HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ - Warrick panel 11419The Harry and Cora Warrick Farm
In 1915 Harry and Cora Warrick moved from Kansas
to Ada County where they rented a farm for several
years. In 1919 they purchased a 20-acre farm from
George and May McKinnis and made their home in
Hillsdale Precinct southeast of Meridian. Hillsdale
was named for
Angus Hill, who
homesteaded a 160-
acre farm not far
from here.
The Warricks lived
on the farm with
their two children,
Alma and Paul.
Each year the
family planted
a big garden,
providing plenty
of fresh vegetables and a variety of berries. They
also maintained an orchard with cherry, apple,
and peach trees. Along with his own 20–acre
farm, Harry Warrick
lose your eyes and take a deep breath. Can you
smell fresh hay, manure, or hear the mooing of
cows? This place was once the site of a large farm
where grain and alfalfa hay, clover seed, and livestock
were raised.
Look behind you. That is Ten Mile Creek, an important
seasonal irrigation waterway for farms throughout
Ada County.
Irrigation: making the desert bloom
Mining brought the first wave of settlement to Ada
County as farmers began growing crops to supply
miners in the Idaho City area. They settled near the
Boise River and simply dug ditches to bring water
from the river onto
their semi-desert
lands. As more people
arrived and settled
more farms, the
ditches were enlarged
to accommodate them.
Large-scale irrigation sparked the
development of Ada County in the late
19th and early 20th centuries. Early
privately-funded ditches and irrigation
companies gave way to federally-
supported projects, attracting settlers
from Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and other
states to the Meridian area.
rented land to grow more crops. He added more
buildings to the farm, which originally included only
a house and chicken coop.
The Warrick barn
In 1923, Harry Warrick built a barn using lumber
hauled from Stack Rock, in the mountains north of
Boise. It took all day to make a one-way
trip. The wood-framed barn housed dairy
cows on the east side, work horses on the
west side, with hay storage in the center.
Along with other chores, Harry’s son Paul
helped milk the farm’s herd of ten cows,
which was a big job as they were all milked
by hand. The milk was sold to the creamery
at Meridian.
Harry Warrick died in 1956, and eventually
the farm and the barn were sold to another
family who used the barn to milk their cows.
Over the years, as Ada County grew, houses
were built on ground once used for farming, and farm
buildings, like the old Warrick barn, disappeared.
Gone, but not forgotten, in the 21st century, the old
farms form the roots of new neighborhoods.Farmers threshing hay. Courtesy Meridian Historical Society.
Postcard view of an
irrigation ditch circa 1920.
Courtesy TAG Historical
Research & Consulting.
A group of farmers wait to load cans of milk onto railroad cars.
Courtesy Meridian Historical Society.
This photo of the Harry and Cora Warrick barn was taken before
it was torn down in 2019. Courtesy Marshall D. Wells.
The Ada County Creamery Dairymen’s Association
was located near the existing site of Meridian City
Hall. Courtesy Meridian Historical Society.