The Stories of Meridell Park

Before there was a “Pocatello,” there was an alternate route on the Oregon Trail that made its way through the Portneuf Gap.  In those days, stage coaches would stop at a rather large watering hole known as Mosquito Springs.  Locals today know that place as Meridell Park.  Several artesian springs flow on the property that once hosted migrating Indian tribes, as well as occasional white settlers who pushed their way through our valley on their way to the Oregon coast.  It has been rumored to have had as many as 8 cold springs watering the grounds, and some say there was even a hot spring there once too.  The resume of Meridell Park reads like sections ripped from the yellow pages:  a German Beer Garden, a dance hall, an amusement park, a swimming center, a camping ground, a motor inn, a skating rink, a trailer park, a private residence, a hippie commune, a storage barn, and an apple farm . . .just to name a few.  And today it serves as a restored community events center.  Come learn the fascinating story of Meridell Park.