By: Bob Gunter
Nestled among the houses, while waiting for a
ride on the barge to Dover from Laclede, was an
eight-room rustic building. It had been built on
the banks of the river and was to become the
summer cottage of the A. C. White family.
It was August 17,1922, and up and down the Pend
Oreille river people stood watching the
billowing smoke and flames shooting into the
sky. Something was burning over at Laclede and
by the size of the fire it could only be the A.C.
White mill. The fire totally destroyed the mill,
factory, and yards, costing in excess of
$700,000.
White had been in the area since 1909 when he
moved from Michigan to open the
mill in Laclede.
He had extensive knowledge of the lumber
business and soon saw his company grow to
include a sash and door factory, a mill, and a
planer. This meant jobs for the local residents
and they were hopeful that the mill would be
rebuilt in Laclede but that was not to be. White
decided to move the business ten miles upstream
to Dover with plans to renovate and expand the
idle Dover mill. The mill would no longer be in
Laclede and over 50 houses and a large warehouse
owned by
White would be barged upriver to the
new Dover location.
The mood of the residents of Laclede is summed
up in the words of an unknown woman. In her
diary she stated, "Well, the thunder bolt fell
on Laclede. A.C. has decided to move to Dover.
He bought the Dover Mill Plant, so I guess
Laclede is dead."
Nestled among the houses waiting for the ride on
the barge to Dover was an eight room rustic
building. It had been built on the banks of the
river and was to become the summer cottage of A.
C. White and his family.
It was after the new house had been barged
upriver and set on its foundation, that A.C.
White made another decision that influences the
area to this day. He decided the family would
not use the house for their summer cottage but
it would be used as a church. He gave it to the
people of Dover for that purpose and the
Community Baptist Church was born. The house had
to have some alterations and the people of Dover
helped pay the cost by having dinners at the
church for the whole community.
Today, on every Sunday morning, the faithful are
called to worship by the tolling of the bell in
the belfry. Members of the Dover Baptist Church
gather in the old building that got religion in
a short but historic 10-mile barge ride.
All photographs have been used with permission of the Bonner County Museum.
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