Sandpoint's early streetcars offered a ticket to ride

In the early days of Sandpoint, Idaho there was quite a transportation problem. For most people, there were two ways of getting around-walk or ride a horse. The kids in Kootenai had to walk three miles to reach school in Sandpoint. Men from Sandpoint working at the smelter in Kootenai, the mills in that area, or working on the Northern Pacific Railroad, had to get back and forth to their jobs. To catch a train at the Great Northern Depot at the end of Main Street meant a long walk or hitching a ride in a wagon. There was a problem.

A group of businessmen, led by Al Filson, saw an opportunity for progress and profit. If the problem could be solved why not make a little money at the same time. They decided to form a company that would meet the transportation needs of the area. On March 10, 1909 the Sandpoint and Interurban Railway Company Limited was formed. Sandpoint was to have a streetcar line.

Work on the line began in early spring of 1909. The system was to run on double tracks with the power coming from electrical wires suspended over the tracks. Necessary structures were built along the route and a bridge was built over Sand Creek.

The local paper recorded the arrival of two streetcars on Sept. 4, 1909. The cars had side doors and were divided into three sections. The front and rear section would hold eight people while the center section would accommodate 18, making 34 the total capacity.

Sept. 17, 1909, was a big day. The streetcar line began operation and for a time did a landslide business. The main station was located on the corner of Main Street and Second Avenue, about where Truby’s is located today. The cars went west on Main all the way to the end where the Great Northern depot was located. At Boyer and Main, the tracks formed a “Y” and the right line proceeded to the area where the present airport is located. From there it turned east and crossed Sand Creek on its way to Kootenai and Ponderay. The early line covered a distance of five miles.

The cost of riding the streetcar was fair. It cost 20 cents to ride from Sandpoint to Kootenai, with a round trip costing 30 cents. It cost 20 cents to get to or from the train depot. Workers could ride the cars for $1 a week while the school children paid 50 cents a week.

The coming of the streetcar offered an assortment of recreational and fun opportunities. The cars were used each Sunday to go out to the ball field on North Boyer to watch the Sandpoint Tigers play baseball. There was an annual event featuring a man on horseback racing a streetcar from Kootenai to Sandpoint and bets were the order of the day. Kids from the schools would decorate a streetcar, dress up in their Sunday best, and have a party while riding down the tracks. There would be much laughter, cheering and singing along the way.

By 1917 the automobile had become the chosen way of getting around. Mills in the area had closed, or were on the verge of closing, and the Streetcar Company lost a great deal of money. Due to these factors, the line closed and an era in the history of Sandpoint ended.