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Bars where Pete has had a Drink (5,608 bars; 1,754 bars in Seattle) - Click titles below for Lists:


Bars where Pete has had a drink

Monday, February 06, 2023

#4260 - Timber Inn, Pierce, ID - 6/17/2021


Timber Inn, Pierce, ID

The community of Pierce, Idaho began with the discovery of Gold on Orofino Creek by Elias D. Pierce and Wilbur F. Bassett in 1860. The party was led there by was by Jane, the daughter of Chief Timothy. The discovery was made on part of 7.5 million acres of land ceded to the Nez Perce tribe at the Walla Walla Council in 1855, and confirmed by treaty in 1859. Of course the promises of the treaty were systematically violated once gold was discovered in the area, with subsequent attempts to eject natives from the area leading to the Nez Perce War in 1877.

Soon after the gold strike, "Pierce was the first county seat for Shoshone County, which was established in January 1861 in Washington Territory and for most of its first year included most of present-day Idaho and Wyoming. The Pierce Courthouse, constructed in 1862, is Idaho's oldest public building. Idaho Territory was established in 1863, and the county seat moved north to the Silver Valley in Murray in 1884 (and to Wallace in 1898)."  (wikipedia)

The swarm of gold seekers soon moved on. "The resulting rush, estimated at as many as 6,000 men, among them many Chinese, was reduced years later by another strike elsewhere." But three decades later another resource would sustain the community. 'A father and son, C.D. and Nat Brown, came West in the 1890’s seeking new areas of timber and found the “green gold” they sought in the largest stand of white pine and other coniferous types in north Idaho’s Clearwater and Benewah counties and nearby hills. Word spread to their former workers in the timber depleted Great Lakes region, and many came out to establish homesteads which opened the land for lumbermen. In 1925 a railroad was built to facilitate hauling the harvest to mills, large and small, nearby.' (piercelibrary

Today the small city of about 500 people caters to outdoorsmen, hikers, hunters, and snowmobilers. And if you'd like either a night's stay or just a beer and meal in a setting that preserves a bit of the feel of those early days, you will want to make your way to the Timber Inn. I do not know how long the inn has been formally called "Timber Inn" or exactly how long it has included a bar, but the inn is said to have been established during the prohibition era, in 1926. 

Timber Inn, Pierce, ID


For the last 32 years before this visit, the inn has been run by Robby Harrel, whom I was lucky enough to chat with for a bit, and who let me check out the rooms upstairs. There are five rooms for rent, with a kitchen, laundry and sitting room available to all guests. The rooms tend to be decorated in period fashion, while the bar downstairs has a more eclectic collection of artifacts acquired by Robby over the years. The menu includes standard diner choices, along with steaks and chicken gizzards, but is best known for the 3/4 pound "Timber Burger." I had one of these myself, but like the vast majority of people who order it, I was unable to finish it.

If I am again in this area of northern Idaho I will definitely consider a stay at the inn.

Pierce, Idaho - 1860
(Photo from Wikipedia)





































Timber Burger, Timber Inn, Pierce, ID



















2 S Main St, Pierce, ID 83546 - (208) 464-2736
Bar Est. ? - Building constructed: 1926
Previous bars in this location: None known 
Web site: idahotimberinn.com - facebook 
Reviews: tripadvisor - yelp - roadtrippers 



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