In the 1790s French-speaking trappers from Canada traveled this same route through the Panhandle and, having possibly gotten the short end of the negotiating stick on a deal or two, gave the local guys the name Coeur d’Alene. The translation, "heart of awl" or point of the awl, a sharp leather-working tool, referred to their tough, shrewd bargaining and trading skills. The name stuck.

Father Anthony Ravalli, was also among the first of the non-Native Americans to follow this river route, but he had an unusual objective when he arrived in 1848, and a rather indomitable one it was. Working from plans of his own design and with only a broad axe, an auger, some ropes and pulleys, and a pen knife he set out to build a mission. His help consisted of two brother Jesuits.

The Coeur d’Alene tribe, a peaceful, friendly people, had heard of these "Kaniksu" or "black robes" and the magic of their "medicine men" from other tribes. Being a spiritual people and wanting to have this magic for themselves, they not only welcomed the friars onto their land but also offered to help with the construction of the mission.

Without the tribe’s help the foundation stones for this 90-foot long 40-foot wide wilderness church could not have been transported the half mile to the site. They planed the huge eighteen-inch square upright timbers and ten-inch square rafters by hand with the broad axe, and fastened them together with wooden pegs as they had no nails. They interlaced the walls and roof with willow saplings and covered these with grass and adobe mud from the river. You can still find handprints from the builders in the dried mud of the foot-thick walls.

Father Ravalli himself carved the main altar, many of its decorations, and statues of the Blessed Virgin and St. John, the evangelist, that stand today at the entrance to the sanctuary.

Completed in 1853, Father Ravalli’s church, the oldest standing building in Idaho, is the centerpiece at Old Mission State Park in Cataldo. At the visitor and information center descriptive exhibits and audio stations depict the lives and times of the Indians and Friars.

On the second Sunday of July the Historic Skills Fair features period dressed pioneers demonstrating their crafts and skills. The annual Feast of Assumption Pilgrimage by the Coeur d’Alene tribe takes place on August 15^th, and the Mountain Man Rendezvous takes over the park on the third weekend in August.

When Captain John Mullan showed up, not long after Father Ravalli built his church, he became a guest at the mission while he constructed his road. Though made as a military road, it opened the region to western expansion and soon became popular with prospectors, desperadoes, railroad entrepreneurs and other flim-flam men. Mullan’s Road is now paralleled by Interstate 90 and is popular with RVers as well.

The discovery of gold attracted Colonel W. R. Wallace, who wasn’t really a colonel. He bought eighty acres of swamp covered with large cedars at the confluence of two canyons in 1884, staked a claim and promptly discovered gold. Luck of the Irish.

He established the community of Placer Center and a year later his wife, Lucy, arrived and renamed the town Wallace, which was the inspiration for his comment, "Why didn’t I think of that?" Within two years 500 optimistic miners had moved in, a post office and saloon was built, and a school opened with an enrollment of fifteen children.

The Coeur d’Alene Mining District around Wallace soon became the largest silver-producing district in the world. In one hundred years of active silver production, over one billion ounces of silver have been extracted form the area’s mines.

The railroad arrived in 1887 bringing a spirit of joie de vivre to this raucous mining town. Railroads were the king of transportation, and hard-rock mining the backbone of the mining industry. On Saturday nights the locals got all gussied up and took the train to the wild city of Wallace for entertainment. The new Northern Pacific Depot, a two-story building completed in 1902 at a cost of $9,368.21 became the focal point and the town’s most recognized building.

While still operating in 1976 the depot was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and a decade later, after the station closed, it was moved 200 feet (to the intersection of Pine and 6^th Streets) to make way for the building of Interstate 90. The cost: nearly two-thirds of a million dollars, but the price included rehabilitation and conversion into the Northern Pacific Railroad Museum.

Today the whole town is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. With a Historic Wallace descriptive booklet that you can pick up at the RR Depot Museum, you can follow a walking tour of the historic downtown buildings. One notable structure, the Oasis Bordello at 605 Cedar St., operated openly until 1988 (they did take down their neon signs in the early 1970s) when the FBI came to town to investigate illegal gambling. Miss Ginger and her girls suddenly left town and the bordello today is a museum with the personal effects and clothing on display that the former business ladies left behind on their rapid departure.

Don your hard hat and take an authentic tour into the belly of a mine at the Sierra Silver Mine. The Wallace District Mining Museum displays all kinds of mining apparatus, relics, and historical archives and photos. Documents on the mining wars of the late 1800s are a popular interest of museum visitors. The world’s largest silver dollar, on display in the lobby measures three feet in diameter and weighs in at 150 pounds. But don’t bother to slip it into your pocket, the coin is mostly copper, with a little nickel and zinc thrown in.

