Colburn, Idaho — Railroad Apparently Added a Letter

Colburn lies north of Sandpoint along the valley corridor toward Bonners Ferry.

Bonner County historical accounts trace the name to an early settler named Coburn. When the railroad arrived, the spelling became Colburn.

By 1908, the community had developed into an active mill town with a store and post office.

Timber and rail transportation made that possible. Forest products could move through the valley while workers and families lived near the mill.

The industrial scale eventually faded, leaving a much smaller rural locality.

The name kept one tiny artifact of the railroad era: a settler supplied “Coburn,” and somewhere along the line an extra L apparently climbed aboard.