Pete Klinkhammer, 1880-1970

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Guestbook

This site is a tribute to my Great-Uncle Pete Klinkhammer, who came to Idaho as a gold prospector, and stayed as a homesteader. He spent 70 of his 90 years living at Shepp Ranch at the confluence of Crooked Creek and the Salmon River. This site is and probably always will be a work in progress. Items will be added as they become available, or more appropriately - rediscovered. If you have something about Pete Klinkhammer or Shepp Ranch that you'd like to share, please leave a message. Thanks for visiting!

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Reading Material

Articles and reading material relating to Pete Klinkhammer


Shepp Ranch Deed - 1935 This is a photocopy of the original deed from 1935 when C.W. Shepp signed Shepp Ranch over to Pete Klinkhammer, for $1. This file is large, so it may time time to upload - be patient!

1917 Grocery list and receipts Klinkhammer/Shepp handwritten grocery list from 1917, and receipts for the groceries for Klinkhammer/Shepp and C.A. Bemis to Buffalo Hump.

Pete Klinkhammer donates Polly Bemis collection, 1964 Article and photo that appeared in the Cottonwood, Idaho newspaper regarding Pete's donation to the St. Gertrude's Museum of his Polly Bemis collection. 1964.

1960 Saturday Evening Post Article This article highlights the story of how Paul and Marybelle Filer came to Shepp Ranch.

Filer Diary This is the diary of Marybelle and Paul Filer, kept between November 1950 and April 1951. It has been typed into a Word document verbatim - typos and all.

First Trip Up Salmon River Recalled 1971 newspaper article recalling Glen Wooldridge's historic first trip up the Salmon River in 1948.

Obituary A newspaper clipping of Pete Klinkhammer's obituary. It erroneously states that Pete died in Kennewick. I verified with his still-living niece (on 09/28/08), Mickey Kellogg, that he in fact died in her presence in a hospital in Wenatchee, WA.

Accurate Obituary This obituary gives accurate information about where Pete died on May 2, 1970 at the age of 89.

Profile

Peter Klinkhammer

Occupation

Prospector,Homesteader

Location

Shepp Ranch, Idaho

Interests

God Family/Friends Baseball Patriotism Reading keeping up on Current Events Fishing Salmon River History Gold Prospecting Trapping Homesteading

Pete Klinkhammer was born November 4, 1880 in Minnesota. His parents were Peter Klinkhammer (1843-1928) and Johanna Louisa Witt Klinkhammer (1852--1894) both born in Prussia. He was the sixth of twelve children. He was 14 years old when his mother died. When he was 18, he left Union Hill, MN. A few years later he arrived in the Buffalo Hump country of Idaho to seek gold. Not long after arriving in Idaho, he met Charlie Shepp and they homesteaded along the banks of the Main Salmon River in Idaho. He spent almost 70 years of his life at Shepp Ranch, in what still remains today an extremely remote area. Even in the 1960's he believed that this country was "getting too civilized." He never failed to vote, and served his country during WWII when he was in his 60's by temporarily moving to Portland to work in the shipyards. He was a humble, quiet man of great Faith who never failed to put his family and friends before himself. He died of cancer in 1970 in Wenatchee, WA in the care of his niece, Mickey Kellogg.

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Book list


River of No Return by Johnny Carrey & Cort Conley Published in 1978. A detailed historical reference of the Salmon River and its inhabitants. Pete Klinkhammer and Shepp Ranch are featured on pp. 206-221.

Links

Links related to Pete Klinkhammer


Idaho Historical Society's photo and drawing of Pete

1963 Associated Press newspaper article This article, featuring Shepp Ranch, appeared in many newspapers around the country in October of 1963

Shepp Ranch Visit Pete Klinkhammer's home in Idaho, now a popular vacation destination for outdoor enthusiasts, along the Salmon River.

Blog

November 05

Paul Filer's niece

I'm very pleased to say the Paul Filer's niece found this site on a websearch and contacted me through this site. We've exchanged a number of e-mails and have shared what information we have regarding Shepp Ranch. Hopefully we will continue sharing and maybe even have an opportunity to meet next summer in Idaho. Maybe for the first ever Filer/Klinkhammer reunion? Who knows?

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September 30

I've located two of Pete's nieces

I am pleased to say that I have discovered that two of Pete's nieces are still alive and living in Wenatchee, WA. They are ages 88 and 91. As more and more of our relatives have aged and died, this information had been "lost" to some of the younger generation (including myself). After a little inquiry on my part, Pete's niece Vera Klinkhammer (age 96) told me that they were living and gave me their contact information. I have had two telephone conversations with Mickey, one of the nieces who, true to Klinkhammer form, is a lovely person. She had a close relationship with Uncle Pete, and visited him at Shepp Ranch on at least 3 occasions - the first being in 1939 when she packed in on mules with Pete. She had the opportunity to stay for a few months each time. She also told me that she was with Pete when he died. He had come to Wenatchee to visit her and hadn't been feeling well. She took him to see a doctor and they discovered he had cancer. He died at a hospital in Wenatchee, and he told her that he was happy to be spending his last earthly days with family. Apparently, "Plan B" was that the nuns at St. Gertrude's (outside of Cottonwood), with whom he had developed a kinship, had agreed to care for him if the need ever arose.

She spoke very highly of Pete, said he was very spiritual and had a deep Faith in God. She also stated that it was she who purchased Polly Bemis' headstone posthumously when she was still buried in Grangeville. Also, it was Pete's wish to be buried in Grangeville, so if the question ever surfaces of exhuming Pete's remains to be reburied at Shepp Ranch, don't do it. He didn't want to be buried there, according to Mickey. Upon Pete's death she was the recipient of many of his belongings, which she donated to "a museum in Grangeville."

Jim and I are planning a trip to visit the nieces in November, and hopefully I can photocopy photos and any other memorbilia she might still have.

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