History of Idaho
Encyclopedia
The history of Idaho is an examination of the human
history
and social activity
within the state of Idaho
, a geographical area in the Pacific Northwest
area near the west coast of the United States and Canada. Other associated areas include southern Alaska, all of British Columbia
, Washington, Oregon
, western Montana
and northern California
and Nevada
.
Humans may have been present in the Idaho for 14,500 years. Excavations in 1959 at Wilson Butte Cave near Twin Falls, Idaho
revealed evidence of human activity, including arrowheads, that rank among the oldest dated artifacts in North America. American Indian
tribes predominant in the area in historic times included the Nez Perce and the Coeur d'Alene
in the north; and the Northern and Western Shoshone
and Bannock
peoples in the south.
. The first expedition to enter southern Idaho is believed to be a group led by Wilson Price Hunt, which navigated the Snake River
while attempting to blaze an all-water trail westward from St. Louis, Missouri
, to Astoria, Oregon
, in 1811 and 1812. At that time, approximately 8,000 Native Americans lived in the region.
Fur trading led to the first significant incursion of Europeans in the region. Andrew Henry
of the Missouri Fur Company first entered the Snake River plateau in 1810. He built Fort Henry on Henry's Fork on the upper Snake River, near modern St. Anthony, Idaho
. However, this first American fur post west of the Rocky Mountains
was abandoned the following spring.
The British-owned Hudson's Bay Company
next entered Idaho and controlled the trade in the Snake River area by the 1820s. The North West Company
's interior department of the Columbia was created in June, 1816, and Donald Mackenzie was assigned as its head. Mackenzie had previously been employed by Hudson's Bay and had been a partner in the Pacific Fur Company
, financed principally by John Jacob Astor
. During these early years, he traveled west with a Pacific Fur Company's party and was involved in the initial exploration of the Salmon River and Clearwater River. The company proceeded down the lower Snake River and Columbia River by canoe, and were the first of the Overland Astorians to reach Fort Astoria, on January 18, 1812.
Under Mackenzie, the North West Company was a dominant force in the fur trade in the Snake River country. Out of Fort George
in Astoria, Mackenzie led fur brigades up the Snake River in 1816-1817 and up the lower Snake in 1817-1818. Fort Nez Perce, established in July, 1818, became the staging point for Mackenzies' Snake brigades. The expedition of 1818-1819 explored the Blue Mountains, and traveled down the Snake River to the Bear River and approached the headwaters of the Snake. Mackenzie sought to establish a navigable route up the Snake River from Fort Nez Perce to the Boise area in 1819. While he did succeed in traveling by boat from the Columbia River through the Grand Canyon of the Snake past Hells Canyon
, he concluded that water transport was generally impractical. Mackenzie held the first rendezvous in the region on the Boise River in 1819.
Despite their best efforts, early American fur companies in this region had difficulty maintaining the long distance supply lines from the Missouri River system into the Intermountain West. However, Americans William H. Ashley and Jedediah Smith
expanded the Saint Louis fur trade into Idaho in 1824. The 1832 trapper's rendezvous at Pierre's Hole
, held at the foot of the Three Tetons in modern Teton County
, was followed by an intense battle between the Gros Ventre and a large party of American trappers aided by their Nez Perce and Flathead
allies.
The prospect of missionary
work among the Native Americans also attracted early settlers to the region. In 1809, Kullyspell House
, the first white-owned establishment and first trading post in Idaho, was constructed. In 1836, the Reverend Henry H. Spalding
established a Protestant mission near Lapwai, where he printed the Northwest's first book, established Idaho's first school, developed its first irrigation system
, and grew the state's first potato
es. Narcissa Whitman
and Eliza Hart Spalding were the first non-native women to enter present-day Idaho.
Cataldo Mission, the oldest standing building in Idaho, was constructed at Cataldo
by the Coeur d'Alene and Catholic missionaries. In 1842, Father Pierre-Jean De Smet
, with Fr. Nicholas Point and Br. Charles Duet, selected a mission location along the St. Joe River. The mission was moved a short distance away in 1846, as the original location was subject to flooding. In 1850, Antonio Ravalli
designed a new mission building and Indians affiliated with the church effort built the mission, without nails, using the wattle and daub method
. In time, the Cataldo mission became an important stop for traders, settlers, and miners. In addition to acting as a place for rest from the trail, the mission offered needed supplies and was a working port for boats heading up the Coeur d'Alene River
.
During this time, the region which became Idaho was part of an unorganized territory known as Oregon Country
, claimed by both the United States and Great Britain. The United States gained undisputed jurisdiction over the region in the Oregon Treaty
of 1846, although the area was under the de facto jurisdiction of the Provisional Government of Oregon
from 1843 to 1849. The original boundaries of Oregon Territory
in 1848 included all three of the present-day Pacific Northwest states and extended eastward to the Continental Divide
. In 1853, areas north of the 46th Parallel
became Washington Territory
, splitting what is now Idaho in two. The future state was reunited in 1859 after Oregon
became a state and the boundaries of Washington Territory were redrawn.
While thousands passed through Idaho on the Oregon Trail
or during the California gold rush
of 1849, few people settled there. In 1860 the first of several gold rush
es in Idaho began at Pierce
in present-day Clearwater County
. By 1862, settlements in both the north and south had formed around the mining boom.
in 1855, but the settlement did not last. The first organized town in Idaho was Franklin
, settled in April 1860 by Mormon pioneers who believed they were in Utah Territory
; although a later survey determined they had in fact crossed the border. Mormon pioneers would go on to establish the majority of historic and modern communities in Southeastern Idaho, with Mormon settlers reaching areas near the current-day Grand Teton National Park
in Wyoming
.
settled in what is now the state of Idaho in the late 19th and early 20th century, many before statehood. The English found they had more property rights and paid less taxes than they did back in England. Many came from humble beginnings and would rise to prominence in Idaho such as Frank R. Gooding
who was from a rural working class background but was eventually elected to be the seventh governor of the state. Today people of English descent make up nearly one fifth of the entire state of Idaho and form a plurality in the southern portion of the state.
immigrated
to North America after the Potato Famine, and some migrated west searching for land for agriculture
. Many ended up in Montana and southern Idaho. Because the Catholic Church already had a presence in the northern and eastern portions of the state, many Irish Catholics settled in Boise as well as in Butte, Montana
.
