Star

The community of Star was one of the earliest in the Boise Valley.  The Pioneer ditch was started in 1863 by M.B. Palmer and later extended to the Middleton Mill. This irrigation ditch and its supply of water allowed the country between Star and Middleton to be settled early.

One of the first settlers was Ben F. Swalley who in 1863 drove his ox team and wagon onto 300 acres of land along the Boise River, a mile south of the present town.  Others followed, homesteading the good farm land along the Boise River.  The surrounding farms often catered to the needs of early travelers and miners providing them with food and lodging in Star, on their way to and from Boise and the mines in the Boise Basin.

One of Idaho's oldest Christian church's was organized in Star about 1869.  As early as 1864 the first meeting of the Church of Christ were held at the home of David Fouch, a Christian minister, who was farming in the locality and later served as Star's second postmaster.  Another of the church's early leaders was Shepp Gray, the first postmaster of Star.  The Church of Christ built a church east of Star in 1881 on land donated by Mrs. Sam McDowell and later moved the church to its present location in 1906.  Another area church was the Star Chapel belonging to the Methodists.

The first location of the village of Star was one mile to the east of present Star, about halfway between the present town of Star and Star-Emmett junction.  The first schoolhouse was built there in the 1870's on land donated by B.F. Swalley.  When the settlers finished building the schoolhouse, they couldn't decide on a name for the building.  One of the men sawed out a star and nailed it to the front door, pounding nails all around the edge of the star.  this became an important landmark for miles around, and was a guide for travelers and miners.  When they came to the schoolhouse with the star on the door, they could travel west one mile and find board and lodging for the night.  So in time, the town became known as Star.

The village of Star began to grow, providing services to travelers and serving as a rural center for neighboring farmers and ranchers.  In 1880, a post office was established in Star with Shepp Gray the first postmaster and proprietor of the general store.  The early settlement also had two blacksmith shops for "iron work" as well as the district school house, two churches, and half a score of residences.  The first hotel was opened in 1888.

In 1905, Star incorporated and established city limits reaching four miles in all directions.  During the early part of the century the town flourished with places growing rapidly and merchants doing good business.  The town had a mayor, marshal, constable, and justice of the peace.  The jail was a frame building located just east of the Odd fellows Lodge Hall.  by the time the new interurban arrived, at least twenty new building had been erected in Star.

The Farmers Bank was charted in 1907, with W.E. Pierce, the Boise real estate dealer, as the bank's president.  The bank continued longer than most small town banks.  The farmer and merchant patrons experienced hard times in the twenties and thirties, closing in 1934 with depositors receiving their money in full.

Other business in 1907 included the Star Creamery, Conway Hotel, and El Dorado Lumber Company, which handled farm and orchard products.  Star was a bustling village with a population of over 500 people, making it the largest community in the Boise Valley after Boise.  That same year, a contract was let to lay a ten-foot long, cement sidewalk for half a mile on the north side of Valley street, where the electric line was located.  According to the 1907 Idaho Daily Statesman, "Business in all lines is well represented.  There are five general merchandise stores, drug store, one hardware, one lumber and coal yard, carrying as complete a stock as is to be found in the state, two blacksmith shops, two first-class hotels, two livery stables, one real estate and land office, newspaper and printing plant and the Farmers Bank of Star."  In this short period there was also great activity in the residence district.  One very noticeable feature was the up-to-date style of architecture, many of the houses being of the California bungalow type.

Rapid growth of Star came with the confidence of the Boise Interurban Railway.  In 1907, W.E. Pierce completed the electric railroad which ran from Boise to Caldwell, via Eagle, Star and Middleton, and back through Nampa and Meridian.  the fare was 65 cents.  The interurban also brought electricity to Star.

The Idaho daily Statesman reported in 1907 that as a result of the completion of the Boise and Interurban line through Star, "this town has taken a wonderful activity and citizens here have awakened to the fact that Star in very liable to become a very important point before long.  there's been a great deal of building of late and the population of the town has easily doubled since it was definitely known that the electric line would be built through here."

Completion of the Boise Interurban created radical growth with W.E. Pierce and Co. platting two new areas of land to the east of the original town site.  These areas included Interurban Addition and the Pierce Addition.  Lot sales, as reported in the Idaho Daily Statesman at that time, were brisk.

The handsome Star Interurban Depot with a freight office and passenger waiting room was built at Valley and Knox streets in 1907.  The building was designed by Boise architects Tourtellotte and Hummel.  Nearby was the transformer house.  At the time the stage connected to Emmett.  With the introduction of automobiles into the Treasure Valley, the Interurban was used less and less, eventually going out of business in 1928.  The loss of this link to the valley meant a decline in activity for Star.  The depot was moved to the east side of town in the 1950's.

