The Lewis and Clark expedition entered present-day Idaho on August 12,
1805, at the Lemhi Pass. At that time, approximately 8,000 Native
Americans lived in the region.
Idaho was subsequently part of Oregon Territory and later
Washington Territory, fur trading and missionary work
attracting the first settlers to the region. In 1809,
Kullyspell House, the first white-owned establishment and
first trading post in Idaho, was constructed. In 1836,
Henry H. Spalding established a mission near Lapwai, where
he printed the Northwest's first book, established
Idaho's first school, developed Idaho's first irrigation
system, and grew the state's first potatoes. While
thousands passed through Idaho during the California
gold rush of 1849, few people settled there. The first
organized town in Idaho was Franklin, settled in 1860 by
Mormon pioneers.
On March 4, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act
creating Idaho Territory. The political stability of the
territorial period encouraged settlement. Almost
immediately, a public school system was created, stage
coach lines were established and a newspaper, the Idaho
Statesman, began publication. In 1865, Boise replaced
Lewiston as capital. The 1861 discovery of gold in Idaho
and the completion of the transcontinental railway in 1869
brought many new people to the territory, including
Chinese laborers who came to work the mines.
President Benjamin Harrison signed the law admitting Idaho
as a U.S. state on July 3, 1890, Idaho still operates under its original (1889)
state constitution.
