Raymond History
Information comes from Treasured Tidbits of Time Volume I by Jens Patrick Wilde and is a condensed version
Indians looked upon the Thomas Fork Valley in much the same way as the first settlers did, a prime grazing area. The Indians grazed their horses each summer and early fall as they hunted in nearby mountains for game.
Grandison Raymond, Henry Evans, Lee Hart and Lyme Connelly thought they had found the long sought Mecca when they arrived in the summer of 1877. They were cattlemen coming northward from Utah. Since Raymond was the first of the group to file a homestead claim, the honor of having the community named after him went his way. The first winter there was only one woman there, Mrs. Lee Hart, a sister to the two Connelly brothers. She gave birth to the first white child, Albert Leslie Hart that winter. She already had two small children, James and William Augustus to care for and no other women around to assist her.
According to a biographical sketcher written about her by Helen E Hymas in the History of Bear Lake Pioneers those first years were difficult.
"once she chased a cougar from her kitchen, once she kept four hostile Indian braves pacified by giving them hot home baked bread. But in spite of these daily hardships, she felt the greatest one was in getting the men away from the checker board long enough to chop firewood..." In the early spring of 1878 the men left Mrs. Hart alone with her three children and returned to Kaysville Utah to drive additional cattle into the area. That drive was believed to be the first organized cattle drive into Bear Lake. The most important part of that drive as far as Mrs. Hart was concerned was that Mrs. Henry Evans and three children came with the men and cattle.
Shortly after, other families arrived, David Boyd, the Cruikshank family, Dalton Stevens, Webster, Webb and Linford. They were soon followed by Cook, Bryson, Gibrans, Layland and the Francis family. An LDS Church was established with Neils Peter Larsen as the first presiding elder. He held this position until 1893. The church was known as the Thomas Fork Branch. In 1895 Geneva Ward divided away from the Thomas Fork Branch.
Schools developed first in Raymond and then in Geneva with three different schools in Raymond. The first was a single room cabin located on the Henry Evans property and started in 1879. Six weeks of school was held there that year. Anyone under 30 who could not read or write was eligible to attend. One of the first teachers was "Cat O'Nine Tails Miles. He was famous for his strict discipline and often used whipping as a mean of punishment. Next school built was a two room rock building with Fred C Evans as the teacher. This building last until 1952 when the first phases of county consolidation closed it.
The first church house was a log building located on the south side of Thomas Fork. A new frame church was built in 1915. The first store was operated by Godfrey Eschler and the first post office in the home of Hyrum Holmes. At first the post office was known as the Thomas Fork post office until 1889. Then in 1900 it was changed to Raymond. But another post office in Northern Idaho was also Raymond and mail was always getting mixed up so the post office changed the name to "Corinth" and it remained until 1964 when the post office closed.
During the 1940s a mining boom in the nearby Raymond hills seemed to enlarge the community. In 1943 researchers for the government combed the hills seeking vital war metals and this resulted in the development of the Raymond Canyon Mine. The Wyodak Coal and Manufacturing Company also began development of a min in the area. One hundred were employed at the mine. Two shifts operated daily. Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Calton operated a commissary that fed 100 people per shift.
For many years a creamery operated in the community build by Samuel W Hart in partnership with J W Cook and Joseph A Dalton. During the peak mining years the creamery provided milk, eggs, cheese and butter for the mine. As suddenly as the mine had opened it closed. The creamery closed in the late 50s and the building converted into a store. It failed when the post office which rented a space in the building closed.
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News Examiner, Thursday, 7 November 1968, page 12
Sometime in the early autumn of 1877, Grandison Raymond, his son in law, Henry Evans, Lee Hart, Bert and Lyme Connelly entered Thomas Fork Valley. Here with majestic surroundings, deep pasturage of native grasses and an apparent abundance of water, the men found what they had been searching for, for several years, good cattle country.
Since Mr. Raymond was the first to file homestead rights in the area, the community was named after him Except for a few Indians who migrated through the area the men were the first to settle the country. Being early Utah pioneers, they were well prepared for the undertaking. There were Leo Hart, once a pony expres rider and Henry Evans, a former teamster and trail guide.
Both Mr. Hart and Mr. Evans had seen tragedy and devastation as a result of Indian conflict. This knowledge served them in dealing with the Indians. Chief Wadze was the leader of the tribe which used Thomas Fork for its summer pasture and hunting. They formed a friendship that lasted for years. He supplied them with leather articles and they provided him with his winter meat. they helped both parties and prevented bloodshed and trouble.
Mrs. Lee Hart, the former Harriet Connelly, was the first white woman to spend a winter in the valley. During the winter of 1878-1879 she gave birth to Albert Leslie Hart, the first white child to be born in the valley. Mrs. Henry Evans, the former Emma Raymond, moved to Raymond the next spring to make her permanent home. David Boyd was the next settler, followed by the Cruikshanks, Dalton and Stevens, Webster, Webb, Linford and others. Within a few years Cook, Bryson, Vibran, Layland and the Francis family arrived.
As the population grew neighbors hired a teacher and for six weeks period each year, the youngest of the community had the privilege of attending school. Mail came by horseback and was always a welcome event. Unusually men of the valley took turns riding after the mail and supplies. Since most of the settlers were LDS, a ward was soon organized and Peter Larsen became the first bishop. He homesteaded the ranch now run by Norman Eschler.
Subsequent bishops have been; Sam Hart, Fred C Evans, W A Hart, Alma Eschler and Clyde Wilde. By 1956 the Raymond ward was joined with the Geneva ward and the old one was dissolved. As the years went by, new people came and some of the old ones left. Cruikshank, Stevens, Dalton sold out to J W Mumford, a sheepman who used the Raymond holdings as his home ranch. T M Mumford also a sheepman, bought the Webb place now owned by the Walter bros. G W Hall, also an early settler, kept his ranch and it is now in the capable hands of his son Eugene.
Before long, family entertainment branched ou and sports and amateur dramatics, spelling and quilting bee drew the populace. Baseball was the favorite entertainment. These traditional games continued into the late 1930s. Foot racing was also popular. Sam and Lou Widmer and Max Evans were winners.
Today Raymond is a quiet peaceful place. It has closed its school and sends its youngsters to Geneva, Montpelier and Cokeville for education. Today the population is 72 and there are 15 families living there.