Growth continued in 1909 with at least 30 new buildings erected.  That year the two-story brick Odd Fellows building was built, with part of the ground floor occupied by the Pinney Opera House.  1912 was another active building year, including construction of the Friends Church and commercial buildings for J.W. Rounds, J.C. Hughes, and J B. Stoner.  Boise Payette Lumber Co. had a yard in Star starting in 1917.  W.T. Kirtley erected the Star Mercantile Co. building in 1919.  Over the years, the Star Mercantile made the transition from the cracker barrel store to a competitive mercantile carrying groceries, drugs, veterinarian supplies, stoves, and a complete line of appliances.  Star also had a cheese factory in 1917, which later become the Mutual Creamery.  The Star Courier provided weekly newspaper services from 1911 through 1920.  The banner above the headlines read "News of Three Towns Covering North Side of the Boise Valley."  These towns included Eagle, Star and Middleton.  Star reached its peak in the early 1920's with a population of over 600.

One of the later branches of the Oregon Trail that crossed the river near Boise passed through what now is Star, just south of present-day Highway 44.  Ezra Meeker, who spent his last years marking the course of the old Oregon Trail, visited Star on May 5, 1906.  Portions of this early Oregon trail corridor became the Old Valley Road connecting Boise to Caldwell.  In the spring, travelers had to take the alternate foothills road to keep from getting stuck in the mud bogs.

Starting in the 1860's, the stage from Boise City followed the Old Valley Road and arrived at Gray's Station east of star, near the old Balm Mill, on what is now Moon Valley Road.  Here the stage left the Valley Road and proceeded northwest through the sage brush to the willow creek stage Station, northwest of Star.  The route continued on to the Payette Valley and eventually to Umatilla, Oregon and the Columbia River.  Stage routes served the area through the 1880's when the lines with their big six-horse coaches were abandoned with the coming of the railroad through the valley.  This brought a decline to the area as the branch rail line came from Nampa to Boise bypassing star.  Nevertheless, Star grew and boomed with the arrival of the Interurban in 1907.

In 1890, A. Fouch and his brother built the Star ferry south of Star at the Boise River.  The crossing was located west of the present star Bridge.  In 1904, the ferry was replaced by the star bridge.  In 1929, the state paved Valley Road and it was again expanded in 1964 with Highway 44 connecting to I-84 west of Middleton.

The lowlands along the Boise River provide Star with a very flat topography allowing for numerous irrigation systems.  Among these systems, the earliest to be installed was the Pioneer Canal, which dates from the 1860's.  Others included the Lawrence Kennedy Canal on the south side of star and the Middleton Canal on the north.  The Canon Canal head gate is located on the Boise River just upstream from the star Bridge.

By the early 1880's, the land surrounding Star was being enclosed and larger crops were sown.  S. S. Gray enclosed and plowed 140 acres, as did Henry Hill, 80 acres; D. Williams, 100 acres; Joseph Ayres, 125 acres, and Samuel McDowell, 90 acres.

The area's surrounding farms have supported diversified farming, with the soil and climate being especially favorable.  Principle crops have included alfalfa and sugar beets as well as grains such as wheat and oats which yield abundantly.  The pioneers also planted fruit trees.

The 1870s school with the original star, was eventually moved to Star and later replaced by a brick schoolhouse on River Street in 1903.  In 1912, a four-year high school was started.  A new school was built in 1937 from bricks salvaged from the school built in 1903.  The Star Elementary school was built in 1975, alongside the old school which was later demolished.  Star maintained its own school district for a period, but is now part of the Meridian School District.  West of Star on Highway 44 is the two story brick Central School built in 1905 and now a private home and Arabian stable.

In the early 1900s, Main Street periodically served as a race track.  Horse races were a big event with most everyone on hand and often followed by a baseball game.  Impromptu races down Main Street were not limited to specific holidays but could arise from on-the-spot challenges.

Other activities included a weekly debating society where issues of the day such as railroads, Sunday laws, and women's rights were discussed.  also, there was a literary society, Star School sporting events, and skating rink.  An evening outing for a party of young people included chartering a trolley excursion to Boise and back.  Star Trading Days were stock sales held every third Saturday of each month.

Star's growth declined with the closure of the Boise & Interurban in 1928.  Another setback came in 1929 when the town was dis-incorporated.  that year the state paved the highway east and west of Star to the city limits.  Star would have had to pay for the pavement through the city.  The farmers made so much disturbance about their taxes, which would have been raised to build the highway, that the city charter was turned back and the highway became the property of the state.

On December 12, 1997 , the Ada County Commission approved an order,  proclamation and resolution establishing the geographic boundaries of Ada counties newest city.  a mayor and six member city council were also appointed.  Making the City of Star the first city to be incorporated in Ada county since 1971.

Over the past  years the population of Star has stayed at around 500--about the same as it was early in the century.  In recent years the population has grown and the 2000 census reports it at 1795 people. Star remains the trading center of a working community which earns its living for the most part from the soil.

A number of Star buildings have been host to fire.  In 1959, fire destroyed the Hadley Hardware and Implement Company's building and grain mill.  The Star Fire District was formed in 1955 with a new fire station built in 1987.

Today, Star maintains its rural character, being located 16 miles northwest of Boise, six miles west of Eagle, 7 miles east of Middleton, 9 miles north of Nampa , and 16 miles south of Emmett.  The river valley provides impressive views of the Boise foothills to the north and the Owyhee mountains to the south.