Historic Firsts of Lewiston, Idaho: Unintended Greatness

When a group of intrepid gold prospectors set up camp at the fork of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers in 1861, they expected to make camp for a night and move on. Instead, they made a town. It was an important–if unintended–accomplishment. And it was only the beginning of a long line of historic firsts for Lewiston, including the first capital, police department, newspaper and post office. Lewiston also boasted the state’s first brewery and first vigilante association, both founded in the same year, appropriately enough. Join local historian and lifelong educator Steven D. Branting as he offers the first-ever chronology of unprecedented events, accolades and incidents that shaped Lewiston and Idaho from the city’s founding to the present day.