Unwanted parts

First of two parts

I have long suspected, but now I know for sure. North Idaho is not actually a part of Idaho state. That’s at least true from a geological perspective, and almost true from a political perspective.

Our state’s boundaries have never made sense to me. I’m not sure that they made much sense when they were formed in a political process that began more 140 years ago, either. If you’ve studied Idaho history, you know that there was neither sense nor reasoning involved in anything about our statehood in 1890.

Ever wonder about the odd shape of Idaho? Leftovers. Idaho was formed from unwanted parts of the original Oregon Territory. When Oregon became a state in 1859, that territory destined to become Idaho was attached to the Washington Territory.

A few years later, Washington decided to abandon the eastern portion of its territory as too far away to govern from Olympia. I think that there are many in Spokane today who feel that the boundary was, perhaps, still drawn a bit too far east.

Anyway, in 1863 Idaho was formed as a separate territory but one of scraps. Not only did the territory include former parts of Oregon and Washington, but also territorial discards from Utah, Dakota and Nebraska. Then, the very next year, Montana was taken from Idaho’s eastern lands and, in 1868, Wyoming was made, in large part, from Idaho’s southeastern area.

Idaho was nothing but leftover leftovers – thus the shape. And the name? It was not, as you might suspect, a Shoshone word for potato. The name was a leftover, too. “Idaho” had originally been proposed as the name for Colorado but rejected.

In fact, Congress believed “Idaho” to be an Indian word meaning “gem of the mountains.” It was actually a name invented by a Colorado miner who liked its sound and concocted the “gem” story to help sell the name. Thus in shape and name, Idaho was an accumulation of parts unwanted elsewhere.

But the politicians still weren’t finished. In 1887 President Cleveland vetoed a bill that was going to give northern Idaho back to Washington, just prior to Washington’s statehood. The rest of Idaho was probably going to be given to Nevada at a later date.

History relates that there were parades and parties to celebrate in “North Idaho” until word of Cleveland’s veto arrived. So, even 116 years ago North Idaho didn’t feel that it fit in as a part of “Idaho.”

Actually what we call ourselves is uniquely a part of that feeling. In Oregon, the area east of the Cascades is eastern Oregon. There is Eastern Washington and central Idaho. But the Panhandle area of Idaho is referred to as North Idaho – not northern Idaho – representing a desire to be separate in more than just a geographic sense. And geographically we are separate.

When I visit my sister in Caldwell, I drive via Washington through the Tri-Cities and take I-84 through Oregon. It’s quicker and safer than driving the north-south route through Idaho.

Thus, you see how we came to be “North Idaho” rather than Eastern Washington. And not only did Idaho not really want us, but it also stole the capital from us. The original capital of the Idaho Territory was Lewiston – for a year. After that time it was moved to Boise, despite armed intervention by the Lewiston sheriff .

However, politics aside, North Idaho is not a part of Idaho, as I said before. For this part of the story we go even further back in history than 140 years – we go back 140 million years.

I just read a fascinating book on the geological history of Idaho, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon: “The Restless Northwest: A Geological Story,” written by Hill Williams and published in 2002 by Washington State University Press.

According to Williams, what we’d have found 140 million years ago was that Idaho, excluding North Idaho, actually formed the west-central coast of North America. Idaho was beachfront property. Much of British Columbia and all of North Idaho was just arriving on the scene from the mid-Pacific via continental drift. What is continental drift? More on that later. And Oregon and Washington hadn’t even been thought of yet.

So, going way back, North Idaho is not naturally a part of Idaho. Idaho is a part of the original North American continent. North Idaho, however, is actually a bunch of pulverized oceanic islands compressed together and is a relatively recent arrival on the continental scene.

In light of this new information and other similar information on Oregon and Washington, information that was not available to the U.S.Congress 140 years ago, I wish to propose a realignment of the Northwest states.