IT WAS HOT AND DUSTY.

THE RIDE WAS BUMPY AND HARD.

BUT THERE WAS ALWAYS THE HOPE OF WHAT WOULD COME.

MANY PEOPLE CROSSED THE COUNTRY, LOOKING FOR A NEW HOME IN THE WEST.

COME, LEARN MORE ABOUT HOMESTEADING... OVER A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, PIONEERS WROTE THEIR NAMES HERE.

THIS THE C CY OF ROCKS NEAR BURLEY.

HI, I'M PHYLLIS EDMUNDSON.

HERE, TRAVELERS DECIDED WHICH TRAIL TO TAKE.

AT FIRST, IDAHO WAS JUST A PLACE TO TRAVEL THROUGH.

THEN PEOPLE DECIDED TO STAY.

AND BY 1863, IDAHO WAS A TERRITORY.

IF YOU WERE 10 YEARS OLD IN IDAHO BACK THEN, LIFE WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT.

THERE WERE FEW WOMEN AND CHILDREN LIVING IN IDAHO THEN.

A LOT OF PEOPLE LIVED IN MINING CAMPS LIKE IDAHO CITY, FLORENCE AND YANKEE FORK.

OTHER BUSINESSES WERE GROWING IN IDAHO.

WHY DID SO MANY PEOPLE MOVE WEST?

ONE REASON WAS THE HOMESTEAD ACT OF 1862.

THE HOMESTEAD ACT ALLOWED PEOPLE TO BUY LAND FOR LITTLE MONEY.

MANY PACKED UP AND HEADED WEST.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO TRAVEL ACROSS THE COUNTRY IN A WAGON?

MOST PEOPLE WALKED.

EVERYONE HELPED SET UP CAMP.

IT WAS A VERY HARD TRIP.

THERE WERE A NUMBER OF WAGON TRAILS IN IDAHO.

IS THERE A TRAIL NEAR WHERE YOU LIVE?

WHEN THEY ARRIVED IN IDAHO, THE HOMESTEADERS HAD TO FIND A PLACE TO LIVE.

SOME DUG HOLES IN THE GROUND.

OTHERS BUILT LOG HOUSES.

A LOT DEPENDED ON HOW MUCH MONEY THE HOMESTEADERS HAD.

MANY CHILDREN LIVED IN ONE ROOM HOUSES.

IMAGINE YOUR WHOLE FAMILY LIVING IN ONE SMALL ROOM.

EVERY FAMILY MEMBER WORKED, NO MATTER HOW OLD.

A FARMER WROTE OF HIS SON.

Farmer: "LITTLE BAZ CAN RUN ALL OVER, FETCH UP COWS, CARRY IN WOOD CRIB AND GO ON ERRANDS DOWN TO HIS GRANDMA'S."

Phyllis: LITTLE BAZ WAS TWO YEARS OLD.

YOU JUST HAD TO DO THE WORK.

BUT A HOMESTEADER'S LIFE WASN'T ALL WORK.

IN 1890, SARAH HALL PULLIAM WROTE ABOUT SKIING.

SHE WROTE WHAT HER SKIS LOOKED LIKE.

Sarah Pulliam: "THEY ARE MADE OUT OF FUR.

THE FRONT IS TURNED UP SO IT WON'T DIG INTO THE SNOW.

A PIECE OF LEATHER MAKES THE SHOE.

THEY HAVE A POLE WITH A ROUND PIECE OF WOOD ON IT.

IT ACTS AS A BREAK.

THE SKIS GO VERY FAST AND THE POLE BREAKS THE SPEED.

THE CHILDREN SAY IT IS A GRAND SPORT."

Phyllis: EDUCATION WAS IMPORTANT TO HOMESTEADERS.

AT FIRST, PARENTS TAUGHT CHILDREN AT HOME.

LATER, PARENTS HIRED A TEACHER AND BUILT A SCHOOL.

BY THE 1880s THERE WERE 130 SCHOOLS IN IDAHO.

WHAT DO YOU THINK THOSE SCHOOLS WERE LIKE?

MANY HAD JUST ONE ROOM AND NO TEXTBOOKS.

ROXANNA RICE DESCRIBED HER SCHOOL THIS WAY.

Roxana Rice: "I REMEMBER MY FIRST SCHOOL, A ROOM FULL OF BIG BOYS AND GIRLS.

I AND MY BROTHER, SAT ON A BENCH NEAR THE STOVE.

A BOY WORE A PADDLE AROUND HIS NECK.

THE PADDLE HAD LETTERS ON IT.

THE LETTERS WERE CHANGED EVERYDAY BY HIS PARENTS.

HOW LUCKY HE WAS THAT HIS PARENTS WERE TEACHING HIM!"

Phyllis: IN 1990, THERE WERE STILL 4 ONE-ROOM SCHOOLS IN IDAHO.

