Director

Melba's local Blacksmith shop was owned and operated by Vance Leavitt for more than 20 years. He was a pillar of the community. He not only ran his own business but was involved in his local LDS church and the Melba Schools.Vance's roots are deep within the valley. He was a teenager when the family moved to Bowmont with his two siblings Caroline (Maybon) and Omera (Brown). They moved to Bowmont from Nevada in 1943.Vance married Jean Taylor, from England. He farmed with his father Albert for a time, while learning the Blacksmith trade. He accomplished this by working with forge and anvil alongside Vaughn Howard and Freman Gowen, both of Bowmont. Vance was well known for welding aluminum pipes with a portable welder for farmers in the Dry Lake area.Vance and Jean had a small house on the corner of Baseline and Potato lane. There they raised 6 children, all who attended Melba Schools.

Located on the corner of 4th Street and Randolph is the site of the Blacksmith shop. Before it was a Blacksmith shop it was also a garage to repair automobiles, and a restaurant. It is best known for the Blacksmith shop owned and operated by Vance Leavitt.  Vance worked in the shop for more than 20 years.

Melba Blacksmith Shop

The building that is now the Museum was originally a hotel/boardinghouse built in 1919 and operated by the Gardner family. Mary Gardner and her daughter, Iva Sturm, were responsible for day-to-day operation of the hotel.  There was a dining room and kitchen on the first floor, and rooms upstairs.  They were so busy in those years that you can see where they built an addition to make a total of 15 bedrooms. In the 1920s there was a building boom in the area and the guys who were working on the ditches, canals and building the roads needed places to stay. The Gardners gave them that place to stay.In January, 2024, the Melba Valley Museum building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The NRHP recognizes buildings and structures for their historic value, in this case for the building’s importance to Melba history as one of the oldest extant buildings in the community. Built in 1919 as the Gardner Hotel, the building is most-closely associated with the International Order of Oddfellows (IOOF) and its allied women’s organization – Rebekahs – who occupied the structure for nearly 70 years before donating it to the Melba Valley Historical Society in 2013 for use as a local history museum.

Melba was established back in 1912. The Todd family purchased 160 acres of land and was instrumental in the development of the valley. The name of the town came from the Todd's daughter - Melba. To learn more about Melba, the Gardner hotel and several other historical points of interest, stop by the Melba Valley Museum. The museum is open May through October on Saturdays from 11 to 3.

Buck Pfister bought an old converted boxcar from Earl Standage to start the tavern that he would call the Palace Bar &amp; Grill. From here plans were made, gossip was generated and crucial decisions were bandied. A card game was in progress most mornings by the elders who were retired from their chores or resting. It was a bane to some of the wives, but they always knew where to find their husbands.In about 1950 Buck built the cinderblock building that still stands. It has been remodeled by subsequent owners and at one time held a laundromat. Had many names through the years.Russell Gant's grandmother had a restaurant in Melba on the east side of Broadway and his uncle Buck owned the Palace Bar. Rusty is the son of Vernon Gant and Joyce Hetrick. Joyce's sister Ann was married to Buck Pfister. Rusty ended up buying the bar after it had been empty for a short period of time.As of 2022, Rusty still owns Buck's. It is now known as Buck's Saloon and Steakhouse.

Buck's Palace Bar is built on the site of the first water well in Melba. H.V. "Buck" Pfister built the bar in 1946. Buck's Tavern was a favorite hangout for many of the guys in town, farmers and otherwise, and it would be a point of geographic reference for more than 40 years.

Buck's Palace Bar - Melba

Col. J. N. Conyers built the very first store in Melba, just east of the railroad tracks in 1913. He built it so close to the tracks that he was required to move it another 50 feet. He managed the store for a while; then in 1915 he sold it to John Sanford, who conducted business for two years. Then, in 1917, he sold it to McLain Mercantile Co. of Nampa who built a fine two-story building in front. John Gray ran it and it became a flourishing business.The Conyer's building also had the first Post Office located in the market. In 1919, Ross Pettijohn was the bookkeeper at the McLain hardware store. With the election of Republican President Warren G. Harding, on February 20, 1922, Ross Pettijohn was appointed Postmaster of Melba for a four-year term. Then again, with the presidential change, Ross was re-appointed on the 16th day of March, 1926.In 1978 Bob Proesch bought the building. It still sat empty for a time while he cleaned it all up and began renovation. He transformed it back into a good grocery store and had a grand opening on January 15, 1985. He called it Broadway Market. A few years later, Bob sold the business to his nephew, Mike Thompson who operated it for another 5 years. When Mike built a new store on 4th street, the old building was sold to Double D which has occupied since.

