Occasionally while doing research for clients, we come across interesting people. Here is one such person that had a huge impact on the development of early Boise.

In the summer of 1864, Confederate General Robert E. Lee put in motion a plan to move 15,000 of his soldiers through the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and into Maryland where they could mass for an attack on Washington D.C. On July 9th, the Rebels approached the Monocacy River where they met Union Forces numbering only around 6,600, including Company K of the 10th Vermont Volunteer Infantry. Barely 18 years old, Private Judson Spofford of Company K distinguished himself on the field. His company commander later wrote of him, “…he there put in a day’s work for our government of which any man might be proud, if pride is allowable. He was a good marksman and had the range of a well of water near a house in the rebel lines in my front. The enemy were obliged to keep away from that spot all day.” Despite the hard fighting Private Spofford and his fellow troops engaged in that day, the Union army was forced to retreat. While The Battle of Monancy is counted as a Union defeat, it stalled Confederate forces just long enough for General Grant to move enough troops to mount a proper defense of the nation’s capital.

Spofford was only 16 years old when President Lincoln put out the call for 75,000 volunteers to join the Union Army after Fort Sumter was attacked in 1861. Spofford enlisted and was placed into service for his country. Despite the legal voting age being 21 at the time, Spofford voted for Lincoln during his reelection campaign, a point of pride for Spofford. His commanding officer knew Spofford illegally voted, but felt that any man who had already put his life on the line for his nation should have the right to vote. Spofford would also claim he had spoken directly with President Lincoln during the war.

Private Spofford and the 10th Vermont fought in many important battles, including the Battle of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, Gettysburg, and at the sieges of Richmond and Petersburg. Spofford was injured at Cold Harbor and again at Cedar Creek, but was able to return to the front lines both times. At Fort Fisher, Virginia, he received his third wound when a mini ball, a bullet fired from a musket, entered the right side of his chest, passed through his lungs, and lodged just below the skin on the left side of his chest. Spofford was taken to the field hospital where he was triaged with the other wounded. A surgeon took one look at Spofford and moved on to another patient, essentially condemning Spofford to death. When all the other wounded were taken care of, Spofford, completely covered in his own blood and in danger of freezing to death, asked if he would be treated. The surgeon tried to explain to Spofford that he would die, and that surgery was pointless. Spofford was defiant, telling the surgeon that he would not die, and asked to be brought inside. The surgeon relented and performed surgery to remove the bullet. Spofford survived the mortal wound, but it caused him issues for the rest of his life. He was reported to have kept the bullet that almost killed him in his possession for the remainder of his life.

Spofford was shipped back to Vermont to recover from his wound while the rest of the 10th Vermont ended up at Appomattox Courthouse where they witnessed General Lee surrender his army, the Army of Northern Virginia, an event that led to the end of the Civil War. After his military life ended, Spofford moved to West Virginia where he would live for 16 years, becoming active in the Republican party and helping nominate James A. Garfield for President. He also gained railroad experience, helping to build the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. President Garfield would later return the favor by appointing Spofford as Huntington’s postmaster, a role he served in for four years until his old Civil War wound forced him to resign. Thinking the air out west might help him breathe easier, Spofford set his sights on the burgeoning town of Boise City, Idaho in 1885.

Spofford purchased a farm in South Boise and filed for a homestead on the land in 1897. His land claim was 160 acres, just west of where Federal Way passes above Broadway Avenue today. He raised Ayrshire cattle to sell at market and made fine butter that the Idaho Statesman raved about. He also worked for the Statesman for a time, traveling throughout the valley and up to the Boise Basin to collect subscriptions for the newspaper. For the rest of his life, Spofford would do everything he could to promote the value of Idaho’s farms and minerals to people in other states, including having pamphlets printed to send to citizens of the Eastern states.

