Lewiston, Idaho

Lewiston, Idaho
City
Lewiston from the north
Nicknames:  L-Town, River City, Lewyton
Country	United States
State	Idaho
County	Nez Perce
Founded	1861
Incorporated	1861
Government
• Type	Local
• Mayor	Kevin Poole
Area
• City	17.2 sq mi (44.5 km2)
• Land	16.5 sq mi (42.7 km2)
• Water	0.7 sq mi (1.8 km2)
Elevation	745 ft (227 m)
Population  (2006)
• City	31,293
• Density	1,873.0/sq mi (695.2/km2)
• Metro	57,961
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	83501
Area code	208
FIPS code	16-46540
GNIS feature ID	0396788
Website	www.cityoflewiston.org

Lewiston is a city in and also the county seat of Nez Perce County in the Pacific Northwest state of Idaho. Template:GR It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is the principal city of the Lewiston, ID - Clarkston, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Nez Perce County and Asotin County, Washington. As of the 2000 census, the population of Lewiston was 30,904 (2006 estimate: 31,293).

Lewiston is located at the confluence of the Snake River and Clearwater River, thirty miles (48 km) northwest of the Lower Granite Dam. Because of dams (and their locks) on the Snake and Columbia River, Lewiston is reachable by some ocean-going vessels. The Port of Lewiston (Idaho’s only seaport) has the distinction of being the farthest inland port east of the West Coast of the United States. The Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport serves the city by air. Lewiston was founded in 1861 in the wake of a gold rush which began the previous year near Pierce, northeast of Lewiston. In 1863 Lewiston became the capital of the newly-created Idaho Territory. Lewiston's stint as a seat of the new territory's government was short-lived however, a resolution, to have the capital moved from Lewiston to Boise, was passed by the Idaho Territorial Legislature on December 7, 1864.

Lewiston’s main industries are agriculture, paper and timber products, and light manufacturing. Lewiston is home to Lewis-Clark State College, a public undergraduate college. Cultural activities in Lewiston include the Dogwood Festival, Hot August Nights, and the Lewiston Round Up.

History

The first people of European ancestry to visit the Lewiston area were members of the David Thompson expedition of 1803. Thompson was looking to establish fur trading posts for the Hudson's Bay Company of British North America (now Canada). Thompson established the first white settlement in Idaho, MacKenzie's Post. But it soon failed as the local Nez Perce tribe's men considered beaver trapping to be women's work, the tribe was migratory and apparently women thought they already had enough to do. This was followed by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in October, 1805. At the future townsite they encountered settlements of the native Nez Perce tribe. Lewis and Clark passed through the valley on the return trip from the Pacific in 1806 also.

Named after Meriwether Lewis and after Victor Trevitt's hometown of Lewiston, Maine; but people don't know that was the reason Vic Trevitt shouted the idea out. He simply stated the "Journal of Lewis and Clark" talked about being in the valley. The town was founded in 1861 in the wake of a gold rush which began the previous year near Pierce, northeast of Lewiston. The first newspaper in present-day Idaho, The Lewiston Teller began publication in the city of Lewiston, Washington Territory in 1862, and was joined by the only present newspaper, The Lewiston Morning Tribune in September, 1892. In 1863 Lewiston became the capital of the newly-created Idaho Territory. Thomas J Beall, one of the first three white settlers in Lewiston, wrote many of the Lewiston Tribune's first articles, and continued to do so until his death at the age of 89.

Lewiston's stint as a seat of the new territory's government was short-lived. As the gold rush quieted in northern Idaho, it heated up in a new mineral rush in southwestern Idaho, centered in Idaho City, which would become the largest city in the Northwest in the mid-1860s. The idaho seal was stolen by the newly elected Govenor. He had been birbed to take the seal south to Boise. He left in the dead of night on a fair to Normal Hill where he boarded a stage coach bound south. By the next day when anyone had noticed the seal and our corrupt Govenor were past cottonwood, ID. Boise became the capital. The move was very unpopular in northern Idaho and in violation of a court order. So, the territorial governor, Caleb Lyon and the territorial secretary, secretly took the territorial seal, archives and treasury and fled from Lewiston, their territorial capital. Lyon went down river to Normal Hill, a trip marked by the alleged theft of the treasury from his steamship cabin. The territorial secretary departed southward for Boise to avoid the public outrage that was sure to erupt. North Idahoans were somewhat placated in 1889 when the Territorial University of Idaho a land-grant research university under the Morrill Act of 1862, and following statehood status a year later, the University of Idaho was awarded to nearby Moscow, 30 miles away. Lewiston State Normal School, now Lewis-Clark State College, was established in 1893, as was another normal school or teacher education college, now defunct, in the south. These were the first three institutions of higher education. Lewiston was the site of the first public school in Idaho, beginning in 1862. Hence, it carries the designation of Lewiston Independent School District #1. (Boise was second, opening school doors in 1865.)

The Presto Log was invented in Lewiston in 1930.