The Conyer's store was originally built in 1913. Later it was turned into a hardware store owned by Mr. McLain. The building has been owned by many folks over the years. Bob Proesch owned the building and ran a grocery store called Broadway Market. After the Broadway Market moved, Double D Feed and Seed bought the building.

Melba Conyer's Store

Ed and Glyda Webb's drug store business grew and they needed to expand. They built the new drug store next door and began moving into it on a Sunday. Ed dispensed drugs and Glyda dispensed sandwiches and goodies from the soda fountain. Saturday night everybody came to town and parked on Broadway. The folks went to the grocery store and the kids all went to the drug store. The drug store was the watering hole for all of the teenagers. People remember the juke box vibrating while they danced the jitterbug.Ed was a man that everyone would go to for advice or assistance of one kind or another. People remember times when he had given them shots or bandaged a cut, or swabbed a sore throat or gave a word of advice, or saved a life through his quick thinking.Ed Webb was a pillar of the little community for many years. He is remembered fondly by those who knew him.

In 1941, Edmond Ed Webb built the drug store on 305 Broadway. Herschel Cummins had had a drug store in Melba previously. In May of 1936, Ed and Glyda, with their two children, Judy and Ted, partitioned off the old store building down town and moved into the back. Fixed shelves in the front and went into business.

Melba Ed Webb's Drug Store

The co-op building was several things. It was a machine shop and garage when Art Montgomery and Tex Smith had it. Shorty Robinson had a tire shop there. Cummings had a drug store. And in the fall when the farmers where finished they had their harvest festival. There would be a display from Glendale School, and there would be a display from Melmont and a display from Melba. They would bring all their produce and everything and to show them.Around the mid 30's, Art Montgomery and Tex (Dee) Smith made a garage out of the big co-op building and put in an oil company. Added gas pumps. They put in a beer joint and restaurant. It lasted awhile until it was discovered they were cheating on the income. Then the restaurant was closed. It wasn’t very long before Ed and Glyda Webb came to town and opened their drug store down the street. Art and his wife Inez moved a trailer on the north side of the garage and lived in it. Art, his brother Cecil and brother-in-law Sidney Waterhouse built an apartment over the garage. Along with a set of stairs so they could live there. Art repaired trucks and worked to haul potatoes to make ends meet.

Melba Co-op Building was built in 1918. The co-op was placed on Broadway street and considered main street in Melba. It was a place for people to bring their produce to sell to other folks. It was a drug store, garage and restaurant through the years. On Saturday nights in the mid 20's this street was very busy with people coming into town to buy groceries and catch up on the latest gossip.

Melba Co-op Building

Cook's Two Hole bar has been in place since 1977. Prior to that it was a restaurant owned by several different folks over the years. From mid 1954 until late 1968, it was the 4th post office. This building has been known as the Fred Barr building.When the post office went in during 1954, friends and neighbors gathered together to put a flag pole in place. And again in 1969, when the 5th and current post office went in, friends and neighbors came out to help with the flag pole.Cook's seems to be a gathering place for many. It is owned by our beloved friend Lee Cook. He is also the brother to our famous Melba historian Madge Cook Wylie. There are many activities that are offered at Cook's. Starting with Pool and Golf Tournaments, Fishing Derby's and the famous fun bus to Winnemucca.

Cook's Two Hole Bar is located in the building that was Melba's 4th post office. In 1957, the post office moved to Fred Barr's building. The third post office was located across the street in a building that is no longer there. Mrs. Bessie Todd was named Postmaster at that time.

