Pauline & West Fork
At the northern end of the valley, follow the stories of Pauline, West Fork and Big Meadows, their school, store, post office, and community life.
Read the history of Pauline & West Fork ↗Places in the valley
Get to know the five communities remembered in these accounts: Pauline and West Fork, Crystal, Arbon, Summit, and Buist.
1 minute readRead the full account ↓
About this account · first posted August 29, 2019
Published to the original site by Melinda Campbell. This is the website publication date, not the date of every event described. References to “today” belong to the original account.
Editorial introductions and navigation were added in September 2026. Original citations remain in the account. How we preserve and annotate the history ↗
FIND YOUR BEARINGS
Five places. One valley.
Choose an area to follow its history.
Crystal
A high basin of springs and creeks, remembered through its homesteads, schoolhouses, store, and post office.
Read the history of Crystal ↗Arbon
Explore the older Arbon community, irrigation work, homesteads, and the origins of the name now used for the wider valley.
Read the history of Arbon ↗Summit
The high part of the valley between Arbon and Buist: Jenson Pass, Bull Canyon, dry farming, and the roads that connected families to markets.
Read the history of Summit ↗Buist
At the southern end of the valley, discover the Buist community and its farms, school, and post office.
Read the history of Buist ↗Areas and descriptions follow the preserved place histories. Positions are approximate; this is a reading guide, not a road or property map. View the original family map ↗
Arbon
Explore the older Arbon community, irrigation work, homesteads, and the origins of the name now used for the wider valley.
Explore Arbon ↗Buist
At the southern end of the valley, discover the Buist community and its farms, school, and post office.
Explore Buist ↗Crystal
A high basin of springs and creeks, remembered through its homesteads, schoolhouses, store, and post office.
Explore Crystal ↗Pauline and West Fork
At the northern end of the valley, follow the stories of Pauline, West Fork and Big Meadows, their school, store, post office, and community life.
Explore Pauline and West Fork ↗Summit
The high part of the valley between Arbon and Buist: Jenson Pass, Bull Canyon, dry farming, and the roads that connected families to markets.
Explore Summit ↗Original account
What is known as Arbon Valley today was once known as Bannock Valley. There used to be several distinct areas. These were Arbon, Buist, Crystal, Pauline (including West Fork), and Summit.
The following information comes from the wonderful book by Laurie Jean Ward (now Call), titled Bannock Valley. Laurie wrote this at the mature age of twenty-two, publishing it in 1982. She did the research and all the hard work, and gave the Arbon Valley Homestead Project permission to glean her hard work.