. Many settled near Pocatello
and were ranch
ers, entertainers, and farmers. Although free, many blacks suffered discrimination
in the early-to-mid-late 20th century. The black population of the state continues to grow as many come to the state because of educational opportunities, to serve in the military
, and for other employment opportunities. There is a Black History Museum in Boise, Idaho, with an exhibit known as the "Invisible Idahoan", which chronicles the first African-Americans in the state. Blacks are the fourth largest ethnic group in Idaho according to the 2000 census
. Mountain Home
, Boise
, and Garden City
have significant African-American populations.
However, many major cities, such as Boise, have a small population of African Americans.
from the Iberian peninsula
in Spain and southern France were traditionally shepherd
s in Europe. They came to Idaho, offering hard work and perseverance in exchange for opportunity. One of the largest Basque communities in the US is in Boise, with a Basque museum and festival held annually in the city.
and open businesses. They suffered discrimination due to the Anti-Chinese League
in the 19th century which sought to limit the rights and opportunities of Chinese emigrants. Today Asians are third in population demographically after Whites and Hispanics. Chinese made up 33 percent of Idaho's population in the 1880s.
On March 4, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln
signed an act creating Idaho Territory
from portions of Washington Territory
and Dakota Territory
with its capital at Lewiston
. The original Idaho Territory included most of the areas that later became the states of Idaho, Montana
and Wyoming
, and had a population of under 17,000. Idaho Territory assumed the boundaries of the modern state in 1868 and was admitted as a state in 1890.
signed the law admitting Idaho as a U.S. state
on July 3, 1890, the population was 88,548. George L. Shoup
became the state's first governor, but resigned after only a few weeks in office to take a seat in the United States Senate
.
. In 1892, miners called a strike which developed into a shooting war between union miners and company guards
. Each side accused the other of starting the fight. The first shots were exchanged at the Frisco mine in Frisco, in the Burke-Canyon
north and east of Wallace
. The Frisco mine was blown up, and company guards were taken prisoner. The violence soon spilled over into the nearby community of Gem, where union miners attempted to locate a Pinkerton
spy who had infiltrated their union and was passing information to the mine operators. But agent Charlie Siringo
escaped by cutting a hole in the floor of his room. Strikers forced the Gem mine to close, then traveled west to the Bunker Hill mining complex near Wardner
, and closed down that facility as well. Several had been killed in the Burke-Canyon fighting. The Idaho National Guard
and federal troops were dispatched to the area, and union miners and sympathizers were thrown into bullpen
s.
Hostilities would again erupt
at the Bunker Hill facility
in 1899, when seventeen union miners were fired for having joined the union. Other union miners were likewise ordered to draw their pay and leave. Angry members of the union converged on the area and blew up the Bunker Hill Mill, killing two company men.
In both disputes, the union's complaints included pay, hours of work, the right of miners to belong to the union, and the mine owners' use of informants and undercover agents
. The violence committed by union miners was answered with a brutal response in 1892 and in 1899.
Through the Western Federation of Miners
(WFM) union, the battles in the mining district became closely tied to a major miners' strike in Colorado
. The struggle culminated in the December 1905 assassination of former Governor Frank Steunenberg
by Harry Orchard
(also known as Albert Horsley), a member of the WFM. Orchard was allegedly incensed by Steunenberg's efforts as governor to put down the 1899 miner uprising after being elected on a pro-labor platform.
Pinkerton detective James McParland
conducted the investigation into the assassination. In 1907, WFM Secretary Treasurer "Big Bill" Haywood
and two other WFM leaders were tried on a charge of conspiracy to murder Steunenberg, with Orchard testifying against them as part of a deal made with McParland. The nationally publicized trial featured Senator William E. Borah
as prosecuting attorney and Clarence Darrow
representing the defendants. The defense team presented evidence that Orchard had been a Pinkerton agent and had acted as a paid informant for the Cripple Creek Mine Owners' Association. Darrow argued that Orchard's real motive in the assassination had been revenge for a declaration of martial law by Steunenberg, which prompted Orchard to gamble away a share in the Hercules silver mine that would otherwise have made him wealthy.
Two of the WFM leaders were acquitted in two separate trials, and the third was released. Orchard was convicted and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted, and he spent the rest of his life in an Idaho prison.
produced 19% of all gold
in the United States, or 2.5 million ounces.
Most of Idaho's mining production, 1860–1969, has come from metal
s equating to $2.88 billion out of $3.42 billion, according to the best estimates. Of the metallic mining
areas of Idaho, the Coeur d'Alene
region has produced the most by far, and accounts for about 80% of the total Idaho yield.
, Stibnite, Blackbirg, and Owyhee
—range considerably above the other big producers. Atlanta
, Bear Valley, Bay Horse, Florence
, Gilmore, Mackay
, Patterson
, and Yankee Fork all ran on the order of ten to twenty million dollars, and Elk City
, Leesburg
, Pierce
, Rocky Bar
, and Warren's make up the rest of the major Idaho mining areas that stand out in the sixty or so regions of production worthy of mention.
A number of small operations do not appear in this list of Idaho metallic mining areas: a small amount of gold
was recovered from Goose Creek on Salmon Meadows; a mine near Cleveland was prospected in 1922 and produced a little manganese
in 1926; a few tons of copper
came from Fort Hall
, and a few more tons of copper came from a mine near Montpelier
. Similarly, a few tons of lead
came from a property near Bear Lake, and lead-silver
is known on Cassia Creek near Elba. Some gold quartz
and lead-silver workings are on Ruby Creek west of Elk River
, and there is a slightly developed copper operation on Deer Creek near Winchester
. Molybdenum
is known on Roaring River and on the east fork of the Salmon. Some scattered mining enterprises have been undertaken around Soldier Mountain and on Squaw Creek north of Montour.
agenda of the late 19th century and early 20th century. The state embraced progressive policies such as women's suffrage
(1896) and prohibition
(1916) before they became federal law. Idahoans were also strongly supportive of Free Silver
. The pro-bimetallism
Populist
and Silver Republican
Parties of the late 1890s were particularly successful in the state.