Spofford’s greatest contributions to the Boise Valley came as a result of several business ventures. In September of 1890, Spofford, along with business partner Wade Hard, filed to incorporate the Denver and Idaho Land Company. The D&ILC was responsible for many early subdivisions in Boise, including the Broadway, Dundee, and Veazey Park additions, as well as land deals recorded by the company until 1912. Also in 1890, the Boise Rapid Transit Company was formed and Spofford was named as secretary. The BRTC developed the electric trolley system in the Boise Valley, which eventually became part of the famous Interurban. Spofford’s efforts helped lead to the opening of Broadway Avenue and the construction of the Broadway Bridge. He was also instrumental in building a hydroelectric power plant at Horseshoe Bend; completed in 1910 it became an early source of electricity for Boise and its eclectic trolleys.

Spofford was very active in the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization dedicated to serving veterans of the Civil War. He held several national leadership roles in the organization where he was dedicated to the welfare of his fellow vets. In the 1890s, the G.A.R. led a campaign to have a soldier’s home built in Idaho to help take care of veterans that could no-longer take care of themselves. In 1893, the matter was brought to the state legislature which drafted bills to request $10,000 from the U.S. Congress to build a soldier’s home. After all the usual drafting, debating, and revisions, and with Spofford’s anxious encouragement, Governor McConnell signed the bill, and cities around the state began competing for the honor of having the home placed in their jurisdiction. It came down to Boise and Moscow, the two towns raced to raise subscription funds to purchase a suitable tract of land to place the home on. Boise won out, and plans were drawn up and building contracts awarded.

In 1913, “Colonel” Spofford moved from his home at 704 West Franklin Street in Boise, to the Soldier’s Home he lobbied to have built, and in 1935 he became the last Civil War veteran to reside there. In 1936, he traveled to Washington D.C. where he was touted as the last living survivor of the Battle of Monocacy and celebrated for his role in the defense of that city. On September 11, 1937, Judson Spofford passed away at the Soldier’s Home at 91-years-old, leaving only 29 Civil War veterans alive in Idaho. His body was shipped back to Washington D.C. to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery among his fellow Civil War vets.

The impact that Judson Spofford had on our nation, our state, and the City of Boise is remarkable. His desire to serve, and willingness to do what was necessary to accomplish his goals are inspiring. He just didn’t talk about it, he was about it.

History of Idaho: The Gem of the Mountains Vol. 2 by James H. Hawley Idaho Statesman September 18, 1890 August 14, 1890 September 12, 1937 May 24, 1936

Residing in Salem, Vermont at the time of enlistment. Enlisted on July 22, 1862 as a Private in the 10th Vermont Infantry, Company K. Wounded on March 25, 1865 at Petersburg, Virginia. Muster out on June 30, 1865.

(Published in History of Idaho: The Gem of the Mountains Vol. 2 by James H. Hawley 1920)

Colonel Judson Spofford, who has resided in Boise for more than thirty-five years, is well known not only in the capital and in Ada county but throughout the state. During the past third of a century there has perhaps been no one in Idaho who has been a more consistent supporter of the Gem state than he. While a veteran of the Civil war, having served from 1862 until 1865 before reaching the age of twenty years, it was not his service at that time that won for him the title by which he is now widely known but his service on the staff of one of the governors of West Virginia.

Colonel Spofford was born in Salem, now Derby, Orleans county, Vermont, March 10, 1846, a son of Luke and Laura (Wood) Spofford, both of whom were natives of the Green Mountain state and representatives of old New England families connected with the Revolutionary war. The Spofford family traces its ancestral line back to John Spofford, who came from England while this country was still numbered among the colonial possessions of Great Britain. John Spofford and his wife, Elizabeth (Scott) Spofford, came from Yorkshire in 1638 and took up their abode at Rowley, Essex county, Massachusetts, this fact being cited in a history of the Spofford and Spafford families in America, prepared by Dr. Jeremiah Spofford, of Groveland, Massachusetts. The great-grandfather of Colonel Spofford of this review, Eleazer Spofford, served as a quartermaster In the Fifth Massachusetts Regiment of Militia in the war for independence. The maternal grandfather, Uriah Wood, was a soldier of the War of 1812. The great-great-grandfather, John Spofford, who was the father of Eleazer Spofford, won the rank of colonel in the Revolutionary war. Ainsworth R. Spofford, a second cousin of Colonel Spofford, served as librarian of congress for many years and was an author of note. The father of Colonel Spofford was a machinist by trade, devoting his life to that occupation and remaining a resident of Vermont until called to his final rest.

