HAYDEN - The historic preservation commission for the city of Hayden is seeking pieces of history that can document and illustrate the history of the city and the Hayden Lake area.

The city is in the early stages of creating a booklet that will detail the area's history, and wants the help of anyone who can help fill in the many existing blanks.

"It's high time we get something down in print," said commission chair Judy Eichelberger. She said she knows there are a lot of Hayden residents interested in history.

Donna Phillips, a city employee and liaison to the commission, said, "We want to get it (history) down now so more time doesn't pass, and before we lose our historians."

The booklet will be given to elementary schools and libraries here for study. Aspects of the history, such as landmarks, will be valuable as a tool in city planning, Phillips said. Eventually, the city plans to post the booklet and historic information on its website.

The city incorporated in 1955, "so as a city we're really, really young. But as a community we've been around a long time," Phillips said.

She said the commission would like to have a draft of the booklet completed by the end of this year.

The city and commission have laid out an outline for the booklet, which will record the actions of early personalities in the area, such at Mathew Hayden, James Monaghan, and others. Phillips said there were plenty of early settlers in the area, and the city would like to hear about them, too.

The outline shows the city would like to be able to describe in detail the early economic drivers for the area, such as orchards, farming, logging and fishing.

Another section would focus on historic buildings and homes. The booklet also would address early American Indian and settler legends.

The commission has contacted the Coeur d'Alene Tribe and is getting its perspective on legends, said Eichelberger. In addition to the legends, the tribe is in the process of adding what it can to the knowledge of the lake's and area's history.

"I think that's a really interesting aspect to look at," she said.

The commission has done a lot recently to clarify and add to the knowledge of the city's and the lake's history.

Eichelberger said they already have found some interesting documents that establish some of the history.

Hayden resident Susan Lee, a descendant of Mat Hayden's second wife, Elizabeth Whalen, is in the process of writing a book she researched.

Lee has provided the commission with some valuable documents to assist the city's efforts. Lee recently presented the commission with a collage containing copies of some of Mat Hayden's important papers, and the collage is on display now at Hayden City Hall.

Those documents cleared up disagreements about the actual spelling of Hayden's name, including the belief by some that his first name was spelled "Matt," and his last name was spelled "Heyden."

In September 1879, Mat Hayden purchased almost 210 acres for $545 from the Northern Pacific Railroad. His property was located at the western edge of the lake in the Honeysuckle Beach area.

From what the commission knows so far, Mat Hayden, who was discharged from the U.S. Army in June 1857, got to name the lake after winning a card game held at his property with some other former soldiers. The lake then became known as Hayden's Lake, before ending up with its current name.

Phillips said that Bert Rohrbach from the Hayden Lake Irrigation District also is seeking historical information, including historical photographs showing pipeline construction or any similar activity within the area.

It's the district's 100th anniversary, and it is putting together a historical brochure, Phillips said. Rohrbach can be contacted at (208) 772-2612.