After statehood, Idaho's economy began a gradual shift away from mining toward agriculture, particularly in the south. Older mining communities such as Silver City and Rocky Bar
gave way to agricultural communities incorporated after statehood, such as Nampa
and Twin Falls
. Milner Dam
on the Snake River, completed in 1905, allowed for the formation of many agricultural communities in the Magic Valley
region which had previously been nearly unpopulated.
Meanwhile, some of the mining towns were able to reinvent themselves as resort communities, most notably in Blaine County
, where the Sun Valley
ski resort opened in 1936. Others, such as Silver City and Rocky Bar, became ghost town
s.
in the early 1980s sent the region's economy into a tailspin. Since that time, a substantial increase in tourism
in north Idaho has helped the region to recover. Coeur d'Alene
, a lake-side resort town, is a destination for visitors in the area.
Beginning in the 1980s, there was a rise in North Idaho of a few right-wing extremist and "survivalist" political groups, most notably one holding Neo-Nazi views, the Aryan Nations
. These groups were most heavily concentrated in the Panhandle region of the state, particularly in the vicinity of Coeur d'Alene. Although Idaho is a conservative
state politically, the vast majority of its residents reject such ideologies.
In 1992 a stand-off occurred between U.S. Marshals, the F.B.I., and white separatist Randy Weaver
and his family at their compound at Ruby Ridge
, located near the small, northern Idaho town of Naples. The ensuing fire-fight and deaths of a U.S. Marshal, and Weaver's son and wife gained national attention, and raised a considerable amount of controversy regarding the nature of acceptable force by the federal government in such situations.
In 2001, the Aryan Nations compound, which had been located in Hayden Lake, Idaho
, was confiscated as a result of a court case, and the organization moved out of state. About the same time Boise installed an impressive stone Human Rights Memorial featuring a bronze statue of Anne Frank
and quotations from her and many other writers extolling human freedom and equality. A recent poll found that Idaho citizens accept people of different cultures and ethnicities.
The demographics of the state have changed. Due to this growth in different groups, especially in Boise, the economic expansion surged wrong-economic growth followed the high standard of living and resulted in the "growth of different groups".
Idaho was one of several states that received the brunt of nuclear fallout from tests at the Nevada Test Site
during the 1950s and 1960s. Reports published by the U.S. government indicate that many Idaho citizens perished and continue to suffer as a result of these tests. As of September 2007, there were continuing efforts in the U.S. congress to compensate victims.
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and social activity
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
within the state of Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, a geographical area in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
area near the west coast of the United States and Canada. Other associated areas include southern Alaska, all of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Washington, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, western Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
and northern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
Humans may have been present in the Idaho for 14,500 years. Excavations in 1959 at Wilson Butte Cave near Twin Falls, Idaho
Twin Falls, Idaho
Twin Falls is the county seat and largest city of Twin Falls County, Idaho, United States. The population was 44,125 at the 2010 censusTwin Falls is the largest city of Idaho's Magic Valley region...
revealed evidence of human activity, including arrowheads, that rank among the oldest dated artifacts in North America. American Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
tribes predominant in the area in historic times included the Nez Perce and the Coeur d'Alene
Coeur d'Alene Tribe
The Coeur d'Alene are a Native American people who lived in villages along the Coeur d'Alene, St. Joe, Clark Fork and Spokane Rivers; as well as sites on the shores of Lake Coeur d'Alene, Lake Pend Oreille and Hayden Lake, in what is now northern Idaho, eastern Washington and western Montana.In...
in the north; and the Northern and Western Shoshone
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
and Bannock
Bannock (tribe)
The Bannock tribe of the Northern Paiute are an indigenous people of the Great Basin. Their traditional lands include southeastern Oregon, southeastern Idaho, western Wyoming, and southwestern Montana...
peoples in the south.
European exploration
Idaho was the last of the 50 states explored by people of European descent. The Lewis and Clark expedition entered present-day Idaho on August 12, 1805, at Lemhi PassLemhi Pass
Lemhi Pass is a high mountain pass in the Beaverhead Mountains, part of the Bitterroot Range in the Rocky Mountains The pass lies on the Montana-Idaho border on the continental divide, at an elevation of 7373 feet above sea level.-History:...
. The first expedition to enter southern Idaho is believed to be a group led by Wilson Price Hunt, which navigated the Snake River
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
while attempting to blaze an all-water trail westward from St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, to Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
, in 1811 and 1812. At that time, approximately 8,000 Native Americans lived in the region.
Fur trading led to the first significant incursion of Europeans in the region. Andrew Henry
Andrew Henry (fur trader)
Major Andrew Henry was an American fur trader who, with William H. Ashley started the Rocky Mountain Fur Company in 1822...
of the Missouri Fur Company first entered the Snake River plateau in 1810. He built Fort Henry on Henry's Fork on the upper Snake River, near modern St. Anthony, Idaho
St. Anthony, Idaho
St. Anthony is a city in and the county seat of Fremont County, Idaho, United States. The population was 3,342 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Rexburg, Idaho Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:St...
. However, this first American fur post west of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
was abandoned the following spring.
The British-owned Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
next entered Idaho and controlled the trade in the Snake River area by the 1820s. The North West Company
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
's interior department of the Columbia was created in June, 1816, and Donald Mackenzie was assigned as its head. Mackenzie had previously been employed by Hudson's Bay and had been a partner in the Pacific Fur Company
Pacific Fur Company
The Pacific Fur Company was founded June 23, 1810, in New York City. Half of the stock of the company was held by the American Fur Company, owned exclusively by John Jacob Astor, and Astor provided all of the capital for the enterprise. The other half of the stock was ascribed to working partners...
, financed principally by John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor , born Johann Jakob Astor, was a German-American business magnate and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States...
