Tom Davis and his brother left Illinois in 1861, headed for the mining frontier of the West. Surviving an unusual-and unusually harrowing-journey across Idaho's central mountains, they found themselves looking out for Indians on the banks of the Boise River as they built Boise's first cabin in 1863.Tom found his life partner when Julia McCrum left her parents' home in Galt, Canada, for her own adventure in the West, demonstrating that the "Wander Lust" could infect women just as readily as men."Tom and Julia Davis: Some Good Place", the fifth Idaho history written by Boise historian Susan M. Stacy, tells what happened next-the creation of a city sometimes called an "Eden," business successes, the joys and tragedies of family life.This remarkable couple gave Boise City the land for Julia Davis Park. What were they thinking? Stacy has a pretty good idea, and tells the story of Tom and Julia with compelling detail, sympathy, and insight."Boise has for a long time needed a book-length introduction of this kind, and it has finally arrived."About the Author: Susan M. Stacy, award-winning Idaho historian, is the author of numerous books and articles on Idaho subjects. Her range of interests is broad-from the Women's Ward at the Old Idaho State Penitentiary to the formidable 52 nuclear reactors that once populated Idaho's National Reactor Testing Station.Whatever the subject, Susan Stacy's particular talent is telling a good story. Her multi-archival research pays off for readers, as she knits together the themes of her subjects along with memorable details and convincing insight into what it means for us today."Tom and Julia Davis" will introduce all Idahoans, especially Boiseans, to this extraordinary couple and to the much-loved city they worked so deliberately to build up and make into "some good place."
Tom Davis and his brother left Illinois in 1861, headed for the mining frontier of the West. Surviving an unusual-and unusually harrowing-journey across Idaho's central mountains, they found themselves looking out for Indians on the banks of the Boise River as they built Boise's first cabin in 1863.Tom found his life partner when Julia McCrum left her parents' home in Galt, Canada, for her own adventure in the West, demonstrating that the "Wander Lust" could infect women just as readily as men."Tom and Julia Davis: Some Good Place", the fifth Idaho history written by Boise historian Susan M. Stacy, tells what happened next-the creation of a city sometimes called an "Eden," business successes, the joys and tragedies of family life.This remarkable couple gave Boise City the land for Julia Davis Park. What were they thinking? Stacy has a pretty good idea, and tells the story of Tom and Julia with compelling detail, sympathy, and insight."Boise has for a long time needed a book-length introduction of this kind, and it has finally arrived."About the Author: Susan M. Stacy, award-winning Idaho historian, is the author of numerous books and articles on Idaho subjects. Her range of interests is broad-from the Women's Ward at the Old Idaho State Penitentiary to the formidable 52 nuclear reactors that once populated Idaho's National Reactor Testing Station.Whatever the subject, Susan Stacy's particular talent is telling a good story. Her multi-archival research pays off for readers, as she knits together the themes of her subjects along with memorable details and convincing insight into what it means for us today."Tom and Julia Davis" will introduce all Idahoans, especially Boiseans, to this extraordinary couple and to the much-loved city they worked so deliberately to build up and make into "some good place."
