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The president has his White House, a governor occupies his
mansion, and no less can be said for ex Mayor Seth Thomas of
Malad City, Idaho. He and his wife, Ruth, also live in a
prestigious home of historical value on Main Street in Malad
City. In fact, it is the first and only house among the
businesses on Main Street, which sets it apart and makes it
special in its own right.
Fred Peck came to the Malad Valley with his father, Henry Peck,
and two brothers, Dwight and Leonard, in 1864. The family
originally came from New York state and, when Fred was about
eight years old in approximately 1857, the family decided to
move westward. They arrived in Utah early in 1863.
Henry became partners with Judston L. Stoddard and obtained a
contract to supply hay for Ben Halliday's stage line in the
Malad area.
Malad had received its name from the early French
fur traders and trappers who drank the water from the river
during their travels throughout the valley and ,as a result,
become ill. They deemed the area, "Malade",
meaning sick or bad in the French language.
Original Townsite
In the early fall of 1863, Peck, his sons, and
Stoddard took a large band of horses to the Malad area and built
a log home from quaking aspen on the location where the old
Townhouse would someday stand, near the present location of
Malad's Masonic Lodge. He returned in the spring of 1864
to make Malad his permanent home, and he claimed most of the
land upon which Malad City now stands.
The Pecks were energetic people and did much to
bring about change and prosperity to the new settlement. Henry
built the first one-room schoolhouse adjacent to his home.
He also built the first sawmill, located on the property where
the Presbyterian Church now stands. It provided much of
the lumber for the growing community.
Henry Peck was instrumental in obtaining the Oneida
County seat for Malad City, which was previously located in Soda
Springs. In those days, Oneida County encompassed the
present counties of Bannock, Franklin, Bear Lake, Madison,
Caribou, Teton, and east portions of Fremont and Bingham
Counties, a large part of Power, and most all of Bonneville
County, an area of about 9,000 square miles. History
records that Peck himself made the trip to Soda Springs to bring
the county books back to Malad in 1866. He held the
position of probate judge for many years and was involved in
early elections and in the political organization of the new
township.
Built in 1877
Fred Peck married in 1876 and completed the
house on Main Street in 1877. By 1865, the railroad had
come as far as Corinne, Utah. It brought property to Malad
because crops and home products could be take there and shipped
to many markets.
Freighting became Fred's occupation. He ran a
freight line from Corinne to Helena, Montana for quite a few
years. He and his wife, Elizabeth, raised three children:
among them was Julia Peck, Mayor Thomas' mother. Later in
life Fred became the agent for the Indian Reservation at Fort
Hall.
Following the deaths of Fred and Elizabeth,
the home was occupied for over 35 years by Mayor Thomas' sister,
Carol, and her husband, Urcil "Muddy" Waters.
When they both died, the question arose as to who would next
take possession of the home. For years, Seth had been
living and working for the government in various capacities in
California. And when the time came for retirement, he and
Ruth decided to return to Malad. They did extensive
remodeling on the house in June of 1977, its centennial
year. Until that time, the home had been kept mostly in
its original state. Seth and Ruth did little to alter the
basic structure. But they did some lowering of ceilings,
paneling, painting, re-carpeting and flooring. The
original beautiful woodwork around the doors and windows was
left untouched.
Judging from Mayor Thomas' background, he doesn't
come by his leadership abilities accidentally. He was an
innovative mayor in Malad, taking office in 1980. He is still
genuinely concerned about the town's problems and has taken
pride in its accomplishments.
As for the handsome gray and white home on Main
Street, it has stood while many buildings when up and while many
were torn down. Today it stands as a proud testament to
the early days of Malad City.
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