. During these early years, he traveled west with a Pacific Fur Company's party and was involved in the initial exploration of the Salmon River and Clearwater River. The company proceeded down the lower Snake River and Columbia River by canoe, and were the first of the Overland Astorians to reach Fort Astoria, on January 18, 1812.
Under Mackenzie, the North West Company was a dominant force in the fur trade in the Snake River country. Out of Fort George
Fort Astoria
Fort Astoria was the Pacific Fur Company's primary fur trading post in the Northwest, and was the first American-owned settlement on the Pacific coast. After a short two-year term of US ownership, the British owned and operated it for 33 years. It was the first British port on the Pacific coast...
in Astoria, Mackenzie led fur brigades up the Snake River in 1816-1817 and up the lower Snake in 1817-1818. Fort Nez Perce, established in July, 1818, became the staging point for Mackenzies' Snake brigades. The expedition of 1818-1819 explored the Blue Mountains, and traveled down the Snake River to the Bear River and approached the headwaters of the Snake. Mackenzie sought to establish a navigable route up the Snake River from Fort Nez Perce to the Boise area in 1819. While he did succeed in traveling by boat from the Columbia River through the Grand Canyon of the Snake past Hells Canyon
Hells Canyon
Hells Canyon is a wide canyon located along the border of eastern Oregon and western Idaho in the United States. It is North America's deepest river gorge at and part of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area....
, he concluded that water transport was generally impractical. Mackenzie held the first rendezvous in the region on the Boise River in 1819.
Despite their best efforts, early American fur companies in this region had difficulty maintaining the long distance supply lines from the Missouri River system into the Intermountain West. However, Americans William H. Ashley and Jedediah Smith
Jedediah Smith
Jedediah Strong Smith was a hunter, trapper, fur trader, trailblazer, author, cartographer, cattleman, and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the American West Coast and the Southwest during the 19th century...
expanded the Saint Louis fur trade into Idaho in 1824. The 1832 trapper's rendezvous at Pierre's Hole
Pierre's Hole
Pierre's Hole, a shallow valley west of the Teton Range that collects the headwaters of the Teton River in what is today the state of Idaho, was a strategic center of the fur trade of the northern Rocky Mountains...
, held at the foot of the Three Tetons in modern Teton County
Teton County, Idaho
Teton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. Established in 1915, it was named after the Teton Mountains. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 5,999...
, was followed by an intense battle between the Gros Ventre and a large party of American trappers aided by their Nez Perce and Flathead
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation are the Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai and Pend d'Oreilles Tribes. The Flatheads lived between the Cascade Mountains and Rocky Mountains. The Salish initially lived entirely east of the Continental Divide but established their...
allies.
The prospect of missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
work among the Native Americans also attracted early settlers to the region. In 1809, Kullyspell House
Kullyspell House
Kullyspell House was a fur trading post established in 1809 on Lake Pend Oreille in what is now North Idaho...
, the first white-owned establishment and first trading post in Idaho, was constructed. In 1836, the Reverend Henry H. Spalding
Henry H. Spalding
Henry Harmon Spalding , and his wife Eliza Hart Spalding were prominent Presbyterian missionaries and educators working primarily with the Nez Perce in the U.S. Pacific Northwest...
established a Protestant mission near Lapwai, where he printed the Northwest's first book, established Idaho's first school, developed its first irrigation system
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
, and grew the state's first potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es. Narcissa Whitman
Narcissa Whitman
Narcissa Prentiss Whitman was an American missionary in the Oregon Country of what would become the state of Washington. Along with Eliza Hart Spalding , she was the first European-American woman to cross the Rocky Mountains in 1836 on her way to found the Protestant Whitman Mission with husband Dr...
and Eliza Hart Spalding were the first non-native women to enter present-day Idaho.
Cataldo Mission, the oldest standing building in Idaho, was constructed at Cataldo
Cataldo, Idaho
Cataldo is an unincorporated community in Kootenai and Shoshone counties in the U.S. state of Idaho. It is located at , at an altitude of 2,139 feet ....
by the Coeur d'Alene and Catholic missionaries. In 1842, Father Pierre-Jean De Smet
Pierre-Jean De Smet
Pierre-Jean De Smet , also known as Pieter-Jan De Smet, was a Belgian Roman Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus , active in missionary work among the Native Americans of the Midwestern United States in the mid-19th century.His extensive travels as a missionary were said to total...
, with Fr. Nicholas Point and Br. Charles Duet, selected a mission location along the St. Joe River. The mission was moved a short distance away in 1846, as the original location was subject to flooding. In 1850, Antonio Ravalli
Antonio Ravalli
Antonio Ravalli was an Italian Jesuit missionary, active in the western United States. In 1893 Ravalli County, Montana was named after him.-Life:...
designed a new mission building and Indians affiliated with the church effort built the mission, without nails, using the wattle and daub method
Wattle and daub
Wattle and daub is a composite building material used for making walls, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung and straw...
. In time, the Cataldo mission became an important stop for traders, settlers, and miners. In addition to acting as a place for rest from the trail, the mission offered needed supplies and was a working port for boats heading up the Coeur d'Alene River
Coeur d'Alene River
The Coeur d'Alene River flows from the Silver Valley into Lake Coeur d'Alene in the U.S. state of Idaho. The stream continues out of Lake Coeur d'Alene as the Spokane River...
.
During this time, the region which became Idaho was part of an unorganized territory known as Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
, claimed by both the United States and Great Britain. The United States gained undisputed jurisdiction over the region in the Oregon Treaty
Oregon Treaty
The Oregon Treaty is a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to the Oregon Country, which had been jointly occupied by...
of 1846, although the area was under the de facto jurisdiction of the Provisional Government of Oregon
Provisional Government of Oregon
The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected government created in the Oregon Country, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It existed from May 2, 1843 until March 3, 1849. Created at a time when no country had sovereignty over the region, this independent government...
from 1843 to 1849. The original boundaries of Oregon Territory
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
in 1848 included all three of the present-day Pacific Northwest states and extended eastward to the Continental Divide
Continental Divide
The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...
