In 1935, Arthur Porter, former newspaper publisher, educator, and Mayor of Rexburg, printed a book authored by Samuel M. Beal entitled âThe Snake River Fork Country, A brief history of peaceful conquest in the Upper Snake River Basin.â
Mr. Beal was an historian and professor at Ricks College, now BYU Idaho. His book contains chapters on the beginnings of the Upper Snake River Valley, its frontiersman, and LDS colonizers. Also, chapters on early transportation and communication, the Rexburg Stake of Zion, and social and economic developments. It includes a bibliography and an appendix roster of the Bannock Ward pioneers, Madison County executive officers, and former mayors of Rexburg. Also included are stake leaders, school trustees, and leaders of both Rexburg and the Village of Sugar City in the period following Rexburgâs founding in 1883.