History of Brook Lodge
I.B. Perrine, owner of Blue Lakes Fruit Ranch, built Brook lodge in 1908 to be used for a bee house. There were about 100 stands of bees in the apiary. Bees were kept to pollinate the thousands of fruit trees growing on the ranch and for the honey sold at market.
Apiary Near Brook Lodge
The Lodge was built along the road beside Alpheus Creek. The lumber was brought over from Shoshone by team and wagon. The foundation was laid on the rocks at the edge and over part of Alpheus Creek. The 16 foot square building has a slanting shingle roof with four small cupolas built on each side, a front door with windows on each side and a back door to a porch over the water. A small bay window was added later.
In 1910 the bees were moved to a new place on the south side of the Snake River. Mrs. Perrine remodeled the house and gave it the name of Brook Lodge. The house was painted white with green trim. The inside walls were covered with wood panels and a new wood floor was installed. Mrs. Perrine furnished it for her daughter, Stella, who was away at school at Rowland Hall Episcopal School for Girls in Salt Lake City, Utah, where Mrs. Perrine attended school in 1890.
Peck Nursery of Twin Falls furnished the trees and plants used in landscaping around the Lodge. Two Colorado blue spruce trees were planted on each side of the path leading from the road to the house. Flower boxes were placed under the windows and a rose arbor was built just west of the Lodge. The porch was enclosed and screened. A second porch or walkway was built over the water on the west side of the building.
In 1912 Brook Lodge was decorated inside with new curtains, a woven green grass rug, pennants and banners and rattlesnake skins and bobcat skins hung on the walls. A folding cot, chairs and a mahogany Edison phonograph cabinet and electric lights were added.
In 1915, Stella left for college and again the Lodge was refurnished to be used as a guesthouse. In 1917, Stella and H.G. Haight of Oakley, Idaho were married and lived in the Lodge part time until 1922 when they left for Wyoming. In 1923 or 1925, Eugene Perrine moved into the Lodge and painted the inside walls with murals, The Lodge was used as a guest summerhouse for many years. In 1934, Burton Perrine and Emerald Martin were married. They remodeled the Lodge and built a lava rock fireplace where the bay window once was and other modern conveniences.
Brook Lodge was included in the property sold in 1964 to the Blue Lakes Country Club. No improvements have been made and the little white house has turned to gray with green moss on the roof.
Written by Stella L. Haight
Oldest living child of I.B. Perrine
Early in 1980, the Club recognized that a decision needed to be made regarding the future of Brook Lodge. The building was in a serious state of disrepair. Many members of the Club thought that the building should be destroyed - other members had a strong feeling that we should preserve it and its history. As a result of discussions and interest in the structure, Col. Winston Jones took the Brook Lodge restoration project as a personal challenge. Through his efforts, we began to receive cash donations, principally from our Club members.
Col. Jones organized the restoration project by employing Mr. Greg Goss and Mr. Ralph Homes to do the basic construction repairs. The enclosed porch over the Alpheus Creek was renovated to an open porch, the outside deck over the creek was improved, the basic foundation of the building was raised and leveled and concrete tiers were placed under it. The old flooring was removed and replaced with a plywood floor. Roof repairs were made and the entire building was cleaned up and repainted to white with a blue trim. The building was re-wired with additional outlets and 220 circuit installed. The grounds were cleaned up; the trees and shrubs trimmed and some additional plantings were made. The original steps remain and the brick walkway to the front door was improved.
Through the efforts of Col. Jones and Bob Coiner, research was begun in the Idaho History Section of the Twin Falls Public Library. From this research, Bob Coiner photographed pictures from the earliest days of Twin Falls, The I.B. Perrine ranch, the Snake River Canyon. These photographs now hang in Brook Lodge to remind us of how the area looked in the early 1900's.
Supplement by Bob Harvey
General Manager
Brook Lodge Then and Now