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Mortimer’s Island

Frank Mortimer came to Weiser when he was 30 years old, traveling with a carnival as a juggler. Prior to Weiser, he had been a professional baseball player in Chicago and toured Old Mexico with a circus. However, he wasn’t just an athletic entertainer.

At age 17, Frank had shown his organizational acumen when he worked in a publishing company—reorganizing the distribution system into a format that worked for many years thereafter.

When the carnival disbanded in Weiser, Frank stayed around… working as a clerk and bartender. Within five years, he had purchased the Weiser Newsstand (from Allen Rapin,) a business he operated for the next 30 years. After the purchase, Frank set about building his real dream—Oregon Trail Park, which opened six years later in 1916.

From Frank Mortimer’s Page

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Frank Mortimer

In 1916, Frank Mortimer and his wife opened the Oregon Trail Park on an island on the Weiser River, where the couple planted trees and installed several attractions including a carousel.

The Oregon Trail Park, known by locals as “Mortimer’s Island,” became a sensation around the Treasure Valley and Weiser River Valley areas.

Called “the pride and delight of the city” by the Weiser Signal in 1929, the park was a popular visitor and recreation site.

Mortimer’s Island remained popular and successful until its closure in 1933. After the park closed, Mortimer and his wife continued to live in Weiser.

In 1952, he willed Mortimer’s Island to the city, where it now houses the filtration plant and still has the trees planted by its namesake.

Frank passed away in 1957, was cremated and buried next to his wife in Hillcrest Cemetery.

From Mayor’s Corner

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(Click Image for Enlargement)

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1908 Sanborn Fire Map with the future Mortimer’s Island in lower left where the Weiser River splits, flows around it and then merges with the almighty Snake.

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