Original JP and Ruth Morgan house at Lake Channel

Margie and Erin in front of the Lake Channel home years after it was no longer in use.

Marvin (JP) and Ruth Morgan homesteaded along the Snake River downstream from American Falls, Idaho in 1930. The homestead was called "The Ranch" or "Lake Channel." Many of Marvin's brothers and sisters brought their families to visit and it is from these visits that so many fond memories of the Lake Channel Ranch come. It was a modest house and Margie tells of sleeping on planks laid up in the rafters during a visit by the Kenneth and Mary Morgan family.

The original cabin (Visible as the peaked roof part in the center) was moved to the Lake Channel Homestead in 1931. Two additons were subsequently made. Marvin's brother Alvin Morgan and his family lived in the area for a time and he and their brother George William are thought to have assisted with the addtions to the house.

This old Lake Channel house stands today as a reminder that we Morgan's come from humble biginnings from which we have struggled upwards. Thomas Morgan would have been doomed to life as a farm laborer in England, but in America he had the opportunity to homestead, and own, land of his own. But still it was a long and arduous struggle to settle the land, build homes, irrigation canals, and fences, and to build enough wealth just to be able to afford to send children to school. Most Morgan Families in America did not graduate from high school until the third generation and it was the fourth generation before they were able to graduate children from college. But each generation worked hard and struggled mightily to build a better life for the next generation. For this we owe them a never ending debt of gratitude. Our Morgan ancestors were good citizens of America and we will always be proud of them.