The Moss Brothers stacked their railroad ties that were coming down the Payette River on William Master’s property in Boomerang. Some were used in construction of railroad buildings. Lumber was needed and the nearest mill was at Emmett. Masters then had an idea. He brought 12-15 thousand feet of lumber at Emmett, made a raft and floated down the Payette River.
The water was at high stage. When it got to Boomerang it hit the guy ropes and boom the railroad crews used to land their ties. The force tore everything to pieces and scattered Master’s lumber all the way down the Snake River. He recovered very little after the incident.
John Prestal built a sawmill in 1882 near where the swimming pool is now. Mr. Rossi had a sawmill at Washoe in 1885 and W. A. Coughanor built one in 1887.
1890 ushered in the brick era. A German syndicate supplied the finances for Mr. Lamme’s brick yard. In 1892 Kammet and C. Q. Haines bought it. Soon many homes and businesses were made of brick construction. Clark Sherwood also had a brick factory and utilized clay found east of town.
The Payette Cider and Vinegar Works provided jobs and processed thousands of tons of apples from Payette Valley, Emmett, Mesa and Homedale orchards. It was located on Sixth Street and Second Avenue south. The brick building was constructed in 1889 and vinegar and sweet cider were manufactured. A German immigrant, Mr. Harmon, established it along with plants in Oregon, Idaho and Washington.
Later, Dr. William Falkenreck of Spokane, Washington, bought the chain of factories, closing some and leaving only the plants at Spokane and La Grande operating. During the period of operation at Payette, Mr. George Storrs was manager. It operated year round, employing 4-15 workers. Approximately forty carloads of “Golden Valley” brand vinegar of 3-6 carloads of sweet cider were shipped each year.
There were 13 storage tanks of 32,000 gallons capacity behind the main building. Virgil Fairchild bought the factory in 1970. Business began to decline. Roger Fairchild took over the management and on December 2, 1978, a fire destroyed everything. Operations were then shifted to Fruitland.
A nursery was started by Grant and John Whitney with a loan of $4,000 in 1893.
An Alfalfa mill and also a creamery were in business.
Idaho Fruit Packing Company built a packinghouse in July 1896 along the tracks north of town.
N. A. Jacobsen built and managed the "Payette Fruit Packing Company." In 1899 he shipped 25 carloads of fresh prunes to eastern markets.
Seven leading Payette citizens, who saw the need of a processing plant to handle the fruit and vegetables grown in the valley, organized The Idaho Canning Company in January 1903 with a capitol stock of $30,000. Investors included A. B. Moss, N. A. Jacobsen, L. V. Patch, Peter Pence and W. A. Coughanour. They used the canning label of "Seven Devils" and later "Tom Thumb." The company was named American Fine Foods.