The Interurban Railway

In 1907, W.E. Pierce completed the electric railroad which ran from Boise to Caldwell, via Eagle, Star, and Middleton and circled back through Nampa and Meridian. Completion of the Boise Interurban brought electricity to Star created radical growth with W.E. Pierce and Co. platting two new areas of land to the east of the original townsite. These areas included Interurban Addition and the Pierce Addition. The Idaho Daily Statesman reported in 1907 that as a result of the completion of the Boise and Interurban line through Star, "citizens here have awakened to the fact that Star is very liable to become a very important point before long. There's been a great deal of building of late and the population of the town has easily doubled since it was definitely known that the electric line would be built through here." The Star Interurban Depot with a freight office and passenger waiting room was built at Valley and Knox streets in 1907. The building was designed by Boise architects Tourtellotte and Hummel. Nearby was the transformer house. With the introduction of automobiles into the Treasure Valley, the Interurban was used less and less, eventually going out of business in 1928. The loss of this link to the valley meant a decline in activity for Star. The depot was moved to the east side of town in the 1950s and is now occupied by Bobbie Jean’s coffee shop.