PINCOCK HOT SPRINGS

(Green Canyon Hot Springs)

1. INDIANS AND EARLY WHITE MEN

Up until the first white men came into the area, little is known about the hot spring and the human activity concerning it. But it isn’t hard to imagine the Indians, who seasonally made there home in this area, enjoying a cleansing and relaxing morning or evening soak in the sparkling clear hot spring water.

The springs issue forth from the base of the Big Hold mountains at a temperature of 115 degrees Fahrenheit, a little east of the present building. The water contains magnesium, lime, and trace of iron, but no sulfur. Sulfur is very common in other hot springs and gives them a distinct smell.

The hot springs were first visited by white man in 1811. Wilson Price Hunt visited them while spending time at Fort Henry. The rest of his crew built canoes for their ill-fated trip down the Snake River. Mr. Hunt was to establish a trading post at the mouth of the Columbia River. Planning to meet a supply ship sent around South America and bound for the Pacific Coast, Hut, upon arrival, found his ship was blown up and sunk due to an Indian raid. To send the news back to the mother company in St. Louis, he sent seven men to go overland. The group, led by Robert Stuart, made its way eastward, following the Snake River, and ran into Indian trouble near the head of the present day Palisades Reservoir. Horses stolen and left on foot, they built rafts and floated down the river to what we no know is Ririe, Idaho. At this point, they decided to go cross-country to the Teton Mountains. In late September of 1812, they stopped and camped here, and soaked in the hot springs before crossing the Big Hole Mountains into Teton Valley on October, 1812. One of the groups rebelled, refusing to cross “another mountain,” and walked around the smaller hills to the North, a longer but easier route. The individual did make it, and they joined up again in Teton Valley. The group eventually made its way to St. Louis after suffering from serious hunger.

Robert Stuart’s Party made a considerable contribution to the westward movement by traveling the entire length of the Oregon Trail except for their detour through Eastern Idaho.

2. THE CREATION OF GREEN CANYON AS A BUSINESS

It came as little surprise to me that the town of Sugar City also celebrated their centennial in 2003. Not only does Green Canyon and Sugar City share the same birth year but history would surely place them as cousins in the same family of Pioneers.

Sugar City was one of the last of the area towns to be created and settled. On August 5, 1903 the Fremont County Sugar Company was organized in Salt Lake City by Joseph F. Smith, John R. Winder, T.R. Butler, W.S. McCornick, John Henry Smith, Mark Austin, John C. Cutler, Richard W. Young, and Horace G. Whitney. In October of that same year E. H. Dyer and company was given a contract by the newly formed Fremont County Sugar Company, to build a factory at a location near Salem, five miles northeast of Rexburg. The town that would develop as a result of the business venture was to be named Sugar City. The cornerstone for the new factory was laid at a special ceremony held December 8, 1903.

Green Canyon began that same year as a side venture to the new sugar factory. In order to build the factory, the contractor needed lime for the mortar used in laying the brick. Lime was also needed for the sugar making process after the factory was up and running. Two brothers John E. and James H. Pincock took a contract to supply the lime for the new plant, and the closest lime deposit for them was here at the hot spring. The big white rock just east of the pool is made up of lime. The Pincock brothers filed on a limestone claim and began to mine, burn, and powder the rock for the contract made to E.H. Dyer.

Part of the original land accusation for the Pincocks was a homestead claim. It included 100 acres of farm land. But the spring was owned by a man named Butler, often called “fish” Butler by his friends and neighbors. The Pincocks purchased the springs from him and filed for the water right at Fremont County in 1898 (before the lime contract in 1903). [Note: We were once part o Fremont County and later Madison County was created and we became part of it.]

The rest of the Pincock story is told by Mrs. Verla Pincock Moss, my sixth grade teacher:

In February 1851 John Pincock married Isabella Douglas in St. Louis where a daughter was born. They came to Utah and John E. was born in Kaysville. The family moved to Ogden where twelve more children completed their family. James H. was five years younger than John E.









James H. Pincock made his first trip to the Snake River Valley in 1879. He made two more trips to the valley before marrying Ann Elizabeth Garner. The urge to return to the Snake River Valley to help colonize it became stronger and stronger for James. By spring of 1883 James H., his brother, John E., and a brother-in-law, John A. Garner, and Harold Heninger started north. They reached the spot where Rexburg now stands on May 7, 1883, then went on to make claims one mile east of where the old Sugar Factory stood. By the spring of 1884 the two Pincock brother and Garner had constructed log homes sent for their wives and families, and established themselves in the valley.