. In 1853, areas north of the 46th Parallel
46th parallel north
The 46th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 46 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
became Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
, splitting what is now Idaho in two. The future state was reunited in 1859 after Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
became a state and the boundaries of Washington Territory were redrawn.
While thousands passed through Idaho on the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
or during the California gold rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
of 1849, few people settled there. In 1860 the first of several gold rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
es in Idaho began at Pierce
Pierce, Idaho
Pierce is a city in Clearwater County, Idaho. Elias D. Pierce and Wilbur F. Bassett made the first discovery of gold in Idaho , on Orofino Creek in 1860, a mile north of Pierce....
in present-day Clearwater County
Clearwater County, Idaho
Clearwater County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. Established in 1911, the county was named after the Clearwater River. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 8,930 . The county seat is Orofino....
. By 1862, settlements in both the north and south had formed around the mining boom.
Mormon Settlers
Mormon missionaries founded Fort LemhiFort Lemhi
Fort Lemhi was a mission approximately two miles north of present-day Tendoy, Idaho, occupied by Mormon missionaries from 1855 to 1857....
in 1855, but the settlement did not last. The first organized town in Idaho was Franklin
Franklin, Idaho
Franklin is a city in Franklin County, Idaho, United States. The population was 641 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, settled in April 1860 by Mormon pioneers who believed they were in Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
; although a later survey determined they had in fact crossed the border. Mormon pioneers would go on to establish the majority of historic and modern communities in Southeastern Idaho, with Mormon settlers reaching areas near the current-day Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park is a United States National Park located in northwestern Wyoming, U.S. The Park consists of approximately and includes the major peaks of the long Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Only south of Yellowstone...
in Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
.
- See Mormon CorridorMormon CorridorThe Mormon Corridor is a term for the areas of Western North America that were settled between 1850 and approximately 1890 by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , who are commonly known as Mormons....
.
English
Large numbers of English immigrantsEnglish people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
settled in what is now the state of Idaho in the late 19th and early 20th century, many before statehood. The English found they had more property rights and paid less taxes than they did back in England. Many came from humble beginnings and would rise to prominence in Idaho such as Frank R. Gooding
Frank R. Gooding
Frank Robert Gooding was a Republican United States Senator and the seventh Governor of Idaho. The city of Gooding and Gooding County, both in southern Idaho, are named for him....
who was from a rural working class background but was eventually elected to be the seventh governor of the state. Today people of English descent make up nearly one fifth of the entire state of Idaho and form a plurality in the southern portion of the state.
Irish
A significant number of people from IrelandIrish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
immigrated
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
to North America after the Potato Famine, and some migrated west searching for land for agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. Many ended up in Montana and southern Idaho. Because the Catholic Church already had a presence in the northern and eastern portions of the state, many Irish Catholics settled in Boise as well as in Butte, Montana
Butte, Montana
Butte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...
.
African
York, the helper of Lewis and Clark on their expedition to the Pacific, was the first recorded African American in Idaho. There is a significant African American population made up of those who came west after the abolition of slaveryThirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished and continues to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, passed by the House on January 31, 1865, and adopted on December 6, 1865. On...
. Many settled near Pocatello
Pocatello, Idaho
Pocatello is the county seat and largest city of Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the Pocatello metropolitan area, which encompasses all of Bannock...
and were ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
ers, entertainers, and farmers. Although free, many blacks suffered discrimination
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
in the early-to-mid-late 20th century. The black population of the state continues to grow as many come to the state because of educational opportunities, to serve in the military
Military of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
, and for other employment opportunities. There is a Black History Museum in Boise, Idaho, with an exhibit known as the "Invisible Idahoan", which chronicles the first African-Americans in the state. Blacks are the fourth largest ethnic group in Idaho according to the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
. Mountain Home
Mountain Home, Idaho
Mountain Home is the largest city and county seat of Elmore County, Idaho. The population was 14,206 at the 2010 census. Mountain Home is the principal city of the Mountain Home, ID Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Elmore County....
, Boise
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
, and Garden City
Garden City, Idaho
Garden City is a city in Ada County, Idaho, United States. The population was 10,972 at the 2010 census. Garden City is nearly surrounded by Boise but retains a separate municipal government....
have significant African-American populations.
However, many major cities, such as Boise, have a small population of African Americans.
Basque
The Basque peopleBasque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
from the Iberian peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
in Spain and southern France were traditionally shepherd
Shepherd
A shepherd is a person who tends, feeds or guards flocks of sheep.- Origins :Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool...
s in Europe. They came to Idaho, offering hard work and perseverance in exchange for opportunity. One of the largest Basque communities in the US is in Boise, with a Basque museum and festival held annually in the city.
Chinese settlement
Chinese in the mid-19th century came to America through San Francisco to work on the railroadRail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
and open businesses. They suffered discrimination due to the Anti-Chinese League
Sinophobia
Sinophobia or anti-Chinese sentiment is the fear of or dislike of China, its people, overseas Chinese, or Chinese Culture...
in the 19th century which sought to limit the rights and opportunities of Chinese emigrants. Today Asians are third in population demographically after Whites and Hispanics. Chinese made up 33 percent of Idaho's population in the 1880s.
Idaho Territory
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
signed an act creating Idaho Territory
Idaho Territory
The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 4, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Idaho.-1860s:...
from portions of Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
and Dakota Territory
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...
with its capital at Lewiston
Lewiston, Idaho
Lewiston is a city in and also the county seat of Nez Perce County in the Pacific Northwest state of Idaho. It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is the principal city of the Lewiston, ID - Clarkston, WA...
. The original Idaho Territory included most of the areas that later became the states of Idaho, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
and Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, and had a population of under 17,000. Idaho Territory assumed the boundaries of the modern state in 1868 and was admitted as a state in 1890.
Statehood
When President Benjamin HarrisonBenjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
signed the law admitting Idaho as a U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
on July 3, 1890, the population was 88,548. George L. Shoup
George Laird Shoup
George Laird Shoup was the first Governor of Idaho, serving a short time after statehood in 1890 before becoming one of the state's first United States Senators....
became the state's first governor, but resigned after only a few weeks in office to take a seat in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
.
