About Payette enterprise. (Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho) 1909-1935
Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho (1909-1935)

Payette Enterprise

The town of Payette sits at the confluence of the Snake and Payette Rivers in southwestern Idaho. Payette grew slowly in the 1870s from one combined store and post office building to a small village featuring a distillery, hotel, blacksmith, meat market, stores, and a saloon. Irrigation efforts in the late nineteenth century allowed Payette to bloom into an agricultural community. Starting with prunes, Payette farmers expanded their offerings to apples, potatoes, onions, wheat, oats, barley, corn, and alfalfa. The town was served by two railroads; the Payette Valley Branch offered passenger service up to the Payette Lakes and the main line of the Oregon Short Line offered passenger and freight service. The town was incorporated in 1891.

The Payette Enterprise was established in 1909 as the successor to the Payette Valley Enterprise. It was edited and published by T.J. Brown and owned by Brown and Will Wells. The Enterprise published weekly on Thursdays with six pages and seven columns. It focused on news of the Payette Valley, including Fruitland, Little Willow Creek, New Plymouth, Letha, Irrigation District 06, Washoe, North Payette, the Oregon Slope, and the lower Payette Valley. News from Fruitland could sometimes be found in columns titled "Busy Fruitland Items" or "Fruitland Department." Church news, "YMCA Notes," news from the local high school, classified advertisements, and legal notices were also regularly published by the Enterprise. The "Personal and Local Mention" column highlighted local social news. The paper covered important local and regional events—like the formation and administration of Payette County—in addition to state and national events.

The Enterprise advertised itself as a member of the Western Idaho Press Association and self-identified as a Republican publication. From 1909–1915, it ran each issue with the phrase "the man who thinks to please the world, is dullest of his kind. For let him face which way he will, one half is yet behind," under the colophon. In 1915, Will Wells was listed as owner and publisher of the Enterprise, with L.E. Merritt acting as editor. Editorial staff changed again in 1916 with Burt Venable editing and managing the paper. Wells took over as editor in 1917.

The Enterprise merged with the Payette Independent in 1936, creating the Payette Independent-Enterprise.

Provided by: Idaho State Historical Society