Idaho's First Capitol

Idaho Territory originally encompassed 324,000 square miles, an area larger than Texas, and included all of present-day Montana, virtually all of Wyoming, and western strips of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. President Abraham Lincoln appointed William H. Wallace as the first governor of Idaho Territory, and Wallace selected Lewiston as the capital before arriving on July 10, 1863. The first two sessions of the Idaho Territorial Legislature were held in Lewiston, and the original capitol building stood on 3rd Street between Beachy Street and Capital Street. In 1864 Montana became a separate territory and most of present-day Wyoming was transferred to Dakota Territory, leaving Idaho Territory much smaller. When the second session of the territorial legislature convened in late 1864, contrary to the Organic Act, a bill purporting to relocate the capital to Boise City was approved. Despite legal efforts to retain the capital at Lewiston, the territorial seal and most governmental archives were removed from Lewiston by force in 1865 and transported to Boise City. Coincidentally, on April 14, 1865, when the First Great Territorial Seal of Idaho and most of the governmental archives arrived in Boise City, the country was stunned by the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

Lewiston, Idaho · United States