Miners' uprisings
During its first years of statehood, Idaho was plagued by labor unrest in the mining district of Coeur d'AleneCoeur d'Alene, Idaho
Coeur d'Alene is the largest city and county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. Coeur d'Alene has the second largest metropolitan area in the state of Idaho. As of the 2010 census the population of Coeur...
. In 1892, miners called a strike which developed into a shooting war between union miners and company guards
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor strike of 1892
There were two related incidents between miners and mine owners in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho: the labor strike of 1892, and the labor confrontation of 1899....
. Each side accused the other of starting the fight. The first shots were exchanged at the Frisco mine in Frisco, in the Burke-Canyon
Burke-Canyon
Burke-Canyon is the canyon of the Burke-Canyon Creek, in the northernmost part of Shoshone County, Idaho. There are several ghost towns and/or remnants of former communities along the Burke-Canyon Road, which runs through the canyon....
north and east of Wallace
Wallace, Idaho
Wallace is a historic city in the Panhandle region of the U.S. state of Idaho and the county seat of Shoshone County in the Silver Valley mining district...
. The Frisco mine was blown up, and company guards were taken prisoner. The violence soon spilled over into the nearby community of Gem, where union miners attempted to locate a Pinkerton
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...
spy who had infiltrated their union and was passing information to the mine operators. But agent Charlie Siringo
Charlie Siringo
Charles Angelo Siringo , was an American lawman, detective, and agent for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency during the late 19th century and early 20th century.-Early life:...
escaped by cutting a hole in the floor of his room. Strikers forced the Gem mine to close, then traveled west to the Bunker Hill mining complex near Wardner
Wardner, Idaho
Wardner is a city in Shoshone County, Idaho, United States. The population was 188 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Wardner is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all the land....
, and closed down that facility as well. Several had been killed in the Burke-Canyon fighting. The Idaho National Guard
Idaho National Guard
The Idaho National Guard consists of the:*Idaho Army National Guard*Idaho Air National Guard-External links:*...
and federal troops were dispatched to the area, and union miners and sympathizers were thrown into bullpen
Bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen is the area where relief pitchers warm-up before entering a game. Depending on the ballpark, it may be situated in foul territory along the baselines or just beyond the outfield fence. Also, a team's roster of relief pitchers is metonymically referred to as "the bullpen"...
s.
Hostilities would again erupt
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor confrontation of 1899
There were two related incidents between miners and mine owners in Coeur d'Alene: the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor strike of 1892, and the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor confrontation of 1899....
at the Bunker Hill facility
Bunker Hill Mining Company
The Bunker Hill Mining Company was a mining company with facilities in Wardner, Idaho and surrounding areas.-History:When the mining boom began in the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho mining district, the area was lightly inhabited...
in 1899, when seventeen union miners were fired for having joined the union. Other union miners were likewise ordered to draw their pay and leave. Angry members of the union converged on the area and blew up the Bunker Hill Mill, killing two company men.
In both disputes, the union's complaints included pay, hours of work, the right of miners to belong to the union, and the mine owners' use of informants and undercover agents
Labor spies
Labor spies are persons recruited or employed for the purpose of gathering intelligence, committing sabotage, sowing dissent, or engaging in other similar activities, typically within the context of an employer/labor organization relationship....
. The violence committed by union miners was answered with a brutal response in 1892 and in 1899.
Through the Western Federation of Miners
Western Federation of Miners
The Western Federation of Miners was a radical labor union that gained a reputation for militancy in the mines of the western United States and British Columbia. Its efforts to organize both hard rock miners and smelter workers brought it into sharp conflicts – and often pitched battles...
(WFM) union, the battles in the mining district became closely tied to a major miners' strike in Colorado
Colorado Labor Wars
Colorado's most significant battles between labor and capital occurred primarily between miners and mine operators. In these battles the state government, with one clear exception, always took the side of the mine operators....
. The struggle culminated in the December 1905 assassination of former Governor Frank Steunenberg
Frank Steunenberg
Frank Steunenberg was the fourth Governor of the State of Idaho, serving from 1897 until 1901. He is perhaps best known for his 1905 assassination by one-time union member Harry Orchard, who was also a paid informant for the Cripple Creek Mine Owners' Association...
by Harry Orchard
Albert Horsley
Albert Edward Horsley , best known by the pseudonym Harry Orchard, was a miner convicted of the 1905 political assassination of former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg...
(also known as Albert Horsley), a member of the WFM. Orchard was allegedly incensed by Steunenberg's efforts as governor to put down the 1899 miner uprising after being elected on a pro-labor platform.
Pinkerton detective James McParland
James McParland
James McParland,There are various spellings of James McParland's name. His stenographer, Morris Friedman, wrote a book about him — as "McParland." The Pinkerton Labor Spy, New York, Wilshire Book Co., 1907). also known as James McParlan,The Corpse On Boomerang Road, Telluride's War On Labor...
conducted the investigation into the assassination. In 1907, WFM Secretary Treasurer "Big Bill" Haywood
Bill Haywood
William Dudley Haywood , better known as "Big Bill" Haywood, was a founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World , and a member of the Executive Committee of the Socialist Party of America...
and two other WFM leaders were tried on a charge of conspiracy to murder Steunenberg, with Orchard testifying against them as part of a deal made with McParland. The nationally publicized trial featured Senator William E. Borah
William Edgar Borah
William Edgar Borah was a prominent Republican attorney and longtime United States Senator from Idaho noted for his oratorical skills and isolationist views. One of his nicknames later in life was "The Lion of Idaho."...
as prosecuting attorney and Clarence Darrow
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Seward Darrow was an American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union, best known for defending teenage thrill killers Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks and defending John T...
representing the defendants. The defense team presented evidence that Orchard had been a Pinkerton agent and had acted as a paid informant for the Cripple Creek Mine Owners' Association. Darrow argued that Orchard's real motive in the assassination had been revenge for a declaration of martial law by Steunenberg, which prompted Orchard to gamble away a share in the Hercules silver mine that would otherwise have made him wealthy.
