ISLAND PARK, Idaho (AP) — When the clatter of steam engines punched through the silent forest where William "Doc" Mack camped with his horse and buggy, he knew his favorite river would soon draw hundreds to play on its banks.
At first, there were a few tents near the station. Travelers bound for Yellowstone National Park could spend the night or stay to fish with the jovial optometrist-turned-entrepreneur.
But over the years, Mack's Inn evolved from a secluded retreat into a local landmark that worked its way onto official state maps.
Its guests shopped at its general store and ate, drank and danced in the lodge. An old picture of the lodge at Mack's Inn, nearly buried in snow, hangs in the front of Jim Terreo's store next to the resort.
"It was quite a building," Terreo said of the structure that was once the centerpiece of Mack's Inn, and which burned down in 1989.
Sometimes, someone who has been vacationing at the inn since childhood stops by to say "hello," and Terreo will tell them about the glory days at the Mack's Inn Lodge while he sits in a recliner in front of the fishing supplies.
Now, the Snake River slips beneath rumbling traffic on U.S. 20, but under the bridge, children still net minnows hugging the bottom of the clear river.
Just upstream, their families still sit on the porches of cabins and hotels at Mack's Inn and plan their woodland adventures.
With new investment, many residents hope to restore the 87-year-old retreat to its former status as one of the prime gathering places on the way to Yellowstone.
"We haven't been able to put the money back to build a nice lodge," said Rick Evans, one of the current owners of Mack's Inn.
He said that owners recently put the resort up for sale in hopes that a potential buyer will have the resources to renovate existing buildings and replace the lodge.
Once a lofty, open building that was home to a thriving restaurant, bar, dance hall and general store, the lodge was the hub of Island Park for a long time, said Aleana Gunnell.
Now the postmaster at the Mack's Inn post office, Gunnell has lived in Island Park for more than 30 years. She can remember when Mack's Inn was synonymous with Island Park, and she said the Mack's Inn ZIP code was the main source of mail for residents for decades.
Even if the resort changes hands and the new owners decide to change its name, Gunnell said the post office and the area at large would still be referred to as Mack's Inn.
Rick and April Evans bought the area's namesake in 1996. However, Rick Evans said that besides some cabin remodeling, they haven't been able to improve or expand on many of the facilities they dreamed of revamping when they moved here from Utah. Some in the community are ready for a change as well.
"It's a good thing because they really haven't done much with it," said Terreo of the possible sale.
Terreo bought the gas station next to the resort 16 years ago and is selling it so he can retire.
Others who live and work in the area expressed similar sentiments, saying they are happy to see Mack's Inn up for sale and that they want to see investment in a new lodge. Evans said he first considered selling the resort last year.
"They just came out of the woodwork and said, 'We'd like to buy Mack's Inn,' " Evans said of investors who made an offer for the place last year but then backed out of the deal.
Evans said they have since put the resort on the open market, and investors from out of state visited it recently.
Kevin Murray, with Re/Max Homestead, said the property is listed at $4.3 million. That includes 38 motel rooms in two buildings, 26 cabins, an RV park, a convenience store and a dinner theater where guests can eat to the musicals put on by local performers.
The sale would also include the Henry's Fork Landing restaurant across the river, which Evans said they purchased four years ago to keep a bar from being put in.