidated with the members attending church in Georgetown.
Nephi A. Skinner was in the sheep business in 1911. He had sheds for lambing and shearing. He shipped lambs and old ewes to Chicago and Denver on the railroad. He rode with them. Nephi played the violin for square dances and his favorite dance, which he also "called," was named, "The Irish Washerwoman." His violin is now displayed at the Rails and Trails Museum in Montpelier.
Resources:
- J. Patrick Wilde "Treasured Tidbits of Time" vol. 1 p.36-39
- "The Biography of Nephi Aaron Skinner" by Ernest M. Skinner, pages 13,16,24,27, 28 an unpublished book owned by Garald Skinner of Montpelier.