If you look straight ahead, you’ll spot the E. H. Dewey Stores by its one-story height, tan stone and brick facade, and those big modern windows right on the corner of 1st Street and 11th Avenue.
Alright, let’s time-travel for a moment! Picture this spot back in 1919: the air is thick with dust from horses and wagons rumbling past, and a brand-new, L-shaped building stands proudly on this corner, built to wrap around the bustling Farmers and Merchants Bank. The mastermind behind it all? Edward H. Dewey-Nampa’s own “man with a plan.” He was a banker, miner, farmer, and even the city’s mayor, but this was his way to make downtown the place to shop, chat, and maybe even gossip a little. There were two shiny stores in each wing, with shopkeepers making deals and kids peering eagerly through storefront windows. As time rolled on, part of the building was chopped away, but this stout section on 1st Street remained-like a stubborn old-timer refusing to budge. Over the years, it became everything from a dry goods shop buzzing with customers to the noisy home of The Idaho Press-Tribune’s printing presses. By 1985, it joined the Nampa Public Library, then eventually found its way back to commercial life. Through a century of change, it’s the brick-and-stone survivor still watching Nampa grow and change, just as Dewey intended-though maybe with fewer horse-drawn carriages these days!
