Craigmont

The rivalry was built into the railroad itself. Each town had its own depot, and a train would stop at one, then pull forward to the other, set so that neither town could see what the other was doing. Both wanted to be seat of the new Lewis County, created in 1911, and while they quarreled the vote went to Nezperce, which became the county seat. Only after that loss, in 1920, did Vollmer and Ilo join as one town under a new name taken from neither, Craigmont.

What the plaque says

Craigmont Not long before Camas Prairie railroad service reached here in 1908, rival towns were started on each side of the track. Vollmer began as a rail and business center on the east, and Ilo (an older town a mile away) moved to an adjacent site on the west. Each had separate schools, churches, stores, newspapers, banks, and other businesses. After 12 years of sharp competition, they finally were merged into an united community in 1920. 331 Text prepared by the Idaho Historical Society Marker made & installed by Idaho Transportation Department

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Heart of the Monster — 22 mi
  Where the Nimiipuu say their story begins: Coyote, a monster, and the heart he tore loose, still on the Clearwater's bank.
• Spalding — 23 mi
  The Nimiipuu went to St. Louis asking about a book. What came back was a mission, a printing press and a museum.

More markers nearby

• Railroad Trestles — 3.1 mi
• Lawyer's Canyon — 3.1 mi
• Lewis and Clark — 3.1 mi
• Railroad Tunnels — 9.5 mi