Travelers
heading to Idaho on State Route 225 often don’t even notice the former
community North Folk, a once-thriving stage station.
Located
about 50 miles north of Elko, North Folk was established in 1870 as a stage
stop with food and lodging for travelers. Within two decades, others had moved
to the area to establish cattle ranches and North Folk—so named because it’s near
the north fork of the Humboldt River—could boast some 75 residents.
By
the early 1890s, North Folk had grown to a population of about 122 as well as a
post office, a small hotel, a saloon, a grocery store, and a school (which
hosted dances and other events). According to several histories, in the late
1890s the stage line ran from Elko to North Folk and on to the mining town of
Gold Creek, which was located about 20 miles to the northeast.
Ranching
continued to provide a good living for residents into the 20th
century. But the growing popularity of the automobile made the stage line
obsolete and, despite the opening of a service station in the 1920s, North Folk
itself began to fade as well.
Starting
in the 1940s, many of the local ranches began to be sold to larger outfits that
combined them into much larger holdings. In 1944, the post office closed for
good and the community was largely abandoned.
Time
and elements took a toll on the few stone and wooden structures so that today
the original townsite consists of a handful of foundations, a couple of crumbling
stone walls and a wooden structure that is gradually melting into the
sagebrush. Adjacent are several newer structures and homes.
Wandering
through the high grass and sage, one will find the picturesque stone wall ruins,
which appear to have once been a commercial business, and, slightly to the
north, a dilapidated wooden cabin or home. The latter is made of sturdy logs
and still has a portion of its roof intact.
About
five miles south of North Fork is the Lawson Ranch, a 3,000-acre cattle
operation once owned by singer Bing Crosby. The property, which includes its
own airstrip and hanger, has enough grazing land for 600 head of cattle.
It
also includes a 5,000 square foot, five-bedroom, five-bath main house (currently
a bed and breakfast) as well as three guest houses, two large hay barns, a
heated repair shop and an equipment enclosure. There is also an old homestead
on the property, which dates to the 1860s.
Crosby
acquired the ranch—one of seven properties he owned in Elko County—in the
mid-1940s when he became enamored with the region. For many years, he would
spend summers at the ranch, then called the PX Ranch, with his wife and four
sons.
During
the next decade and a half, Crosby was a regular visitor to his ranches and
Elko. In 1948, he was named honorary mayor of Elko and honored with the key to
the city.
Several
historians note that Crosby originally hoped his sons would embrace the
ranching lifestyle and take over the operation but eventually realized none
were interested.
Following
the death of his wife, Dixie Lee, in 1952, Crosby’s interest in his Elko
properties began to wane and, in 1958, he sold them and never returned to Elko.
Historian Shawn Hall, who has written extensively about Elko County, noted that
Crosby did, however, remain in touch with many of the friends he made during
his years as an Elko-area resident—and he was still honorary mayor of Elko when
he died in 1977.