John E. and James H. claimed a piece of land on Canyon Creek, about 20 miles east of their homes in the valley. The prime purpose of the claim was to mine, process, and sell lime found on this land for construction of the sugar factory. The Mineral Patent was recorded in the General Land Office at Blackfoot, Idaho, in 1909 and was known as the Warm Spring Ledge Placer Mining Claim, granting the Pincocks’ the right “to have and to hold said mining premises.” Slack lime or limestone that had been burned and powdered was used to make the mortar to hold the bricks together. Later lime was used in the sugar-making process. The Pincocks built a kiln (which still stands today), quarried the rock, burned the lime, and hauled it with two wagons hooked together, pulled by four head of horses or a string of oxen. Frank and Whitney Pincock and Charley Nibley did a lot of this work. Roads over the hills and through the hollows were not very good and great care and know-how was needed to make a successful trip without breakdown and mishap.

A hot spring was discovered near the claim and it was found that an old man by the name of Butler owned the spring. James H. and John E. purchased the spring from him. A notice of Water Right was signed by them and filed with the court on May 24, 1898. This deed gave them the right to sue the water for agricultural, medicinal, bathing, power, milling, stock growing, and domestic purposes. There were about five cubic feet of water per second at the mouth of the spring. The 20th of July 1910 James H. and Annie E. Pincock signed the Warranty Deed that gave John E. the sole ownership of the mineral rights and the water for one dollar ($1). James did not have any desire to be involved in the development of a “bathing pool.”

Soon, John E. and his boys dug out a small pool which was just a hold in the side of the hill. They built steps down into the water. Most family members did not like the get off the steps. Even though the water was very warm, moss was thick. No one could stay in very long. Whitney told about the boys getting wood out in the winter at Canyon Creek and swimming in the hot pool. Sometimes the air was so cold their hair would freeze from the steam coming up from the water. One time Uncle Tom Williams dared the brothers to go up the snow bank and roll down into the water. It was a shock but no one ever caught cold.

Later, the Pincocks built a small shack next to the spring. It had three small pools of different temperatures. They made two dressing rooms inside, one for the men an done for the women. In front of the dressing rooms was a platform ad steps that led down into the water. This water was highly mineralized and extremely beneficial for anyone with rheumatism or sore muscles. Soon a log cabin was built at the base of the hill near the creek. Now visitors could eat and sleep inside a shelter. What a delight to fill the white-top buggy with relatives or friends and go to stay there for a few weeks, while getting out timber or wood. It was a neighborhood project to go to Canyon Creek for wood. John E., his boys, and George Browning built a saw mill on Canyon Creek, using water power to saw lumber to enlarge the spring house and make it a recreation attraction for the valley.

Of course, a road had to be built, which was not an easy task in those days when horses and hand labor were the order of the day. It was a tremendous effort and explosives were freely used to make the road wide enough around the curves and remove the big rocks, especially on the dug way winding up the hill to the spring. Frank Pincock’s wife, Susie, cooked for a crew of men in a two room log house with a dir roof and to think she was a city girl. What a challenge! It seemed to her they were always working on the road to make it safe. When it rained it was impossible to get down the hill from the springs or up the dug way to the springs. Stories are still told of vehicles backing up that last dug way to get to the top. The gasoline would not feed into the engines going forward because of the steepness of the road.

Susie told of the numerous blow snakes that abound in the area. They are enemies of rattlesnakes. Whenever there were scraps left over from breakfast, such as hot cereal, etc., she went outside to the sagebrush and made a lot of racket as she scraped the pan with a spoon. A blow snake would often com slithering up to eat them.

One of the interesting features of visiting Pincock Springs is to stop on the hill going down. Looking at the canal, the water seems to be flowing upstream. It’s a real optical illusion. There is a legend of bank robbers who holed up in the old shack on the hillside across the canyon, legend has it they robbed the bank and hid their money somewhere in the canyon, and it’s never been found.

John E. Pincock was a man of great vision. Instead of enlarging the small hot pool, he wanted a very large one that would accommodate many patrons. He thought a large covered pool could be built and the hot spring water piped across the road to it. Sam Streeper of Salt Lake City, a nephew of John’s wife, was hired to construct this recreation facility. Whitney hauled a thousand sacks of cement from Newdale to form the large pool. It required much hard labor to build the resort, for Sam and his workmen were equipped with only two teams and a wagon. The resort was completed in 1912 and became known as Pincock Springs.