Melba Cook's Two Hole Bar 

The Glendale school district was started in 1914 as it was the area first settled on this side of the river. It was an area opened to homesteading in 1909.The first term of school began in September 1913 in the homestead shack of Robert McDonough, with Miss Nettie Hamilton Mills as the first teacher. It was a result of a petition of a man named Amos Lewellen and other presented on July 25 of that year.The district was organized and officially designate on April 20, 1914. The first half of the brick building was constructed and completed in the fall of 1915 on ground donated by Mr. McDonough and Mr. Reineke, one acre each. The building consisted of two rooms with nine or ten pupils in attendance the first year.Sometimes, if there were not enough eligible, five-year-old’s were sought after to fill the quota. Melba Todd, the daughter of the founder of Melba started school at the age of five. According to a taped interview with her, she said Miss Eva Duffes, the first teacher for Melba Grade School boarded with the Powells, south of the rim, and walked to school each day past the Todd place. (Across the railroad track from Conyers Store, the backside of Broadway market). Mrs. Todd asked Miss Duffes if Melba could go to school. Miss Duffes told her that she could go the next day, and if she could stand up to the rigor, she could continue. She did and Melba started in the one-room school in the fall of 1914.In 1915 the northwest room was built complete with entry way and bell tower. A year later the southwest room was added. In 1919 the other two rooms were added and by 1921 there were 120 to 130 enrolled in the school.Wartime in the forties took its toll on the attendance. Many people moved away to work in defense plants. Shortages of gasoline and goods made it tight situation for the operation of schools. Personnel were hard to attract to one, two or four room country schools. In 1947 the legislature started talking consolidation and in 1949, districts were ordered to consolidate. Glendale and Melba went together in 1950. Glendale was used for the four lower grades and Melba Grade School held the fifth through eighth grades. Soon after, Melmont joined in the consolidation, along with Wilson District #9 from Owhyee County. Several other schools were annexed into the Melba district including Bowmont.In July of 1960, a portion of Owyhee County Districk #362, Murphy, joined Melba and in August of 1963 the remainder of Murphy was annexed. That included Silver City, Guffey, and Sinker Creek. The Melba District now is comprised of nearly 160 square miles, one of the largest in the state.

Located across the High School in the Melba football field is original Glendale School Bell. It was in use from 1929 through 1959, beckoning children of the beginning of each school day.Glendale school was built in1915 on ground donated by Mr. McDonough and Mr. Reineke, one acre each. The building consisted of two rooms with nine or ten pupils in attendance the first year.

Glendale School Bell

This church was built in 1927 by the Methodist Community. Records showing that in 1930 the church was named Community Methodist Episcopal Church with 33 women on the roll. This congregation later moved out of Melba and became Southside Methodist Church, still a vibrant church on Southside Boulevard in Nampa. The Melba Assembly of God Church was formed in 1943 by Edna Cline and Fay Greg. They rented the Grange Hall in Melba and invited people to come. Fay preached and Edna held Sunday School. They had morning and evening services. Rev. Russell and Maybelle King came to pastor in 1944. They then moved to the vacant Methodist church at 420 Carrie Rex Ave where they paid $10 a month to rent. In 1946 Russell V Faust became pastor. Under his ministry a new parsonage was built next door and the church was purchased. The church grew and grew and in 2006, they moved to a new larger building on Hwy 45 near Melba Road. The building is currently (2022) used by the Church of Christ congregation.

Melba Methodist/Assembly of God Church

I'll bet the firemen don't know that their building replaced the grade school horse barn. John Stevenson remembered that the barn sat along Randolph in the early 20's and then was moved to Carrie Rex side of the school grounds. He said they who had horses or ponies brought baled hay and stacked it at the end of the barn. When asked how there was baled hay in the early 20's, he replied that Mr. Eischenberger had a hand baler with his feed store.Lela Watts remembered driving a pony and cart to school every day from their home in the Melmont area. She had ridden a horse for several years, but a bad back kept her from sitting atop the horse, so her dad built a cart to pull behind the horse.The Pettijohns remembered Miss McKimmey riding her horse from her homestead southeast of Melba, wearing a pair of jodhpurs, to teach first and second grades.

The current Fire Station was built in 1965. It was built in the former location of the school horse barn. The current Chief of Fire is John Engle. Deputy Chief is John Brown. Along with fire fighters, there is also an EMS team to support the community of Melba. EMS team has it's own station along 4th street in Melba.

