My Father Bob Blackburn (Documentary Photo #d3458) I was pissed that I wasn't allowed to just dig the fucking place up. Instead I had to wait while those bastards from the Hysterical Society putzed around. That excavation cost me a few extra thousand dollars in lost time. |
The site, at the time, was located quite literally where the
sidewalk ended; my parents chose the last lot on the paved portion of Table Rock Road. The
closest house was a block away.
When my father drove up to consider the construction, he blanched. Building had been underway for three weeks, and instead of a foundation, a series of deep holes were dug in random positions. Bob approached the foreman and asked what was going on. Apparently, the site for my parent's home had been a landfill, or, more precisely, a place where the occupants of the city of Boise, without authorization, had been dumping refuse for the past hundred or so years. The real-estate company set down a thin layer of topsoil as a cover to foil casual observation. Buyer Beware. In order to build, the site would have to be dug out down to the original soil and backfilled. Otherwise, the house would sink. The Idaho Historical Society, when the construction firm registered for permits to excavate, declared the site open to official investigation and conducted a sort of archeological dig, which set back construction for an additional six weeks. Evidence at the site: none of the original excavation remains. It's been covered. |
Idaho Historical Society Chairman Martain Stinnett (Documentary Photo #ff342): Once we discovered that this particular site would have to be excavated, we were very excited due to its historical potential. As has become clear in recent years, garbage dumps are rich in history content. Granted not much was found, but we felt the risk to expense was worth it. |
