The Trees Grew Tall Photograph Collection
Photographs used in the making of the book The Trees Grew Tall, 1898 - 1943
Contents: About the Collection | About the Book | About John B. Miller | Tech
About the Collection
The 242 photographs in this collection were taken or collected by John B. Miller during the years 1898 to 1943. They feature homesteading life on the Palouse as well as glimpses into the early lumber, mining, and railroad industries in the area. The photographs were used in Miller’s book The Trees Grew Tall, an eclectic history of Bovill and the surrounding areas.
About the Book
When John B. Miller set out to record a history of the Bovill area, he wanted to produce more than a rudimentary history of the pioneer era of the town. The recorded history theretofore consisted of county files, newspaper clipping, old photographs, and other disjointed minutiae that lacked the detail necessary to tell the colorful story of Bovill in full. As he began collecting stories for his manuscript, Miller quickly realized that his friends, family, and other contributors would not settle for a basic history; rather, they demanded a “full reflection of the flavor and color of the times” filled with “the funny things, the ridiculous things, the dramatic and tragic things that were part of their lives.”1
These retellings weave together a vivid history replete with stories like that of settlers Joe and Lou Wells, a married couple who were freed from slavery during the Civil War and moved to the Deary area from North Carolina in 1889.1 Other tales tell of clandestine whiskey sales during Prohibition, the felling of the White Pine King, and the multiple fires that devastated parts of downtown Bovill.
The Trees Grew Tall serves as an animated catalog of frontier life in Bovill and other areas on the Palouse. To explore it further, find it in the University of Idaho Library catalog.
About John B. Miller
John B. Miller was born on a homestead in Bovill, Idaho during the summer of 1912. He grew up in Bovill, where pioneer life influenced the memories and events he would later describe in his book. After graduating from the University of Idaho with a degree in geology, he began work in foreign exploration for Standard Oil of California and moved to Belmont, Californa with his wife, Pastora, whom he met in Colombia during his travels. He returned often to his beloved hometown, usually for Bovill Days, and was an active member of the Latah County Historical Society. His love for the region’s history as well as a passion for communicating history through first-hand experiences led him to write and publish The Trees Grew Tall in 1972.
To learn more of Miller’s story, listen to an interview from the Latah County Oral History Collection:
Technical Credits - CollectionBuilder
This digital collection is built with CollectionBuilder, an open source framework for creating digital collection and exhibit websites that is developed by faculty librarians at the University of Idaho Library following the Lib-Static methodology.
Using the CollectionBuilder-CSV template and the static website generator Jekyll, this project creates an engaging interface to explore driven by metadata.