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Prior to 1795, or to the time when the Indians ceased to be troublesome and dangerous in this region, there was a blockhouse on the John Shaw tract, on what is now called Jones' hill, about a mile a little east of south from the junction of Crooked and Plum Creeks, or Idaho.
WOODWARD'S MILLS
These mills were, for a long time after their erection, a noted point in this region of country. He devised the William Cowden tract, including these mill and various other tracts, to his son Absalom. The mill property has been subsequently and successively owned by Stacy B. Barcroft, George S. Christy and Reuben Allshouse, the present proprieter, who has changed its name to that of "Idaho," to which name he is probably partial on account of the valuable mineral acquisitions which he had the good fortune to make in the Territory of Idaho.
Hugh Brown's store was located two miles below this point more than seventy years ago. He was assessed as a "store-keeper" in 1805. How many years before that he opened his store there, the writer has not been able to learn.
Crooked Creek flows along the entire length of Idaho. The only date given for Idaho was carved on a large rock at the "Old Swimming Hole" at Spruce Bank. The date was April 28, 1894, carved by Charles Johnson, the son of the owner of the grist mill.
Idaho had to be settled before this date as there was a school, a store, a post office, a livery stable, an ice house, a grist mill and a blacksmith shop.
The flour mill had so much business it was kept busy around the clock. Men on the night shift would put fishing poles in the mill dam and would catch enough fish for their breakfast. Also a woman named Mrs. Henderson would go fishing at the creek near her home and catch a large string of fish for herself. The flour from the mill was shipped to West Virginia.
Some of the early settlers were the Rosensteels, Remaleys and the Moreheads. Mr. Morehead at one time owned about half the land in Idaho.
The store carried many items, and it even sold ladies' hats. People took their butter and eggs there in exchange for groceries. The school house served as a meeting place for Sunday School and social gatherings.
A high iron bridge connected Idaho and Plumcreek Township and was the road to Elderton. When the Keystone Station was built in the 1960s, a new Route 210 was built to Elderton and the iron bridge was taken down.
On Memorial Day, people gathered at the school house for a community picnic each year. On New Year's Eve, the school teacher, Miss Miller, would go to the school house and ring the school bell to usher in the new year.
Chris Kimmel and his son Andrew use high-tech systems to efficiently farm 1,500 acres along the border of Armstrong and Indiana counties. And it helps them to do so in an environmentally conscious manner.
One of these high-tech systems is the use of a Melroe Spra-Coupe which has the appearance of a Piper Cub airplane that has lost its wings. Their Spra-Coupe is a self-propelled vehicle for applying agricultrual herbicides and pesticides dissolved in water. Its wheel-stance can be widened or narrowed to straddle rows of vaious crops, and it can be elevated to travel over tall plants, such as corn.
The Kimmels tow the Spra-Coupe to farm fields behind a 1,600-gallon tank truck full of water. The coupe is unhitched, its spray booms are extended to cover a swath 60 feet wide, and its own 200-gallon tank is filled with water from the truck.
The Spra-Coupe makes killing weeds and destructive bugs a one-man operation, and about 150 acres can be sprayed in half a day. The Coupe also has a computerized controller to regulate how much spray is applied and to adjust the spray pressure relative to the machines's ground speed.
The controller also helps the Kimmels protect their crops while using very small amounts of chemicals. Some corn spraying requires only half an ounce of one herbicide and 2 ounces of another per acre. But since some of the chemical applications cost up to $50 per acre, it's important economically as well as environmentally to use just the right amount.
Accoring to the Kimmels, more pesticides and herbicides are applied per person in many cities and residential areas than on farm fields. To further protect the environment, the Kimmels spray only with water from an underground storage tank fed by a spring. This eliminates the risk of accidentally spilling chemicals while getting water from a stream. The Spra-Coupe also provides extra safety for its driver. Its air-conditioned cab has a charcoal-filtered ventilation system that protects the operator from chemical residue.
Another piece of high-tech farm equipment used by the Kimmel operating is a grain combine with a yield monitor. As barley, wheat or soybeans are harvested, the monitor records how many bushels are being harvested per acre.
Before they leave the house in the morning, they check out another important technological aid. A computer connection to the Data Transmisssion Network keeps the Kimmels in touch with the Chicago Board of Trade where they track grain and livestock futures.
The networks allow them the closely watch what Argentina and Brazil are doing with their soybean crops. Those two countries are developing economical river transportation sytems for their soybean yields, which are major competitors with American producers.
The network also provides up-to-date weather information, including Dopler radar reports, for geographic areas as specific as Armstrong and Indiana counties. Forecasts on wind velocities are especially helpful during spraying season in planning work schedules for the following day.
The first inhabitants of the Village of Idaho were Indians. At Spruce Bank in Idaho, there were nine Indian graves and an Indian Corn Hill. Someone in later years stole part of the grinding stone and the stone left was taken to a farmer's lawn.
Absalom Woodward was first assessed with grist and saw mills in 1811, which he had erected on the southeastern part of the William Cowden tract, on the south side of Plum Creek, in the northeastern part of the present township of South Bend, where he resided for many years, and where he died in August, 1833.
View Driving into Idaho
View of Keystone Power Plant Stacks and Cooling Towers From Idaho
General View of Kimmel Farm in Idaho
View of Kimmel Complex
Chris Kimmel on Farm in 2005
Keystone Cooling Towers iu Background
KIMMEL FARMING
Operating from Idaho, South Bend Twp
Using Technology in Modern Farming ~ 2001
Andrew Kimmel and Father Chris Kimmel
From their family farm near Idaho in South Bend Township, the Kimmels raise and market about 500 beef cattle per year. The father-son team also grows about 750 acres of corn and 500 acres of soybeans.