Geography

Lewiston is located at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. Immediately west of Lewiston is the smaller twin city of Clarkston, Washington. The north-flowing Snake River departs Hells Canyon and forms the state boundary with Washington, while west-flowing Clearwater River defines the northern border of the city. At their confluence at the city's northwest corner, the lower Snake River turns west into Washington, and after passing four dams, empties into the Columbia River at Burbank.

Thirty miles (48 km) northwest of the city is the Lower Granite Dam, the last and upper-most of the four dams on the lower Snake River. The Snake is the largest tributary of the Columbia River. It was completed in 1972 and raised the river level back to Lewiston, effectively making it the eastern end of the new reservoir, Lower Granite Lake. Because of these dams (and their locks), Lewiston is navigable by some ocean-going vessels. At 465 river miles from the Pacific at mouth of the Columbia River adjacent to Astoria, Oregon, the Port of Lewiston has the distinction of being the most inland seaport East of the West Coast of the United States and the only one in the state. Barges of timber products, grain, and other goods are shipped via the Snake-Columbia system to the Pacific Ocean. Lewiston's main industries are agriculture, paper and timber products production at the mill owned and operated by the Clearwater Paper Corporation (until December 2008, a part of the Potlatch Corporation) and light manufacturing.

Along much of the Snake River is a system of levees to protect against flooding. Most of the levees are maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.2 sq mi (45 km²), of which 16.5 sq mi (43 km²) is land and .7 sq mi (1.8 km²) (4.01%) is water. Downtown Lewiston, at 756 feet, is only slightly higher in elevation than the river, about 740 ft (230 m). Away from downtown the terrain gains elevation quickly. The heavily residential southern half of the city is referred to as "The Orchards." This area is much higher in elevation than downtown (one of the higher areas in town at about 1,400 ft (430 m) and is named for the fruit orchards that previously covered the area. There is little sign of any orchards today, although there is a wide proliferation of fruit trees in the backyards of many residences in this area of town. The Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport is located on the southwestern edge of the plateau at 1,438 feet in elevation. The lowest point in the state of Idaho is located on the Snake River in Lewiston, where it flows out of Idaho and into Washington.

Lewiston experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with cold winters, hot, slightly drier summers.

Climate data for Lewiston, ID
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	66 (19)	72 (22)	80 (27)	99 (37)	104 (40)	109 (43)	117 (47)	115 (46)	108 (42)	94 (34)	77 (25)	67 (19)	117 (47)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	39.4 (4.1)	45.6 (7.6)	53.8 (12.1)	61.6 (16.4)	70.0 (21.1)	78.0 (25.6)	87.6 (30.9)	87.6 (30.9)	76.7 (24.8)	62.0 (16.7)	46.8 (8.2)	39.2 (4.0)	62.4 (16.9)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	28.0 (−2.2)	31.2 (−0.44)	35.6 (2.0)	40.6 (4.8)	47.0 (8.3)	53.6 (12.0)	59.3 (15.2)	59.3 (15.2)	50.9 (10.5)	41.2 (5.1)	34.1 (1.2)	28.5 (−1.9)	42.4 (5.8)
Record low °F (°C)	−22 (−30)	−18 (−28)	2 (−17)	20 (−6.7)	23 (−5)	34 (1)	41 (5)	41 (5)	27 (−2.8)	15 (−9.4)	−3 (−19)	−23 (−31)	−23 (−31)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	1.14 (29)	.95 (24)	1.12 (28)	1.31 (33)	1.56 (40)	1.16 (29)	.72 (18)	.75 (19)	.81 (21)	.96 (24)	1.21 (31)	1.05 (27)	12.74 (324)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	4.0 (10)	2.4 (6.1)	.8 (2.0)	.1 (0.25)	trace	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	.1 (0.25)	1.8 (4.6)	3.3 (8.4)	12.5 (32)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)	10.8	9.7	11.0	10.3	10.0	8.7	5.7	4.5	5.5	7.1	11.2	10.6	105.1
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in)	4.1	2.2	.8	.2	0	0	0	0	0	.2	1.4	3.9	12.8
Source 1: NOAA (normals, 1971−2000)
Source 2: Weather.com (extremes)

Highways

Sign at top of Lewiston Hill

•  – US 12
•  – US 95
•  – SH 128

On the city's north end, the old 10 mile highway that climbs 2000 vertical feet (610 m) of the Lewiston Hill (elev. 2756 ft) grade to the Palouse is mostly out of use, except for the truly adventurous traveler and couple of businesses and several residences built for the panoramic views. Called the "Old Spiral Highway," the very twisty road (64 curves) was opened in 1917 and was the primary route north for 62 years. It received an award as one of the best engineered stretches of mountain highway in that era. The 1950s rock and roll hit "Hot Rod Lincoln", later covered in the 1970s by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, tells of an actual race on that hill. The lyrics of the song were changed variously to say San Pedro or The Grapevine in later versions, but the origin is documented. At the top it joins with US 95-US 195. The newer multi-lane grade of US 95, constructed from 1975 to 1979, yields a straighter and steeper sweeping descent to the east, then back to the southwest, and is approximately 7 miles (11 km) in length. Both grades provide excellent views of Lewiston-Clarkston and the surrounding landscape.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	1,560		—
1880	739		−52.6%
1890	849		14.9%
1900	2,425		185.6%
1910	6,043		149.2%
1920	6,574		8.8%
1930	9,403		43.0%
1940	10,548		12.2%
1950	17,479		65.7%
1960	22,371		28.0%
1970	26,068		16.5%
1980	27,986		7.4%
1990	28,082		0.3%
2000	30,904		10.0%
2007 (est.)	31,794
source:

