"...Ella kept a six-shooter and a Bible" in the drawer of the telegraph table.
Mrs. Farmin and her husband, L.D., along with their son Earl, arrived in Sandpoint in 1892 to serve as Great Northern agent and operator. Her unpublished book reveals colorful vignettes on Sandpoint’s early history. In The Days of a Woman by Herself, Ella tells of the family’s introduction to Sandpoint after several years of working their way westward across the northern United States and Canada as railway employees. Before coming to Sandpoint, the Farmins had worked in a station in Ravalli, Mont., on the Flathead Indian Reservation.
“Instead of the Indian Reservation and Indian life, we are now in a timber country and dealing with ‘the man of the woods!’ “ she observed “...there were perhaps one hundred people - twenty-three saloons, and several houses of ill fame, two stores, two hotels and one restaurant.
“Strangers were seen to enter the saloons and never come out,” she added. “It was supposed they were ‘rolled’ for their money and their bodies thrown in the lake or in empty passing boxcars.”
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Ella and her husband shared duties at the Great Northern Depot on Baldy Roads. She worked days, while he took the night shift. When she first started her telegraph duties, Ella walked a mile and a half through the woods. Later, L.D. bought her a pony and a side saddle so she could avoid walking through knee-deep mud in the spring. On her trip to work, she dealt with a mentally ill man who would salute her by placing his gun on the ground and standing at attention as she passed by.
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At the depot, Ella kept a six-shooter and a Bible in the drawer of the telegraph table. On one occasion, the feisty, outspoken lady, who seldom heard a swear word directed her way, sent three cursing tramps out the depot door, locking them out until her son came to help.
Together, the Farmins were responsible for laying out the town of Sandpoint (formerly known as Pend d’Oreille) in its present location on the west side of Sand Creek. They remain among the most prominent of Sandpoint’s early settlers because of the contributions to the development of the community, its first school and first church.
- Marianne Love
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Our handcrafted leather products are made with Ella M. in mind. She was a true pioneering woman, who came west with a brave spirit, determined to thrive in a tough environment. Leaving her home to explore and settle in the vast wilderness of Idaho took real courage. Pioneering women were built to last, just like our leather products. We work hard to make quality products that will stand the test of time. We are committed to honoring the memory of a woman who worked even harder to make everyday life a little better for her community.
We think Ella M. would smile and approve.- Terri Farmin Cochran
