By Kjel Jones — independent custom-home researcher for St. Anthony and the Fremont County valley floor. Not a builder and not a general contractor. Licensed Idaho real estate agent, LPT Realty.

Published 2026-10-05

Four entries on the National Register: St. Anthony’s protected history, and the buildings waiting to join it

Four entries on the register

History in St. Anthony is not vague. The comprehensive plan’s chapter on special areas reproduces what the Idaho State Historical Commission lists for the city in The National Register of Historic Places in Idaho — and it is a countable list, addresses and all:

The plan points researchers to the state’s own compilation at history.idaho.gov/NatRegister.pdf. The register names arrive with their thematic notations attached — the dormitory belongs to the Tourtellotte and Hummel Architecture group, the bridge to the Pegram Truss Railroad Bridges of Idaho set, and the post office to the US Post Offices in Idaho 1900–1941 multiple-property listing.

The courthouse, 1909

“Perhaps the most important historical building in the city is the Fremont County Courthouse,” the chapter says — and the county government “has done much in preserving the character of this building and in keeping it in top-notch operating condition.” The caption beneath its photograph carries the two dates a buyer or renovator should remember:

• “The courthouse was constructed in 1909…”
• “…and was listed in the National Register of Historical Places in 1979.”

The St. Anthony Post Office is the plan’s other named register-listed building — “another well maintained historically significant building in the town.” Both still go to work every day.

The law behind the list

The chapter opens under the words of the statute that created the register system:

“The Congress finds and declares that 1) the spirit and direction of the Nation are founded upon and reflected in its historic heritage; and 2) the historical and cultural foundations of the Nation should be preserved as a living part of our community life and development in order to give a sense of orientation to the American people.”

— City of St. Anthony Comprehensive Plan, ch. 11, Special Areas or Sites (2023), quoting the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Retrieved 28 September 2026

In the plan’s own gloss, this historical dimension “is one of the greatest factors in giving a town a personality or identity that is unique from other places” — and the old buildings “suggest a lasting quality that cannot be found in newly established communities.”

Worth protecting, not yet listed

Around the four registered entries sits a second tier the plan names without register status:

• The downtown business district, many buildings of historical significance — among them the Roxy Theater, which “displays iconic signage along Bridge Street.”
• A number of well built homes from a variety of building periods, “built by fine craftsmen in excellent styles,” many preserved in much of their original condition.
• The original site of Fort Henry, downstream of St. Anthony on the south bank of Henry’s Fork — and Clyde Keefer Park, both named as important historic and scenic sites.
• The scenery and wildlife around town: river bottom habitat above and below the city, the St. Anthony Sand Dunes, Targhee National Forest, and the Sand Creek Wildlife Management Area.

The plan’s to-do list for history

The chapter is candid that preservation “depends much on the future actions of its citizens and especially its leaders,” and it prescribes machinery, some of it aimed straight at builders:

• Create an historical preservation committee to develop a city preservation program.
• Survey the community to identify buildings with historical or architectural significance, and develop policies to encourage their preservation and maintenance.
• Investigate register listings for those buildings — and “actively seek and obtain grant money that may be available to maintain them.”
• Create an archive office to collect and preserve historical documents and photographs.
• Investigate a downtown historic district — “to develop a compatible building style through new zoning rules and design review of new structures and substantial remodeling projects.”
• Work with existing groups such as the Roxy Foundation and the Henry’s Fork Greenway Committee.

That fifth item is the one with teeth for construction: design review of substantial remodeling, not just new builds, is exactly how a downtown historic district reaches into a renovation budget.

Old buildings, new rules

1. Buying or remodeling near downtown? Read the register list first — then assume the historic-district idea could add design review to a substantial remodel even where no district exists yet.
2. Check whether the building is a candidate for the plan’s survey — register listing can come with grant money for maintenance, which changes renovation math.
3. Respect the scenic-site protections the plan states — publicly owned scenic sites are to be protected from development that would detract from views, and archeological sites, if identified, are to be protected.
4. Renovating a craftsman-era home? The plan’s word for that stock — “well built” — is a structural claim; verify it pier by pier.
5. Then line up the history with the practical: (208) 656-1745.

History here sits on the same ground every other chapter covers: the register’s bridge crosses the river that gives the town its one-bridge geometry, the courthouse and Roxy anchor the Downtown Commercial designation, Clyde Keefer Park doubles as a historic site, and any district’s design review would ride on top of the same zoning permit every project starts with.

Common questions

What St. Anthony sites are on the National Register of Historic Places?

Four entries, per the Idaho State Historical Commission list reproduced in the comprehensive plan: the Fremont County Courthouse at 151 W. 1st St. N.; the Idaho State Industrial School Women's Dormitory west of town on N. Parker Hwy.; the St. Anthony Pegram Truss Railroad Bridge over the Henry's Fork; and the US Post Office-St. Anthony Main at 48 W. 1st North.

How old is the Fremont County Courthouse?

The courthouse was constructed in 1909 and was listed in the National Register of Historical Places in 1979. The comprehensive plan calls it perhaps the most important historical building in the city and credits the county with keeping it in top-notch operating condition.

What is the Pegram Truss Railroad Bridge in St. Anthony?

A railroad bridge over the Henry's Fork of the Snake River, listed on the register 0.5 miles south of the junction of S. Parker Rd. and the West Belt Branch RR tracks. Its register entry is included under the Pegram Truss Railroad Bridges of Idaho multiple-property listing.

Is the St. Anthony post office historically significant?

Yes. The US Post Office-St. Anthony Main at 48 W. 1st North is on the National Register under the US Post Offices in Idaho 1900-1941 multiple-property listing. The plan calls it another well maintained historically significant building in the town, alongside the courthouse.

What is the Idaho State Industrial School Women's Dormitory?

A register-listed building located west of St. Anthony on N. Parker Hwy., on the grounds of what the plan elsewhere calls the JCC St. Anthony juvenile corrections facility. Its register entry carries the Tourtellotte and Hummel Architecture TR notation, the thematic grouping named in the listing.

Is the Roxy Theater on the National Register?

Not on the list the plan reproduces. The Roxy Theater is named in the downtown business district as a building of historical significance that displays iconic signage along Bridge Street. The plan's policies call for investigating register listings for more of the city's important historical structures.

Where was the original Fort Henry site?

The plan places the original site of Fort Henry downstream of St. Anthony on the south bank of Henry's Fork of the Snake River, and names it - along with Clyde Keefer Park - as an important historic and scenic site within the community.

Is St. Anthony planning a historic district downtown?

One of the plan's policies is to investigate the formation of a historic district in the downtown area to develop a compatible building style through new zoning rules and design review of new structures and substantial remodeling projects. It is framed as something to investigate, not an adopted district.

What does the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 say?

As quoted in the plan: the Congress finds that the spirit and direction of the Nation are founded upon and reflected in its historic heritage, and that the Nation's historical and cultural foundations should be preserved as a living part of community life and development to give a sense of orientation to the American people.

Can grant money help maintain historic buildings in St. Anthony?

That is the plan's stated aim: efforts should be made to have the more important historical structures listed on state and national registers and to actively seek and obtain grant money that may be available to maintain them. The plan also credits the county's preservation of the courthouse as a working example.