Local group commemorating Idaho’s 160th anniversary with annual celebration
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IDAHO FALLS – Idaho will celebrate 133 years of statehood later this year, but this week marks another important milestone for the Gem State. On March 4, 1863, at the height of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln officially created the Idaho territory.
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At the time of its creation, the territory “sprawled across an area one-quarter larger than Texas,” according to the state’s website, encompassing all of modern-day Montana and most of Wyoming.
Idaho’s state boundaries and distinctive handgun shape resulted from decades of debate. In 2017, then Idaho Senator Brent Hill wrote in a Teton Valley News column that from 1849 to 1850, the southeast corner of Idaho was part of Utah’s boundaries, known as Deseret at the time.
“Until 1863, Idaho was part of Washington Territory. When Idaho petitioned Congress to create a new territory, two competing versions of its territorial boundaries were presented to the Senate,” Hill wrote.
U.S. Army Lieutenant John Mullan, known for building the first wagon road to cross the Rocky Mountains, a 600-mile trail that extended from Fort Benton, Montana through Coeur d’Alene and into Walla Walla, Washington, came up with the initial design. Under his plan, what is now southern Idaho and the entire state of Wyoming would have made up the Idaho territory.
William H. Wallace, who was appointed Idaho’s first territorial governor, came up with a design that included all of present-day Idaho, along with Montana and Wyoming.
“On the last day of the 37th Congress, debate went well into the night. After midnight on March 4, 1863, Wallace’s bill was passed by Congress and later that day was signed by President Lincoln,” according to Hill.
Lewiston, near the Nez Perce Indian Reservation in the panhandle of northern Idaho, was selected as the original capital.
It didn’t take long for the first legislators to request their own territory. The two states separated the following year after a territorial delegate, on his way to the Legislature in Lewiston, “journeyed all the way to the Pacific coast then took a boat up the Columbia and Snake Rivers” to avoid the rough terrain of the Bitterroot Mountains, the current Idaho-Montana state line.
Voters on the Montana side wanted the Bitterroot Mountains to serve as the boundary. Idahoans wanted the Continental Divide — which runs through Yellowstone National Park — to serve as the Idaho-Montana boundary.
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“Montana’s proposal to establish the Bitterroot Mountains as the boundary was approved by Congress before Idaho could even communicate its objection,” reports Hill. “Idaho’s boundaries were determined by greed, power, politics, and discontent, but also perhaps by the same Divine destiny that formed this great nation.”
Today, a trip across the Gem State from Bonner’s Ferry in the north to Montpelier in the southeast is an 800-mile journey, according to the state’s website. Though significantly smaller, it’s still as large as all six New England states combined.
The Bonneville County Heritage Association is marking 160 years of Idaho history with its eighth annual Idaho Day Celebration at the Colonial Theater in downtown Idaho Falls.
The event is happening Thursday, March 2. The theme this year is “We love Idaho and all her gems.” It will begin at 6 p.m. with a student art contest in the Willard Arts Center’s Carr Gallery. A silent auction will take place in the lobby at 6:30 with items donated by local merchants. All the proceeds will benefit the BCHA.
At 7 p.m., there will be an opening prayer, a posting of the U.S. and Idaho flag and the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a short film presentation.
“The film will talk about (Idaho’s) wilderness, lakes and rivers, and some of our small towns and their unique features,” BCHA President Rosemarie Doxey tells EastIdahoNews.com. “Two of our board members worked with Paul Jenkins, a member of the community, to create the film. They are so excited. They said, ‘This is the best thing we’ve ever done.'”
Students from Chief Tahgee Elementary in Fort Hall will provide several performances to highlight Idaho’s Native American history.
“One of the first requirements at (Chief Tahgee Elementary) is to learn the Shoshone language. There’s not too many people left in the U.S. that can speak that language. They’re going to be doing that during the program,” Doxey says.
Students from Dora Erickson and Westside Elementary in Idaho Falls will provide several musical numbers, along with dancers from Bonneville High School.
Multiple people and organizations will also be recognized.
The event is free to the public and Doxey is encouraging people to attend.
“We just want people to come and enjoy and learn,” she says.