Colonel Spofford was reared upon a Vermont farm, which had the usual sugar camp upon it, and during his youth he labored many a day and night in the camp, assisting in gathering and boiling the sap. He was but sixteen years of age when he responded to the country’s call for troops, enlisting in the Union army, with which he served from 1862 until 1865. He went to the front with Company K of the Tenth Vermont Infantry after enlisting on the 22d of July, 1862, and he participated in all of the battles, campaigns, and hardships experienced by the regiment until severely wounded in the attack upon Petersburg, Virginia, March 25, 1865. His old captain, writing of him, said: “He was one of the youngest men in the regiment who carried a gun. Company K was in close proximity to my own company considerable of the time, and I was temporarily in command of Company K awhile. We often met on picket details, and I early made his acquaintance and became attached to him as a clean, modest, polite, obedient and brave soldier, such as any officer is proud of. * * * At the battle of Monocacy he was in my detail of seventy-five men, and he there put in a day’s work for our government of which any man might be proud, if pride is allowable. He was a good marksman and had the range of a well of water near a house in the rebel lines in my front. The enemy were obliged to keep away from that spot all day. He was one of the very last men to cross the railroad bridge with me, about five o’clock, when we finally retreated, with the enemy so close to us that it seemed no one could escape. But for his extreme youth, he would have received rapid promotion for the excellent qualities he possessed. When he was wounded March 25, 1865, about four o’clock in the afternoon, he was taken back to the division hospital and a surgeon glanced at his wound, pronounced him mortally wounded and left him outside the hospital, on the ground, to die. It was a cold night: the blood flowed profusely and his clothing and boots were stiff with it After all the others were attended to, he saw they did not intend apparently to do anything for him. He asked someone passing if they were not going to take him in and attend to his case. The surgeon said he could do nothing for him, as he must die. ‘I will not die. Can’t yon take me inside the hospital? Is it necessary for me to freeze to death out here?’ So they took him inside, washed away the blood, removed the clotted clothing and examined the wound. A minnie ball had entered his right side, under his arm, gone through his body, penetrating both right and left lungs, and was just under the skin under the left arm. The surgeon cut the skin, removed the bullet and intended to keep it as a relic. Judson told the surgeon if he wanted relics, there were plenty more up on the line where he found that one, and he could go there and get all he wanted, but he could not have that one. Mr. Spofford has it yet. With good care, good habits and a strong constitution, he recovered somewhat and now is a fine looking specimen of manhood, over six feet high.”

When his military service was ended Colonel Spofford returned to Vermont but in 1868 removed to West Virginia and for sixteen years resided in that state, chiefly at Huntington, where for several years he filled the office of postmaster, finally resigning
in 1884. He was a prominent figure in political circles in West Virginia and for twelve years served as a member of the republican state central committee and did much to turn the state from the solid democratic column to the republican column. He was also a delegate to the national convention which nominated Garfield and Arthur in 1880 and it was President Garfield who appointed him postmaster of Huntington. in which capacity he served for nearly four years, when he resigned on account of ill health occasioned by the consequences of the wound which he had sustained
during the Civil war.

