Spearheading the group was a Pocatello, noted in many fields of personal endeavor, Dr. Minnie Howard. In 1916 Drs. W. F. and Minnie Howard were fortunate in knowing whom to call to guide them to the fort. Joseph Rainey, son of a French-Canadian and a "Sorrrell" half-Indian mother, was well-known as an interpreter and scout for the Army and later for the Indian Reservation. Born where Pocatello is now, he was a young adult at the time that the materials of the fort were being moved. After the Meeker party as Joe Rainey to show them the original location, each witness stated in identical words, He led us right to the site without hesitation." A small "dig" in one area brought up fragments of pottery (china) and metallic objects, testifying to its long-time occupancy. The people present for the event are shown a photograph. Minnie Howard was to try all avenues of approach for more than forty years to restore the Old Fort or to build a replica. It was not until 1962 that the Bannock County Centennial Committee decided as their project to celebrate Idaho's 1963 Territorial Centennial by picking up the banner so ably carried by Dr. Howard and other, and again try to build a Fort Hall Replica. Jack Alvord supervised the work and remained chairman of the Replica Commission until his death in March 1980. His widow, Laura, dedicate to gathering artifacts for the Replica displays for the remainder of her life, passed away in 1994. Because the original site could not be acquired or built upon, the Replica is located on the upper level of Ross Park, where it is maintained by the Pocatello Parks and Recreation Department. An inventory with dimensions of the fort when it was in the possession of the Hudson's Bay Company served as the basis for this reconstruction.