Splash Dams

The dams belonged to the Payette Lumber and Manufacturing Company, a Minnesota firm that bought some 33,000 acres of state timber in Long Valley in 1902 and built its large splash dam below Smiths Ferry. After the first drive lost half its logs and four men, a new manager turned to a railroad, and the Idaho Northern reached Smiths Ferry from Emmett in 1911. In 1913 the company merged with Barber Lumber to form the Boise-Payette Lumber Company, and Boise Cascade, one of the world's largest forest products companies, traces its origin to that line.

What the plaque says

Splash Dams Prior to the arrival of the railroad in 1912, the North Fork of the Payette River provided an avenue for logs destined to downstream mills in Horseshoe Bend and Emmett. In 1903, $100,000 was spent to dynamite open a clear channel in the river. Splash Dams were built to store logs. During the winter of 1903-04, logs were held in a 36-acre pond. In April, the logs were blasted loose when the main dam was opened. Less then half of the logs made it to the mills and four men lost their lives during the log drive. Later, the dams were utilized to float railroad ties. Timber interests were instrumental in the founding of Smiths Ferry and Long Valley. 496

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Banks and the North Fork Payette — 14 mi
  Where the Payette's two forks meet, below fifteen miles of continuous Class V whitewater beside the highway.

More markers nearby

• Long Valley Ambush — 17 mi
• Mesa Orchards — 30 mi
• Black Canyon Dam — 30 mi