After the Brownings and Pincocks were finished sawing the lumber they wanted, the mill was converted to generate D.C. power for the swimming pool. Before this project was completed the Springs was lit with as lanterns, so night swimming was discouraged. After the generator was in use, someone would have to make a trip to the bottom of the hill every night to turn the lights on or off. The lighting made a big improvement and evening hours became some of the busiest times.

When spring came, trees cut during the winter were sawed into lumber, which was used in the construction of buildings. Cutting sixteen inch blocks and shoving them through the saw made shingles.

The pool was 125 ft. X 75 ft. Visitors to the resort had never seen a pool, which equaled that one in size. The pool water looked beautiful with its various shades of blue. There were dressing rooms on either side with concrete floors for easy cleaning, and a front area which suits and towels were rented out. Candy and pop were sold.

Same Streeper and his family ran the resort for several years after building it. Pincock Springs became a very popular spot with schools and church groups coming often. It was a good business because there was nothing like it in the area.

The facility was next managed by one of John’s sons, Henry, his wife, Mae, and his only child, Jimmy. They lived in the log cabin built by the side of the canal at the bottom of the dug way.

In the spring of 1923 John’s daughter, Carrie and her husband, Austin Cheney, managed the Springs. Austin’s uncle, Tom Williams, worked for them. The men usually washed the suits and hung them out on the clothes lines to dry, while the women took them in, folded them and looked for tares and missing buttons. Hot lunches were sold on Sundays ---hotdogs, hamburgers, coffee and pie. Austin took care of the cooking and serving over the counter and Carrie made the pies. Every Saturday she would make six to eight pies ---apple, raisin cream, and lemon.

The second year Austin and Carrie ran the Springs the Springs Company decided a dance hall would really be good for the business. All one summer the brothers worked on it. It was very well built with trees from the nearby forest, using the sawmill to cut the lumber. The hall had a wonderful hardwood floor and Friday and Saturday nights there were dances. They planned a big opening and had a large crowd. There were always big crowds, but on the whole it did not prove to be very profitable. It was too far away from towns in the valley and too much expense in putting on a dance. One time they advertised a dance for Memorial Day. There was a big snowstorm that day and it snowed about 12 inches. The orchestra was stuck on the way in and had to be rescued. The musicians still had to be paid even though there was no one to play for. The hall brought in a lot of riff-raff who figured they would be outside the law. It was very difficult to handle those kinds of crowds.

John’s son and wife, Frank and Susie, bought the Hot Springs from the rest of the brothers in 1939. Every Sunday night was the cleaning night and the pool would be emptied and scrubbed down. Frank put on his boots and with a big broom followed the water down, scrubbing as he went. It would take a long time because the outlet valve was so small. The children’s job was to scrub the dressing rooms. Monday the pool was closed for refilling.

At the time the pool was built two long logs were put in it. After the bark was chipped off, one log was run through the sawmill, making it flat on two sides leaving the other two sides round. The diameter of the other log was two feet. If a swimmer thought he could stay on top of that log, just a little twist would spin him off. Those logs provided many hours of fun and games—having been in the pool over thirty years. The diving board was unique, also. A platform was built above the diving board in such a manner that a person could jump from the platform, land on the diving board and do some pretty fancy diving if he chose.

The family dwelling burned down in the summer of 1942. Frank had gone down to turn on the power. Susie was over to the swimming pool. The dog had chewed the wires in the house, causing a short and setting the house afire. Frank could see the smoke and ran most of the way up the dug way, but things were so dry that the house burned fast. There was nothing they could do but see their only home, plus all their treasures and belongings destroyed by fire. With the two youngest boys, Grant and Paul, both in the service, managing the Springs was too much for Frank and Susie.

Frank and Susie sold the pool to Robert Thueson in May 1944. He piped the water down from the top of the hill, built the larger pool and building at its present location, making it unnecessary to drive up that winding dug way. He also renamed the resort Green Canyon Hot Springs.

In 1952 Darrell Neibaur traded his dry farm for the swimming pool. For over 50 years Green Canyon has been part of the Neibaur family. Randy and Phil built a separate hot pool about 18 years ago and it appeals to seniors with arthritis and aching muscles as good therapy. The water contains lime, calcium and a little sulfur and iron and is believed to provide relief for such ailments.

Even though it is now called Green Canyon Hot Springs, the Geological Survey maps still label the area as Pincock Hot Springs.