Two of the WFM leaders were acquitted in two separate trials, and the third was released. Orchard was convicted and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted, and he spent the rest of his life in an Idaho prison.
Mining in Idaho
Mining in Idaho was a major commercial venture, bringing a great of attention to the state. From 1860-1866 IdahoIdaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
produced 19% of all gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
in the United States, or 2.5 million ounces.
Most of Idaho's mining production, 1860–1969, has come from metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
s equating to $2.88 billion out of $3.42 billion, according to the best estimates. Of the metallic mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
areas of Idaho, the Coeur d'Alene
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Coeur d'Alene is the largest city and county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. Coeur d'Alene has the second largest metropolitan area in the state of Idaho. As of the 2010 census the population of Coeur...
region has produced the most by far, and accounts for about 80% of the total Idaho yield.
Mining regions
Several others—Boise Basin, Wood River ValleyWood River Valley
The Wood River Valley is a region in south-central Idaho located in Blaine County. The valley has four incorporated cities. Bellevue, Hailey , Ketchum and Sun Valley...
, Stibnite, Blackbirg, and Owyhee
Owyhee County, Idaho
Owyhee County is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Idaho. In area it is the second largest county in Idaho, behind Idaho County. As of the 2000 Census, Owyhee County had a population of 10,644...
—range considerably above the other big producers. Atlanta
Atlanta, Idaho
Atlanta is an unincorporated town in Elmore County, Idaho, United States. It was founded in 1864 during the Civil War as a gold and silver mining community and named by Southerners after a rumored Confederate victory over General Sherman in the Battle of Atlanta, which turned to be wholly false,...
, Bear Valley, Bay Horse, Florence
Florence, Idaho
Florence is a ghost town in Idaho County, Idaho, United States. The town was originally settled as a mining camp in the winter of 1861, Several hundred miners who had come for the Clearwater Gold Rush of 1861, heard of a huge bonanza there on the Salmon River. Many of the miners walked from...
, Gilmore, Mackay
Mackay, Idaho
Mackay is a city in Custer County, Idaho, United States. The population was 566 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Mackay is located at , at an elevation of 5,905 feet ....
, Patterson
Patterson, Idaho
Patterson is an unincorporated community in Lemhi County, Idaho, United States. Patterson is southwest of Leadore....
, and Yankee Fork all ran on the order of ten to twenty million dollars, and Elk City
Elk City, Idaho
Elk City is an unincorporated census-designated place in Idaho County, Idaho, United States. Elk City is located at the eastern end of Idaho State Highway 14 and is east of Grangeville, the nearest city. Elk City has a post office with ZIP code 83525. As of the 2010 census, its population was 202....
, Leesburg
Leesburg, Idaho
Leesburg is an unincorporated community in Lemhi County, Idaho, United States. It lies at , along Napias Creek in the Salmon National Forest, west of Salmon. Its altitude is 6,653 feet . The community possessed a post office as late as 1942, but it has since closed...
, Pierce
Pierce, Idaho
Pierce is a city in Clearwater County, Idaho. Elias D. Pierce and Wilbur F. Bassett made the first discovery of gold in Idaho , on Orofino Creek in 1860, a mile north of Pierce....
, Rocky Bar
Rocky Bar, Idaho
Rocky Bar is a ghost town in Elmore County, Idaho, United States. At its height in the late 19th century Rocky Bar boasted a population of over 2,500 and served as county seat of Alturas County from 1864 to 1882...
, and Warren's make up the rest of the major Idaho mining areas that stand out in the sixty or so regions of production worthy of mention.
A number of small operations do not appear in this list of Idaho metallic mining areas: a small amount of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
was recovered from Goose Creek on Salmon Meadows; a mine near Cleveland was prospected in 1922 and produced a little manganese
Manganese
Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...
in 1926; a few tons of copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
came from Fort Hall
Fort Hall, Idaho
Fort Hall is a census-designated place in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho, split between northern Bannock County and southern Bingham County. It is located on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation along the Snake River north of Pocatello, near the site of the original Fort Hall in the...
, and a few more tons of copper came from a mine near Montpelier
Montpelier, Idaho
Montpelier is a city in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,785 at the 2000 census. The city is the largest community in the Bear Lake Valley, a farming region north of Bear Lake in southeastern Idaho along the Utah border...
. Similarly, a few tons of lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
came from a property near Bear Lake, and lead-silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
is known on Cassia Creek near Elba. Some gold quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
and lead-silver workings are on Ruby Creek west of Elk River
Elk River, Idaho
Elk River is a city in Clearwater County, Idaho, United States. The population was 156 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Elk River is located at ....
, and there is a slightly developed copper operation on Deer Creek near Winchester
Winchester, Idaho
Winchester is a city in Lewis County, Idaho, United States. The population was 340 at the 2010 census.-History:The city was named in 1900 during a meeting to establish a school district. While considering the possibilities, an individual looked at the stack of Winchester rifles at the door and...
. Molybdenum
Molybdenum
Molybdenum , is a Group 6 chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is from Neo-Latin Molybdaenum, from Ancient Greek , meaning lead, itself proposed as a loanword from Anatolian Luvian and Lydian languages, since its ores were confused with lead ores...
is known on Roaring River and on the east fork of the Salmon. Some scattered mining enterprises have been undertaken around Soldier Mountain and on Squaw Creek north of Montour.
Progressive policies
Idaho proved to be one of the more receptive states to the progressiveProgressivism in the United States
Progressivism in the United States is a broadly based reform movement that reached its height early in the 20th century and is generally considered to be middle class and reformist in nature. It arose as a response to the vast changes brought by modernization, such as the growth of large...
agenda of the late 19th century and early 20th century. The state embraced progressive policies such as women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
(1896) and prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
(1916) before they became federal law. Idahoans were also strongly supportive of Free Silver
Free Silver
Free Silver was an important United States political policy issue in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Its advocates were in favor of an inflationary monetary policy using the "free coinage of silver" as opposed to the less inflationary Gold Standard; its supporters were called...
