On August 19, 1852, Oregon Trail traveler Parthenia Blank wrote
“Today came to Fort Hall on Snake River and passed it at one in the afternoon. It is made of unburnt bricks and is little larger than a good sized barn. It is not now occupied by the soldiers, but is used for a trading station.
Some 50 or 100 wagons, marked “U.S.” in large letters stand there rotting. Encamped about 2 miles from the fort on Pannock Creek and had a very good feed. Made 14 miles.” (Photo credit: National Archives)
Hall was a 19th century outpost in the eastern Oregon Country, part of the present-day United States, and is located in Fort Hall, Idaho. It was considered the “most significant of all pioneer institutions in the West” by noted historian Merrill D. Beal. Fort Hall was constructed as a commercial venture, situated on the Snake River north of present-day Pocatello, Idaho. It became an important stop in the 1840s and 1850s for an estimated 270,000 emigrants along the Oregon Trail and California Trail, which diverged west of the fort. (Source: Wikipedia)
Visiting Fort Hall
Exit off I-15 north of Pocatello at Fort Hall, Idaho. Obtain detailed directions and permission at tribal offices.