Melba Fire Station

In 1915, Governor Moses Alexander came to help the school children plant a couple of trees in front of the schoolhouse. The Governor was a friend of C.C. Todd, the founder of the town. One of the trees still stands in front of the building. In the beginning, lunches were served by the women who ran the Gardner Hotel down the road from the school. Lunches were not served in the school until the late 40's.When the school consolidated with Glendale, Melmont and others to form District 136J in 1949 it was used for a few years for the upper four grades, while the first four grades were bused to Glendale.In the late 1950's the old grade school was sold to the Divin-Slonecker Post #126 of the American Legion. Cecil Wood, a local construction man, began reconstruction of the building with the help of Legionaires. Walls were torn out and a new hardwood floor was laid to accommodate dances and parties, as well as meetings.The Legion sponsored Little League football for several years and provided storage rooms for their uniforms. The Legion and Auxiliary sponsored Cub Scouts for many years and provided meeting rooms for them.The building has served as a community meeting place for weddings, funeral dinners, private parties as well as dances from the Legion and Auxiliary for many years.

The American Legion Hall was originally the Melba Grade School. The Melba School District was formed on April 20, 1914. The building was built immediately after the district was formed. They constructed the two rooms on the north side, along with the bell tower. By 1921 four rooms had been completed.

American Legion Hall

Melba City Hall is an important part of the local community. Melba is a small farming community, nestled in the Snake River Valley. The town is surrounded by vast agricultural lands growing a diverse variety of crops which include potatoes, beans, sugar beets, onions, corn and grain.

The Melba City Hall was converted from the original Fire Station that was built back in 1962. You can see from the look of the building that it was once a fire station. The current Mayor for Melba in 2022 is Cory Dickard. Melba has been referred to as the "Seed Heart of America." This reference is due to the diversity of crops raised in the valley.

Melba City Hall

The Tower Theater was a working theatre beginning in 1946. People would attend the theatre to watch the newest movie releases. In the mid 1960's and 1970's, locals would gather at the theatre to visit Santa Claus and watch a Christmas movie. Santa would hand out bags of candy and oranges to the children. There were several different local men who dressed as Santa. Robert Merrick, George Kirkland are ones that come to mind. The Tower Theatre was also a way for local business to advertise. One of pictures below shows you the adds that ran years ago. "Free!... 11 Beautiful Gifts. Prizes to be given away each Wednesday evening about 9 p.m. You must be present to win."

The Tower Theatre was built in 1946 by George Lindholm. It was purchased by Walters Butte Grange in 1957. As of 2022 it is owned by the Melba Friends Church. It is used for local events, church functions and other community needs. Some families rent it out for reunions during the holidays.

Melba Valley Tower Theatre

There were several Post Offices in Melba since the early 20's. Mr. Pettijohn became postmaster in about 1924. He built his own little building. The building was divided into two parts where Mr. Pettijohn resided in one side and the Post Office was on the other side. Another building was built next to it, that was a restaurant. Eventually they put the two buildings together. It was a barber shop for a while as well as a restaurant. Mr. Pettijohn was postmaster for 12 years. Then in 1932 the Democrats took charge, and they appointed a postmaster instead of applying for the job, it became civil service. Mrs. Todd became the postmaster. She served as postmaster for 20 years. Other Postmasters were Clark Wylie, Charlotte Nelson and Rosie Peck.

This is the fifth Post Office building in Melba since 1912. This post office was built in 1969 with Clark Wylie as it's first postmaster that year. It had several locations throughout the years. This post office is a great addition to the community as many small post offices have closed. Postmasters from 1924 thru 1995 were Mr. Pettijohn, Mrs. Todd, Clark Wylie, Charlotte Nelson and Rosie Peck.

Melba Post Office

L.G. Swarthout &amp; SonLetitia Swarthout ran the store, which had electrical, sporting goods, and gun smithing.Claude Swarthout was an electrician helper.Loyd Swarthout was an oiler in Swan Falls and worked for Idaho Power for 22 plus years in the service department. When he retired from Idaho Power in 1946 he started his own business.When TV came in, Newkirk purchased the appliance business and the building. Loyd continued to gun smith from his shop on the farm.There was a TV in the front window of the store and people would come up and watch it. At this time, TV's were very new and many of the Melba folks could not afford their own. Later this building was a variety store that sold many essentials, including clothing for the family.

