James Madison Taylor

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James Madison Taylor, better known as Matt Taylor, was an early settler of southeastern Idaho. He built a toll bridge over the Snake River at Black Rock Canyon. Idaho Falls was eventually established at the site of this bridge. The original bridge no longer stands, but a replica (erected by the Rotary Club) was dedicated in 1996.

Snake River largest tributary of the Columbia River

The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At 1,078 miles (1,735 km) long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake River rises in western Wyoming, then flows through the Snake River Plain of southern Idaho, the rugged Hells Canyon on the Oregon–Idaho border and the rolling Palouse Hills of Washington, emptying into the Columbia River at the Tri-Cities, Washington.

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Rotary International international service organization

Rotary International is an international service organization whose stated purpose is to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian service and to advance goodwill and peace around the world. It is a non-political and non-sectarian organization open to all people regardless of race, color, creed, religion, gender, or political preference. There are 34,282 member clubs worldwide, and 1.2 million individuals, known as Rotarians, have joined.

Matt Taylor served in the Territorial Legislature in 1868. He left the area for Missouri in 1886.

The Taylor Toll Bridge

Taylor's Bridge circa 1870 TaylorsBridge-1.jpg
Taylor's Bridge circa 1870

Matt Taylor, a freighter by trade, frequently camped along Black Rock Canyon on his way to the Eagle Rock Ferry. The gorge was narrow, which made the river flow faster, which in turn meant this campsite had fewer mosquitos.

Mosquito family of insects

Mosquitoes are a group of about 3500 species of small insects that are a type of fly. Within that order they constitute the family Culicidae. The word "mosquito" is Spanish for "little fly". Mosquitoes have a slender segmented body, a pair of wings, three pairs of long hair-like legs, feathery antennae, and elongated mouthparts.

One evening he measured the canyon by throwing a stone tied to a string, and learned that the canyon was 83 feet (25 m) wide. He later found suitably straight timber in Beaver Canyon, 80 miles (130 km) away. These timbers, along with scrap iron from old wagons and a Missouri River steamboat, became the raw materials needed to build the bridge.

In 1864 he found two business partners and formed the Oneida Road, Bridge and Ferry Company, the first corporation formed in what would become Bonneville County. This corporation bought out the ferry, and in the fall of that year built a stage station. This included a blacksmith shop, employee housing, a barn, and a store. Construction of the bridge went on during the winter, because it was easier to build the bridge when the river was frozen. It was operational by May 1865. [1]

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References

  1. Otteson, Connie B. "Unsung Heroes and Settlers of Bonneville County, Idaho". Harris Publishing Company, Inc. 2005.