Thinking that a change of climate might prove beneficial, Mr. Spofford then came to Boise, and while his business experience in West Virginia had been that of an engineer on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, he turned his attention to mining and agricultural pursuits after coming to the northwest. He first bought a farm and a small herd of Ayrshire cattle and engaged in the raising of thoroughbred stock and in making butter for the market. It was Colonel Spofford who put in the first machinery in the Boise valley to make high grade butter. Later he took an option on the Paine ranch of three hundred and twenty acres, formed a company of Colorado people and platted and put upon the market the Dundee additions to Boise. He was likewise instrumental in securing the opening up of Broadway avenue and the building of the Broadway bridge on a plan that provided for a street car track through
the center of it. He afterward obtained an option on the old Methodist ditch below Caldwell and organized the company that built the Riverside canal, which irrigates all of the fine country around Riverside. He was likewise one of the originators of the old Boise Rapid Transit Company that built the first street car line, extending from the Natatorium down Warm Springs avenue and Main street to Thirteenth and Idaho streets, and served for a number of years as director and secretary of the company. He then promoted and was chiefly instrumental in building the Boise-Payette electric power plant on the Payette river below Horseshoe Bend, with a power transmission line from the power plant to the Pearl mining camp and a power line from the plant to Boise. It is this line that furnishes much of the light and power for the capital city. He next went to Lewiston and organized a company to build the Lewiston & Southeastern Electric Railway. The line was to start at Lewiston, extend up snake river, up Tammany Hollow, by Lake Waha, Forest, West Lake, Cottonwood and Denver to Grangeville, with a branch line from West Lake through Ho and Dublin to Nez Perce city. This line was laid out and partially built through the center of Mason prairie, Camas and Nez Perce prairies. The operation of this electric
line would take an immense amount of business from the Northern Pacific Railroad, so that corporation entered into a combination with the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company and built a line from Culdesac to Grangeville, which made it impossible to finance and build the electric line, which would have served that whole country far better than the steam line ever can. Colonel Spofford also owns an interest in the Combination mine at Profile, Idaho, which old Coeur d’Alene miners say will make another Hercules mine. Colonel Spofford is now manager of one of the best farms in the vicinity of Boise, it being the property of Ex-United States Senator Nathan Goff, of West Virginia. In addition to the management of this farm he holds considerable mining interests and is now the owner of a three-fourths interest in what is known as the Combination mine in Valley county, rich in gold, silver, lead and copper and promising large returns.

Colonel Spofford was married in Brownington, Vermont, on the 23d of September, 1868, to Miss Nellie F. Goodall and to them have been born three children, two of whom are yet living, a son and a daughter, while one daughter is deceased. The son, Lyman Henry Spofford, is married and has two daughters. He is a resident of Boise. Edith Evangeline Spofford became the wife of Douglas W. Ross, at one time state engineer of Idaho and a resident of Boise. He is now employed in the United States reclamation service as consulting engineer and resides in Berkeley, California. Mrs. ROBS passed away August 18, 1904, leaving two daughters who have reached young womanhood. The youngest child of Colonel Spofford is Inez Virginia Spofford, who after the death of her sister, Edith Evangeline, became the second wife of Douglas W. Ross and is with him in Berkeley, California. By this marriage there have been born three sons.

In politics Colonel Spofford has always been a stalwart supporter of the republican party since casting his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864. Since coming to Idaho, however, he has taken no active part in politics save to serve as a member of the republican county central committee, in which position he is now found. He is a past department commander of the Grand Army of the Rupublic in Idaho and is a valued representative of the Sons of the American Revolution. Fraternally he is a Knight Templar Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine. His life has been one of intense activity, characterized by the utmost devotion to his country and her welfare. In Boise he has done much to further public progress and the attractiveness of the city is due in no small measure to his efforts, for many of its beautiful shade trees maples, black walnuts and elms have grown from seeds planted by Colonel Spofford in his garden at his home at the corner of Franklin and Seventh streets. When the trees grew to be the size of buggy whips he transplanted them along the streets of Boise and some of them are now twenty-four inches in circumference and add greatly to the beauty of the city. The activities of Colonel Spofford have been of a most valuable and resultant character since he first offered his services to the government at the age of sixteen years. Whether in days of peace or days of war he has been the same loyal citizen, unfaltering in his allegiance to his country and her high standards. His progressiveness has been manifest in many tangible ways and his cooperation has been a tangible asset in the advancement and upbuilding of community, commonwealth and country.