North Idaho Parks, Part 1

North Idaho has many great parks.  City parks enjoyed by children, family and community on a daily basis.  State parks which are weekend wonderlands and used by locals and awestruck visitors.  This column starts an ongoing series that will touch on a wide variety of North Idaho parks.  And what better place to start than Old Mission State Park in Cataldo, where Idaho's oldest standing building proudly sits.

In the early 1800's Coeur d’Alene Indians heard about tribes being visited by "medicine men" with great powers and wanted to get in on it. They journeyed to St. Louis three times to invite the Blackrobes (Jesuit priests) to live among the tribe. 

In 1842, Father Pierre-Jean De Smet traveled to the Coeur d'Alenes to meet and live with the tribe.  An original mission site was selected along the St. Joe River about 35 miles from the present location, and was called the Mission of St. Joseph. The river repeatedly flooded the site so in 1846 the location was abandoned in favor of a high, grassy knoll overlooking the Coeur d’Alene River. 

The Mission of the Sacred Heart was constructed between 1850 and 1853.  It became a center hub and spiritual home for the Tribe.  With the completion of the Mullan Road (within sight of the Mission) in the early 1860s, traffic grew from settlers and prospectors.  The U.S. government decided to set up a reservation for the tribe but much to the dismay of the Coeur d'Alenes was that it was located near the south end of the lake.  In 1877 the Tribe moved to what is now DeSmet and built another mission.   

The Sacred Heart Mission at Cataldo was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1963.  By the 1970's the building was beat down.  The Idaho Bicentennial Commission took it on in 1974 and in 1975 it officially became Old Mission State Park.

Today the Park is a centerpiece in the history of North Idaho.  Located at Exit 39 on I-90, the Mission is clearly visible to all who pass.  As a State Park, a $5 vehicle pass is required but well worth that amount.  An interpretive center with exhibits and multi media presentations walks visitors through the daily life of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe and the story of the coming of the Blackrobes.  On the site is the restored parish house, historic cemetery, nature trails and an audio walking tour is available.  

But the crown jewel is the church itself.  A walk around and inside the building provides a glimpse into the waddle and daub construction methods of 150 years ago.  Built in 3 years by the Catholic missionaries and members of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe using only broad axe, auger, ropes and pulleys, a pen knife and an improvised whip saw, it was finished without using one single nail.

The Park is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, 7 days a week.  Special events at the Mission include a Historic Skills Fair in July and the Feast of the Assumption Pilgrimage by the Coeur d'Alene Indians and the Annual Mountain Man Rendezvous in August.  If you haven't visited old Mission State Park, make sure you put it on your list of things to do.

This Day in Idaho History, 18 March 1859

March 18, 1859 The United States War Department appropriates $100,000 for the actual construction of what would be known as the Mullan Road.

As early as 1852 proposals were made to build a railroad to the Pacific and many routes were considered.  One was a northern route from the Great Lakes to Puget Sound.  In 1853, Washington Territorial Governor General Issac Stevens was ordered by Congress to find a possible route from the Missouri River to the Columbia River.  One of those in that exploration party was Lt. John Mullan.

In 1854 Congress appointed Mullan to survey a route between Ft. Benton (MT) to Ft. Walla Walla (WA).  Mullan and his team crossed the Continental Divide six times and traveled over a thousand miles picking the best route.  In 1855 Mullan went to Washington, DC to make his report and secure funding.  Politicians favoring a southern route and lack of money held it up until 1857.

The threat of Indians in the eastern part of Washington Territory spurred Congress to action and directed Mullan to make a final survey and make plans for construction.  Mullan refined the survey and served as topographer while a member of Col  George Wright's forces when they fought the Nez Perce, Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, Palouse and Yakima tribes.  

Finally in 1859, March 18th, funds were allocated for the road's construction.  On July 1 Mullan started the road work in Walla Walla.  Completed in 1862, the "Mullan Road" was passed over for the route of the first transcontinental railroad (though the northern route was later used) but became a major road for settlers and prospectors.

General William T. Sherman crossed the road in 1877 on a tour to locate possible forts.  It was on that trip that Sherman picked the site for Fort Coeur d'Alene.  Later the name was changed to Ft. Sherman and that site is now the home of North Idaho College.

Interstate 90 follows Mullan's road.

On This Day in History, 5 February

February 5, 1855 Congress provides funding for Mullan Road

What was labeled a military road had been proposed a few years earlier as the United States had a desire to eventually build a railroad through Montana and Idaho to Washington.

Mullan Road was the first wagon road to cross the Rocky Mountains to the Inland of the Pacific Northwest. It was built by US Army Lt. John Mullan between the spring of 1859 and summer 1860 between Ft. Benton, Montana (the navigational head of the Missouri River) and Ft Walla Walla, Washington Territory. The road approximately followed the path of modern-day Interstate 15 and Interstate 90 through what are now Montana, Idaho and Washington.

The project itself was interrupted due to conflicts with Indian tribes and Lt. Mullan spent the summer of 1858 with Col. George Wright and participated in the conflicts with the Spokane, Palouse and Coeur d'Alene Tribes.  Along with his actions in the battles, Mullan also surveyed and mapped the region from what we now call the Palouse, up through the west side of Spokane and towards Colville.

While the Mullan Road was never used in a military sense, it saw an estimated 20,000 people cross it on their way west.