Ed. F. Winn

Ed was involved in many other enterprises while serving as a deputy sheriff and U.S. Marshal. He began in the saloon business as a partner with Dick Chamberlain in the early 1880's. The first I can find him listed by himself is in1884. His name is listed under "saloons" in the 1884-85 Oregon, Washington and Idaho Gazetteer and Business Directory published by R. L Polk. The July 1886 Bradstreet directory again lists Ed. F. Winn as running or owning a "saloon". The 1886-87 Oregon, Washington and Idaho Gazetteer lists E. T. Winn instead of E. F. Winn, which I believe is an error. Ed’s brother Robert R. Winn moved to Eagle Rock from Pennsylvania and he appears to have taken over the saloon for Ed by 1889. Robert R. Winn is listed in the September 1889 Bradstreet directory under "saloon". The January 1890 "Idaho Register" newspaper has an advertisement for the Club House Saloon, R. R. Winn Prop., Eagle Rock, Idaho. Eagle Rock changed it’s name to Idaho Falls in 1890 and Robert is still listed in Idaho Falls in1892 running a "saloon". Ed is not listed in the directories from 1889 through 1892. Neither Ed nor Robert is listed in the 1893 directory. The next directory I have is 1896 which again lists E. F. Winn instead of Robert as a "saloon" business. Ed is again listed as a "saloon" business in the January, 1897 Dunn directory. The December 2, 1897 "Idaho Register" newspaper advertises the New Cash Grocery, Ed. F. Winn, Prop. He apparently went into the grocery business sometime between January and December of 1897. The 1900 directory lists E. F. Winn as a "grocery". He is listed under "grocery" in the March 1901 business directory but not in the January 1902 directory or thereafter.

Over the years Ed married and was involved in the local business and politics of Idaho Falls. He was appointed as the towns first Fire Marshall in 1885 after most of the businesses on Eagle Rock street burned down. He served as postmaster of Idaho Falls from 1901 to 1908. In 1918 he secured an appointment as a special agent for the U.S. Department of Justice. He had moved to San Diego, California and his appointment involved handling Custom Service matters on the Mexican Border. During his appointment he was convicted of "bootlegging" in Idaho Falls when he tried to open a saloon in "dry" Bonneville county.

Ed. F. Winn died on February 17, 1935. Since he had no children and his wife had died before him he left his estate to Bonneville County. The county still contributes to the Good Fellows Fund and other local fund drives in his name.

Two types of maverick tokens are known that say "Ed. F. Winn" on the front or obverse side of the token. They have both been attributed to Eagle Rock, Idaho. One has a J. M. Brunswick & Balke Co., Chicago reverse. An article was published in the TAMS Journal in June, 1977 entitled "The Brunswick Token Story" by Fowler, Magnuson and White which describes the different styles of reverses used by the J. M. Brunswick & Balke Company. One of the maverick Ed. F. Winn tokens has a Type BB- 4 reverse and is an early "Liberty" head Brunswick/Balke style. It is pictured with this article. The J.M. Brunswick & Balke Co is thought to have been in business from 1874 to 1884 and may have supplied tokens with their name on them until 1889. The other maverick token with Ed F. Winn’s name on it has a Charles Pick & Co., Chicago reverse. This company apparently supplied tokens from 1878 until about 1892.

The question is if both styles where used and can be attributed to Eagle Rock, Idaho. My answer is I don’t know. I can come up with one senario that might work. It’s possible that Ed. F. Winn used the early style Brunswick/Balke tokens in his saloon until the 1885 fire and then replaced them with the Charles Pick tokens. If the Charles Pick tokens were used first by Ed. F. Winn then I have a hard time explaining the Brunswick/Balke tokens. Again, my answer is I don’t know and I doubt there is definite proof either way. It’s hard to prove the attribution of a token that doesn’t have the town or state on it but it’s fun to try.

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