Rattlesnake Station was a stagecoach

Stagecoach

A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...

 station northeast of Mountain Home

Mountain Home, Idaho

Mountain Home is the largest city and county seat of Elmore County, Idaho. The population was 14,206 at the 2010 census. Mountain Home is the principal city of the Mountain Home, ID Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Elmore County....

, Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

. Approximately seven miles from exit 95 on Interstate 84

Interstate 84 in Idaho

In the U.S. state of Idaho, Interstate 84 heads southeast from the Oregon state line, it spurs to Interstate 184 in Boise. Eventually I-84 spurs Interstate 86 and mainline I-84 heads southeast towards Utah and I-86 is continues due east and heads to Pocatello, meeting with Interstate 15.-Future:...

, a historical marker

Historical marker

A historical marker or historic marker is an indicator such as a plaque or sign to commemorate an event or person of historic interest and to associate that point of interest with a specific locale one can visit.-Description:...

 located at milepost 102.7 on U.S. Route 20

U.S. Route 20

U.S. Route 20 is an east–west United States highway. As the "0" in its route number implies, US 20 is a coast-to-coast route. Spanning , it is the longest road in the United States, and the route sparsely parallels Interstate 90...

 commemorates its location.
The highway follows Rattlesnake Creek and the elevation of the site is 3820 feet (1164 m) above sea level.

History

Rattlesnake Station was established in 1864 by Ben Holladay

Ben Holladay

Benjamin "Ben" Holladay was an American transportation businessman known as the "Stagecoach King" until his routes were taken over by Wells Fargo in 1866...

 as a stop on his new Overland Stage Line between Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...

, Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

, and Walla Walla, Washington

Walla Walla, Washington

Walla Walla is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,731 at the 2010 census...

.

The Overland line was acquired by the Northwestern Stage Company in 1870, which made the station a stop for its weekly stage line from Boise

Boise, Idaho

Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...

 to the South Boise mines and an overnight stop in 1875.

In 1876, a post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

 named "Mountain Home" was established at Rattlesnake Station. Fire destroyed several station buildings on October 12, 1878, but were rebuilt and continued to serve stages until 1914, when the route was abandoned. The post office was moved down, dragged by mule teams, to the present location of Mountain Home in 1883 to be closer to the recently completed railroad, the Oregon Short Line

Oregon Short Line Railroad

The Oregon Short Line Railroad was a railroad in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Montana and Oregon. The line was as organized the Oregon Short Line Railway in 1881 as a subsidiary of Union Pacific Railway. Union Pacific intended the line to be the shortest route from Wyoming to Oregon...

.

External links

• Rattlesnake Station and Stage Stop at IdahoHistory.net
• Roadside historical marker - Rattlesnake Station at Idaho Transportation Department
  Idaho Transportation Department
  The Idaho Transportation Department is the State of Idaho governmental organization responsible for the current transportation infrastructure. This includes ongoing operations and maintenance; as well as planning for future needs of the state and its citizens...
  
  
• Topographic map & aerial photo - 3820' from USGS via Microsoft Research Maps