Conant
Creek Crossing has a rich historical background. The camp site is
located down water from the famed Camp Henry and is on an old buffalo
trail that the indians used. See for yourself by reading these excerpts
from the novel "The Virginin" and "Major Andrew Henry
in Idaho."
The
Henry Rocks
Discovered in 1917 by Hazen Hawkes, Conant Creek Crossings owner
Gene Hawkes father. He found the rock that bears the name of early
area explorers and the date 1810 only a few miles upstream from our
campsite.
The rock is on loan from the Hawkes family
to the Bonneville Historical Society and can be seen at the
Museum of Idaho
200 North Eastern Avenue
Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Quotes and exerpts from literature
"Men and horses, laden, making their way along the winding fork of the snake that now bears Henry’s name, came upon an open plain. They could see the Teton Range to the southeast and the upper Snake River Valley spreading out to the southwest."
“Major Andrew Henry in Idaho”
By Margaret Hawkes Lindsley
Page 7
"Major Andrew Henry, partner in the St. Louis Missouri Fur Company, established Camp Henry on Conant Creek, in present-day Fremont County, in September 1810. His American company was challenging the British monopoly of the western fur trade. Territorial claims were important to both countries. This could be one of the reasons the Henry party took pains to leave their mark on the four rocks found on Conant Creek. The “Camp Henry” “Sept. 1810” rock is under the shelter. The smaller “L.C.” rock is slightly to one side, beyond the shelter."
“Major Andrew Henry in Idaho”
By Margaret Hawkes Lindsley
Page 8
"It was a trail known to him, and not to many other honest men. Horse Thief Pass was the name his letter gave it."
“The Virginian”
By Owen Wister
Page 278
"Next day we swung southward from what is known to many as the Conant trail, and headed for that short cut through the Tetons which is known to but a few. Bitch Creek was the name of the stream we now followed."
“The Virginian”
By Owen Wister
Page 297
" And in the recoil of my insight the clump of cottonwoods came
into my mind, black and grim."
-could be referring to area near Chester, Idaho where horse and cattle
thief’s were hung
“The Virginian”
By Owen Wister
Page 280
Conant
Station offers a very detailed history of Andrew Henry
and the Henry Rock.