In 1946, the Swarthout family built the Westinghouse store and gun shop. Later, it was bought by Mary Kimery and turned into a variety store. Having commerce in Melba was important. It kept the money in the small town of Melba. Folks would have to travel to Kuna or Nampa to buy their goods if they couldn't get it in Melba.

Melba Westinghouse and Gun Shop

In 1917, there were many LDS families moving into the Melba area. There were many churches such as the Nazarenes, which had their church in the schoolhouse. The LDS followers went to their meetings a couple of times and enjoyed it. There were a lot of nice people in Melba at that time – people from everywhere. They wanted to find somebody of their faith, and one day several folks heard about a Mr. Fowler who held a religious service every Sunday at the Glendale schoolhouse. The church had a class, and they asked and answered questions like most churches do. Mr. Hyrum Bramsted answered some of the questions in the way he believed, and another man named Mr. Eberhard was there and when church was over he came up and introduced himself and said, “What church do you belong to?” and Mr. Bramsted said “Well I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more commonly called Mormons.” Mr. Eberhard replied, “I knew it. I knew it by the way you answered their questions.” So they invited the Bransted family down to their home for dinner. There were two other families, Sister Zeyer and Sister Herth. The four families got to talking that day, and wondered if there was some way possible they could hold Sunday School out here in Melba, so Mr. Bramsted went to Boise to get permission from the Stake Presidency and they started holding Sunday school. One Sunday, we had it in one of the homes in Melba, and the next Sunday at one of the homes in Glendale district. It got so the homes weren’t large enough to hold the people, so we used the schoolhouse too. Then that became a little bit crowded. Shortly after that is when Mr. Bramsted heard about Mr. Fuller wanting to sell the dance hall. The dance hall was purchased and became the 1st LDS Church of Melba.

The original LDS Church was located on the corner of Carrie Rex and 3rd Street. It was a dance hall owned by Mr. Fuller. In 1920, Mr. Fuller wanted to sell the dance hall. It was partitioned off and rooms fixed up so that they could hold Sunday School and Church there. That was the LDS church building until 1953, when present building on Randolph was built.

Melba LDS Church

The Melba Friends church is one of the younger churches in Melba. It has only being around a little more than 100 years as compared to some of the other churches that have been in Melba for about 106 years. The Friends church also owns the Tower Theater in Melba. This offers its church members many options to hold events for the church or the community. The church is active with many of the town celebrations including the 4th of July parade. Several years in a row it has participated with creating floats and the passing out candy to children along the parade route.

The Melba Friends Church was first built in the 1920's. It is located on the corner of Randolph and 3rd street, directly behind the Melba Valley Museum. The current view is not the original building. The building has been remodeled several times and burned down in the mid 70's.

Melba Friends Church

The Melba Community Baptist Church was one of the original buildings in the Town. Here is an excerpt from a local paper back in the early 1900's."New Baptist Pastor. W.B Hopper, of Wilson, has accepted a call to fill the pulpit of the Baptist Church of Melba, beginning last Sunday. He has moved in from Wilson with his family, who are at present occupying the rooms in the church building. They will move into the Todd house on Randolph street as soon as additions and repairs can be made."The church has changed its appearance many times over the years. Taking pride in the street view of the church. This church has served this community for 106 years.

The Baptist Church was first established in 1916. It was built on land that was donated by Clay C. Todd the founder of Melba. This church is located on the corner of Randolph and 4th street. For many years this church has been attended by the local folks of Melba

Melba Community Baptist Church

Here is an excerpt from Madge Wylie's Centennial scrapbook of Melba.First Melba Church - A little house in Melba served as the first St. Joseph's Church. Historians report that the little church was drafty and the mice sometimes at the candles. The present church was built in 1963 with help from a Catholic Church Extension Society grant. In the more recent years, this church has had to add to it's parking lot. It's attendance has grown over the many years. People originally from Melba, will often travel to this small church for more of an intimate service. There have been many weddings performed here over the 106 years.

The St. Joseph's Catholic Church of Melba was established in 1916. It was originally St. Joseph's Mission. The church is located north of the town very close to the school. It has a sister parish and school in Nampa. This church has served the Melba community for 106 years. See the website for more information.

Melba Valley Museum

Melba Blacksmith Shop

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources