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History of the Belle District

Isobel Hagan was born October 8, 1855 in Longford County, Ireland. She had an older sister, Maggie, and a younger sister, Mary. When she was about ten years of age, in 1865, her family immigrated to the United States and settled in San Francisco, California. Belle met William H. Dewey in San Francisco while he was there on business, and they were married there in April 1875. W. H. Dewey was in the mining business and in Silver City at the time and returned there with his new bride. He was 52; Belle was a young lass of not quite 21 years of age.

Colonel Dewey had a son, Edward, who was five years old, when he married Belle. Ed's mother had passed away when he was 3 years of age. Belle's first child, William Cornelius, known as "Con", was born in Silver City in 1884. In 1888, a daughter, Mariam, was also born in Silver City, but died in January 1889 at just six months of age. Just two years later, in July of 1891, the Deweys' third child was born. She was named Sarah Marie.

Belle's new home in Silver City was a rough and rowdy mining town in the Owyhee Mountains. One story in particular demonstrates the hardships that men and women endured during the early development of the west. The story took place during the late 1870's when Chief Buffalo Horn and his warriors headed toward the mining camps in the Owyhee Mountains. The whites quickly became alarmed and formed a "posse" from Silver City, Jordan and Pleasant Valleys, and Juniper Creek. At that time, the Dewey's had a store and had recently received a shipment of rifles and ammunition. The posse took it all and headed towards South Mountain and the Indians.

Shortly after the posse was gone, a woodcutter came running into Silver City yelling, "Indians! Indians!" Of course the women and children were scared stiff. Colonel Dewey didn't go with the posse because he was flat on his stomach. He had nineteen sores on his back after being bucked off his mule into a pile of rocks.

But something had to be done, and fast, with Indians only five miles away. So, Dewey said to his wife, Belle, "Tell Eddie to saddle a horse!" (He was taking no chances with his mule.) Painful sores and all, he left around 5:00 p.m. for the Indian camp. Belle was terrified and feared she would never see her husband again. She walked the floor all night and during those hours her hair actually turned white. (She was only about 23 years old at the time.)

Mrs. Dewey was a loyal wife and stood by her husband even during his darkest days. In August of 1884, less than two months after the Dewey's son, Con, was born, Mr. Dewey was arrested for the fatal shooting of the man named Henry Koenig, a bartender. Dewey claimed it was in self-defense. He was tried for murder, was convicted and sentenced to serve seven to eight years in the Idaho State Penitentiary for second degree murder. Dewey went to prison, but in May the following year, he was granted another trial and was acquitted. Following the trial, the Dewey's were $40,000 in debt.

Mr. Dewey immediately set out to recoup his fortune. Belle sewed thick knee pads on his trousers and for six months, he crawled around on his hands and knees searching for a vein of gold. He finally found what was to become the Empire State Mine. Within a few months the Dewey's were able to pay back their indebtedness, and in another few months, extracted nearly half a million dollars from the mine.

The Dewey's bought the town of Boonville and built the town of Dewey. In he late 1890's, the Dewey's sold their mining interests, and invested in the little town of Nampa. In 1896, Colonel Dewey purchased the mortgage note for the Nampa Townsite Company for $6,000. He became the owner of 2,000 town lots as a result of this purchase. He also built the Boise, Nampa and Owyhee Railway, which connected Nampa with the town of Murphy in Owyhee County.

Mr. and Mrs. Dewey moved to Nampa in 1900 and began building the grand and beautiful Dewey Palace Hotel at a cost of nearly $250,000. The hotel was designed after a hotel Mr. Dewey had seen in Arkansas. Instead of building a separate residence, the Dewey's decided to build an apartment inside the Hotel. They moved into the Hotel in the latter part of 1902. However, Mr. Dewey became ill and passed away in May of 1903 at the age of 79.

During the time the Dewey's were building the Dewey Palace Hotel, they also purchased another mining interest, the Thunder Mountain Mines, this time in the mountains in Central Idaho. One of the mines was named after Belle. The Dewey's also built another railroad to transport supplies and ore from their mines. The railroad was called the Idaho Northern Railroad and was built to Emmett, Idaho. Colonel Dewey's sons continued to control the majority of the business interests of the family; however, Belle managed much of the Nampa Townsite properties, arranged the building of homes, and the sale of local real estate.

A great-grandson, Mike Dewey, described Belle as tall and thin, and "quick to rap a miscreant's knuckles with her cane." She was an active member of St. Paul's Catholic Church, and assisted in many church activities. Belle liked to play bridge and belonged to a bridge club. The local Nampa paper recorded that she drove a carÑan electric runabout. Belle liked to travel. She could afford to travel and so she traveled considerably. In 1908, she and her daughter, Marie, spent a year traveling abroad in Europe.

In the few years prior to her death, she traveled to California and lived there two years because of her health. She passed away June 28, 1918 in Nampa at the age of 63. Out of respect, most of Nampa's businesses were closed during funeral hours.