Judson Isaac Tolman’s home in Marion, Idaho 1890 to 1905.
This is the approximate location of the home of Judson Isaac Tolman and Phoebe Emerett Bates. View the 1900 U.S. Census record and look for them and their children. From the history of Judson Isaac, he describes arriving at Goose Creek Valley, “Much had been said by the Church authorities regarding the desirability of some sections in southern Idaho, among which was the Goose Creek Valley. Father gained permission and soon was off with his family to join the few who had already come, and commenced the settlement of what was to become known as Oakley, near the point where the Goose Creek entered the open valley. It was in October of 1881 we came to a cabin which had already been built by my brothers, who had come previously. It was built of logs with chinking in the cracks on the inside, and plastered in the cracks with mud on the outside. There were two rooms which were quite comfortable. At first we used the water from Goose Creek which ran near the house, but the next spring when the thaw came, it brought a large flow of water down the valley and there were dead cattle and other animals which had not survived the winter lodged here and there along the stream making the water undesirable for use. So my brothers and I set to work and soon had a well dug from which we were able to draw very pure and desirable water. We had only to dig sixteen feet and the water came in clear and cold. We used a chain over a pulley, with a bucket on either end so that when we would pull one bucket up, the other would go down – each empty bucket helping to pull the dull one up.”