. The pro-bimetallism
Bimetallism
In economics, bimetallism is a monetary standard in which the value of the monetary unit is defined as equivalent both to a certain quantity of gold and to a certain quantity of silver; such a system establishes a fixed rate of exchange between the two metals...
Populist
Populist Party (United States)
The People's Party, also known as the "Populists", was a short-lived political party in the United States established in 1891. It was most important in 1892-96, then rapidly faded away...
and Silver Republican
Silver Republican Party
The Silver Republican Party was a United States political faction active in the 1890s. It was so named because it split from the Republican Party over the issues of "Free Silver" and bimetallism. The main Republican Party supported the gold standard....
Parties of the late 1890s were particularly successful in the state.
Rocky Bar, Idaho
Rocky Bar is a ghost town in Elmore County, Idaho, United States. At its height in the late 19th century Rocky Bar boasted a population of over 2,500 and served as county seat of Alturas County from 1864 to 1882...
gave way to agricultural communities incorporated after statehood, such as Nampa
Nampa, Idaho
Nampa is the largest and the fastest growing city in Canyon County, Idaho, USA. The population of Nampa was 81,557 at the 2010 census. Nampa is located about west of Boise along Interstate 84, and six miles west of Meridian. Nampa is part of the Boise metropolitan area...
and Twin Falls
Twin Falls, Idaho
Twin Falls is the county seat and largest city of Twin Falls County, Idaho, United States. The population was 44,125 at the 2010 censusTwin Falls is the largest city of Idaho's Magic Valley region...
. Milner Dam
Milner Dam
Milner Dam is a rockfill dam near Burley in south central Idaho. It impounds the Snake River in a reservoir named Milner Lake. The dam spans the river across two islands, with three embankments....
on the Snake River, completed in 1905, allowed for the formation of many agricultural communities in the Magic Valley
Magic Valley
The Magic Valley is a region in south-central Idaho consisting of Blaine, Camas, Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka and Twin Falls Counties. It is particularly associated with the agricultural region in the Snake River Plain located in the area...
region which had previously been nearly unpopulated.
Meanwhile, some of the mining towns were able to reinvent themselves as resort communities, most notably in Blaine County
Blaine County, Idaho
Blaine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 Census the county had a population of 21,376. The county seat and largest city is Hailey. The county is home to the Sun Valley ski resort....
, where the Sun Valley
Sun Valley, Idaho
Sun Valley is a resort city in Blaine County in the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum, lying within the greater Wood River valley. Tourists from around the world enjoy its skiing, hiking, ice skating, trail riding, tennis, and cycling. The population was 1,427...
ski resort opened in 1936. Others, such as Silver City and Rocky Bar, became ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
s.
1950s to present
In the north, mining continued to be an important industry for several more decades. The closure of the Bunker Hill Mine complex in Shoshone CountyShoshone County, Idaho
Shoshone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. The county was established in 1864, named for the Native American Shoshone tribe. The population was 12,765 at the 2010 census. Shoshone County is commonly referred to as the Silver Valley, due to its century-old mining history...
in the early 1980s sent the region's economy into a tailspin. Since that time, a substantial increase in tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
in north Idaho has helped the region to recover. Coeur d'Alene
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Coeur d'Alene is the largest city and county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. Coeur d'Alene has the second largest metropolitan area in the state of Idaho. As of the 2010 census the population of Coeur...
, a lake-side resort town, is a destination for visitors in the area.
Beginning in the 1980s, there was a rise in North Idaho of a few right-wing extremist and "survivalist" political groups, most notably one holding Neo-Nazi views, the Aryan Nations
Aryan Nations
Aryan Nations is a white supremacist religious organization originally based in Hayden Lake, Idaho. Richard Girnt Butler founded the group in the 1970s, as an arm of the Christian Identity organization Church of Jesus Christ–Christian...
. These groups were most heavily concentrated in the Panhandle region of the state, particularly in the vicinity of Coeur d'Alene. Although Idaho is a conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
state politically, the vast majority of its residents reject such ideologies.
In 1992 a stand-off occurred between U.S. Marshals, the F.B.I., and white separatist Randy Weaver
Randy Weaver
Randall Claude "Randy" Weaver is a former Green Beret who was at the center of a deadly confrontation with U.S. federal agents at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in 1992.-Early life:...
and his family at their compound at Ruby Ridge
Ruby Ridge
Ruby Ridge was the site of a violent confrontation and siege in northern Idaho in 1992. It involved Randy Weaver, his family, Weaver's friend Kevin Harris, and agents of the United States Marshals Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation...
, located near the small, northern Idaho town of Naples. The ensuing fire-fight and deaths of a U.S. Marshal, and Weaver's son and wife gained national attention, and raised a considerable amount of controversy regarding the nature of acceptable force by the federal government in such situations.
In 2001, the Aryan Nations compound, which had been located in Hayden Lake, Idaho
Hayden Lake, Idaho
Hayden Lake is a both a city and a lake in Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. Hayden Lake is one of several natural lakes in northern Idaho...
, was confiscated as a result of a court case, and the organization moved out of state. About the same time Boise installed an impressive stone Human Rights Memorial featuring a bronze statue of Anne Frank
Anne Frank
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...
and quotations from her and many other writers extolling human freedom and equality. A recent poll found that Idaho citizens accept people of different cultures and ethnicities.
The demographics of the state have changed. Due to this growth in different groups, especially in Boise, the economic expansion surged wrong-economic growth followed the high standard of living and resulted in the "growth of different groups".
Nuclear fallout from Nevada test site
Nevada Test Site
The Nevada National Security Site , previously the Nevada Test Site , is a United States Department of Energy reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about northwest of the city of Las Vegas...
during the 1950s and 1960s. Reports published by the U.S. government indicate that many Idaho citizens perished and continue to suffer as a result of these tests. As of September 2007, there were continuing efforts in the U.S. congress to compensate victims.
See also
- History of the Western United States
- List of people from Idaho
- Territorial evolution of Idaho