Pocatello officials may soon move a small Wyoming town to their community - literally.
The Bannock County Centennial Committee has proposed buying all 23 buildings of the reduced-scale Western town for $16,000 from an Evanston, Wyo., businessman. Idaho will celebrate its 100th birthday in 1990.The town was built by J.B. Kindler as a tourist attraction while southwest Wyoming was enjoying an oil boom in the late 1970s. The 10-by-16-foot wooden structures were rented to vendors who sold souvenirs and snacks.
The structures, which are built on skids and electrically wired, are replicas of such buildings as a saloon, sheriff's office, livery stable and dance hall. Officials estimate it will cost $5,000 to move them to Pocatello and $5,000 to refurbish them.
Hazle Cox, committee chairwoman, said the purchase hinges on a $25,000 donation from a local business and on permission from the Pocatello City Council to permanently locate the buildings in upper Ross Park.
If the deal goes through, the buildings will be used during the Frontier Festival at Idaho State University in August. The festival will be held in conjunction with the second annual "Days of Old Fort Hall" pageant.
The park is the location of a replica of the old Fort Hall.