ROY BRYANT TAUGHT AT A ONE ROOM SCHOOL NEAR LOWMAN.

HE TELLS WHAT A SCHOOL DAY IS LIKE.

Roy Bryant: "I GET HERE ABOUT 7:30.

HOPE I REMEMBERED TO TURN THE HEAT ON.

I WRITE WHAT THE STUDENTS ARE TO DO ON THE BOARD.

MRS.

FELTE HELPS OUT WHILE I'M WORKING WITH THE OTHER KIDS.

WE GO INTO LANGUAGE ARTS.

THEN WE GO INTO MATH.

WE HAVE STUDENTS FROM KINDERGARTEN THROUGH SIXTH GRADE.

I HAVE TO FIND OUT WHICH KIDS NEED HELP.

YOU HAVE TO TEACH EACH GROUP AND KEEP EVERYBODY GOING."

Phyllis: THINK HOW LIFE WAS DIFFERENT FOR KIDS IN THE LATE 1800s.

BACK THEN THERE WAS NO INDOOR BATHROOMS OR RUNNING WATER.

HOMESTEADERS COOKED OVER A WOOD STOVE OR FIRE.

AND THERE WAS THE OUTHOUSE.

THE FIRST HOMESTEADERS READ BY CANDLE LIGHT.

COULD YOU LIVE LIKE THAT?

SOON, THINGS BEGAN TO CHANGE.

IN 1882, HAILEY WAS IDAHO'S FIRST TOWN TO HAVE ELECTRIC LIGHTS.

BOISE HAD TELEPHONES BY 1884.

RAILROADS CONNECTED MANY PARTS OF THE STATE.

THE POPULATION GREW.

ON JULY 3RD, 1890, IDAHO BECAME THE 43RD STATE.

WHEN DID YOUR FAMILY COME TO IDAHO?

WHY DID THEY COME?

THE FIRST HOMESTEADERS CAME TO FARM.

AT FIRST, FARMERS COULD ONLY SELL TO LOCAL MINERS.

WHEN THE RAILROAD CAME, FARMERS COULD SELL TO ANYONE IN THE WORLD.

IF YOU COULDN'T GET YOUR PRODUCTS TO MARKET YOU COULDN'T MAKE ANY MONEY.

WITH THE RAILROAD, IDAHO BEGAN TO GROW.

THERE WERE MORE JOBS AND MORE PEOPLE.

BY 1920, THERE WERE 400,000 PEOPLE LIVING IN THE STATE.

BUT IT WAS STILL HARD TO GET AROUND IDAHO, ESPECIALLY IN THE WINTER.

BUT ONE MAN INVENTED IDAHO'S SNOWMOBILE.

OTHERS FIGURED OUT A DIFFERENT WAY TO MAKE MONEY WITH SNOW.

IN THE 1930s, AVERILL HARRIMAN WANTED TO BUILD A SKI RESORT.

HE SENT COUNT FELIX SCHAFFGOTSH TO FIND THE PLACE FOR IT.

THE COUNT LOOKED IN MANY STATES.

FINALLY, HE CAME TO KETCHUM, IDAHO.

WHAT DID HARRIMAN NAME HIS NEW SKI RESORT?

HOW ABOUT SUN VALLEY?

BY 1936, MANY FAMOUS PEOPLE WERE COMING TO SUN VALLEY.

SUN VALLEY HAD THE FIRST SKI LIFT IN THE WORLD.

GRETCHEN FRAZER IS FROM SUN VALLEY.

SHE REMEMBERS WHAT SUN VALLEY WAS LIKE WHEN IT FIRST OPENED.

Gretchen Frazer: "THERE WAS NO LIFT ON THE WARM SPRINGS SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN.

SO WE WALKED UP IT.

IT USED TO TAKE ABOUT 3 HOURS TO CLIMB UP AND SKI DOWN."

Phyllis: SKIING HAS CHANGED A LOT SINCE THE 188Os.

HOMESTEADERS MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE IN IDAHO.

THEY TRAVELED, LOOKING FOR A NEW HOME.

THEY STARTED FARMING AND BUILDING SCHOOLS.

FINALLY, IDAHO BECAME A STATE.

AND IDAHO HAS SEEN NEW IDEAS LIKE SUN VALLEY.

HOMESTEADERS ARE STILL COMING TO IDAHO.

THEY MAY BE DIFFERENT FROM THE FIRST SETTLERS.

BUT THEY COME FOR THE SAME REASONS.

THE EARLY TRAVELERS TO THE CITY OF ROCKS WROTE ABOUT ITS WONDERS.

TODAY, IT'S A NATIONAL RESERVE.

COME, SEE IT FOR YOURSELF.

I'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME.

CLOSED CAPTION TRANSCRIPTION BY SARA J. HANSEN