Willis Sweet (January 1, 1856 – July 9, 1925) was the first United States Representative elected from Idaho following statehood in 1890. Sweet served as a Republican in the House from 1890 to 1895, representing the state at-large. He vigorously demanded "Free Silver" or the unrestricted coinage of silver into legal tender, in order to pour money into the large silver mining industry in the Mountain West, but he was defeated by supporters of the gold standard.
Early years
Born in Alburgh, Vermont on New Year's Day 1856, Sweet attended public schools and the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, and was a member of the Phi Delta Thetafraternity. He learned the printer's trade in Lincoln and relocated west to Moscow in the Idaho Territory in 1881. Sweet was the first editor of the Moscow Mirror in 1882,[1] studied law and became an attorney, judge, and supreme court justice in the territory.
Career
In the late 1880s, he drafted the legislation that brought the University of Idaho to Moscow, submitting it to territorial councilor John W. Brigham, who saw it enacted.[2] Sweet was the first president of the university's board of regents.[3]
A residence hall at the University of Idaho is named for Sweet.[10]
Opened in 1936, the building is now Carol Ryrie Brink Hall, a faculty office building.[11] The Willis Sweet residence hall was relocated to the new Theophilus Tower in 1969,[12][13] and later to the former McConnell Hall, on the northeast corner of Sixth and Rayburn streets.[14]