Between The Old Mission and Wallace near Kellogg, the Silver Mountain Gondola will whisk you along a 3.1-mile 20-minute ride on the world’s longest single stage gondola. In addition to sweeping views of Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Canada at the top, skiing in winter and hiking and mountain biking in summer are popular outdoor activities. The two restaurants and a visitor center provide a calming influence for acrophobia and those uncomfortable being out of touch with civilization.

Toward the western end of the drive across the Panhandle during the long descent into Coeur d’Alene, the lake stands out like a brilliant sapphire from the lush forest that seems to swallow up North Idaho.

It was here In 1887 that the US Army established Fort Sherman and it quickly grew into a pioneer village that later became the city of Coeur d’Alene. The fort was abandoned in 1898 when the entire Ft. Sherman garrison was dispatched to fight in the Spanish-American War. The remains of the fort are now part of the campus of North Idaho College.

The city, at the heart of the Idaho Panhandle’s 2.5 million acres of National Forest, was built around and between the trees, with a few houses peeking out from under the canopy. It’s no wonder that the city became a vacation destination hub before the turn of the century.

Downtown, Sherman Street’s antique shops mingle with stores crammed with beach umbrellas and swimming suits, rafts and inter-tubes, goggles and fins, and trendy cafes just steps from the city’s sandy beach and grassy park. Towering Coeur d’Alene Resort overlooks the lake that Encyclopedia Brittanica describes as one of the "world’s most beautiful lakes," its depths scoured by eons of passing glaciers.

Golfers come from around the world to try the Resort’s challenging 14^th hole, famous as the world’s only floating green, on what Golf Digest honored as America’s Most Beautiful Resort Golf Course.

The city takes full advantage of the lake frontage with a 3300-foot long floating dock, the world’s longest, and a marina crammed with sailboats, ski boats, luxury cruisers, and tour boats. From the dock, parasailing, lake cruises, seaplane tours and rental boats of all kinds—kayaks, paddle boats, pontoon boats, Jet skis, Wave Runners—tempt even landlubbers into Coeur d’Alene’s water world.

Jet skis and water skiers skim across the lake spraying lofty rooster tails behind them. Alert lifeguards scan the roped off beach and swimming area that teem with bushels of shrieking splashing bodies. Smaller children splash and play in a pond perched on a grassy knoll above the beach, from which a creek cascades down a series of steps into the lake.

Moms spread on sun block and pass out sandwiches. Boys perform daredevil dives off the piers and rocks. Kids float in inner tubes, teenagers squeal, everyone enjoying the water wonders of Coeur d'Alene.

Water sports and activities, though one of the biggest draws, are not all that Coeur d’Alene has to offer. Bicyclists, rollerbladers, runners, and walkers all enjoy the new Centennial Trail, a paved 23-mile multi-use route extending from Stateline to the eastern shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene through a variety of habitats, rural areas, neighborhood right-of-ways, and along the lakeshore.

Take a short drive into the surrounding national forest and try your skills at huckleberry picking from June to October. Contact the forest service office for the best areas. Sunny spots along forest roads, burned out areas, or where logged usually produce the most berries.

The Museum of North Idaho features the rich history of the area: early steamboat travel on the river, the rise and evolution of the timber industry, railroading, mining, and artifacts and displays of the early Native American culture. Take a historic city tour from the museum on an authentic English red double-decker bus.

If you’re lucky enough to have brought your children or grand children along on your trip, stop at Silverwood Theme Park, just north of Coeur d’Alene on Highway 95. For the price of admission they can take all 26 rides as many times as they want, but don’t let them talk you onto the roller coaster. Tinywood, tucked into a corner of the park has been designed for the pint-sized set with miniature games, rides, tunnels, and kids rollercoaster (you can accompany them on this one). Lots of live shows, fireworks, and entertainment keep things hopping. A 126 space RV park makes it all a convenient and fun way to spend a day or two.

In July the neighboring city of Post Falls hosts the thrilling July-amsh, the nation’s biggest outdoor Pow Wow. The indigenous tribes of North Idaho gather together each year and host Native Americans from around the west to celebrate their cultures and traditions, to share and create a spirit of harmony and hospitality, and to participate in friendly drum and dance competitions. And do they dance! Arts and crafts, food, collectibles, and informational booths complement the festivities.

The Panhandle, from the Washington State line a few miles west of Post Falls to the Montana State line, is only about 75 miles wide, an easy day trip. But you’ll find so much to see and do that it may take you as long to travel the Mullan Road as it did the early pioneers and their wagons, the forerunners of today’s motorhomes, travel trailers, and fifth-wheels.

Idaho State Visitor Info.
1 (800) VISIT-ID

Old Mission State Park
PO Box 30
Cataldo 83810
(208) 682-3814

Wallace Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 1167
Wallace 83873
(208) 753-7151

Coeur d’Alene/Post Falls convention & Visitors Bureau
PO Box 908
Post Falls 83854
(208) 773-4080