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 30,905 people, 12,795 households, and 8,278 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,873.0 people per square mile (723.2/km²). There were 13,394 housing units at an average density of 811.8 per square mile (313.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.14% White, 0.30% African American, 1.59% Native American, 0.76% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 1.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.91% of the population.

There were 12,795 households out of which 28.7% included children under the age of 18, 51.3% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% were a single person living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,606, and the median income for a family was $45,410. Males had a median income of $35,121 versus $22,805 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,091. About 8.4% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.2% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those aged 65 or over.

Population history

• 1864 - 359
• 1863 - 414

Education

Lewiston is home to Lewis-Clark State College. The public secondary schools include Lewiston High School (Lewiston, Idaho), Jenifer Junior High, and Sacajawea Junior High. The seven elementary schools are Whitman, Webster, Centennial, Orchards, Camelot, McGhee, and McSorely. Lewiston High School is a 5A school in Idaho, which is the largest (1A being the lowest). The mascot is the Golden Bengal with school colors of Purple and Gold. Lewiston has the oldest school system in Idaho, started in 1863. The Lewiston School District is Independent School District #1.

Culture

View of Lewiston and Clarkston, Washington

In springtime Lewiston hosts the Dogwood Festival. This celebration is named for the abundant dogwood trees that are in fragrant bloom during the festival. During and shortly after the festival these pink blossoms blow through yards and streets like drifts of snow.

During late summer, "Hot August Nights" takes place. This celebration includes concerts by classic 1950s to 1980s musicians, such as .38 Special, Eddie Money, and Loverboy. There's also a show and shine for classic cars, followed by a night parade along Main Street. During the fall, a number of cottonwood trees release cotton-like clouds of seeds that blow through the air and streets, blanketing them with a snow-like cover.

The town has a large Christmas festival that includes a number of lighted displays in the downtown area. At the site of what was originally the Johann D.C. Thiessen mansion and ranch, now Locomotive Park, so named because of the retired locomotive Steam Engine 92 and Camas Prairie RR Caboose on display in the middle, large trees and pathways are decorated with lights from Thanksgiving to New Year's. These events are sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, and the displays involved are typically quite impressive and often attract many visitors.

During the Christmas and Easter seasons, the Lewiston Jaycees have two large lighted displays on the Lewiston Hill (technically, the Washington side, and specifically, in Whitman County, above Clarkston, WA), visible from nearly everywhere in the valley. The display consists of long strings of ordinary light bulbs, arranged in the shape of a star (Christmas) and a cross (Easter). The same strings of lights are used in both displays, which, when lit, are left burning 24 hours a day through each season.

Every year, with cooperation from the city, Lewis-Clark State College hosts the Avista NAIA World Series in May, and the Lewiston Round Up in September. The Lewiston Round Up is a member of the Big 4 or Big Money 4 (along with Pendleton Round-up, Walla Walla Fair and Rodeo and Ellensburg Rodeo) and a top 50 PRCA rodeo.

Lewiston had a popular Northwest League professional baseball franchise from 1952-1974. The Lewis-Clark Broncs were affiliated with various major league parent clubs, including the Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas City Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, and Oakland Athletics or A's. A roster check in 1967 showed that 40% of the players and coaches of the Kansas City Athletics had been in Lewiston at one time or another. Reggie Jackson was perhaps the most famous Lewiston Bronc of all-time; Mr. October played for Lewiston in 1966. However, he was far from alone, as the Bronc's rosters included Rick Monday, manager John McNamara, Vearl ("Snag") Moore, Thorton ("Kip") Kipper, Antonio Perez, Ron Koepper, Delmer Owen, Dick Green, Bud Swan, Bert Campaneris, John Israel, Dave Duncan, Al Heist and as a player, later coach-manager Robert ("Gabby") Williams.

Notable residents

• Owen Mounce internationally famous jockey
• Jake Scott: NFL Football player (guard)
• George Thiessen: NFL Football player (tackle) and NCAA record holder
• Nash Gifford: Professional singer
• Jimmy Farris: Retired NFL Football player and Super Bowl XXXVI Champion
• Billy Jeffrey TV Personality: GNC Owner/World famous Chippendales dancer/TV Personality
• Valentino Leyva: Former AMA motocrosser

Further reading

• Northern Pacific railway company. (1911). "Lewiston-Clarkston and the Clearwater country, Idaho—Washington" (Document). General Passenger Department

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External links

• City of Lewiston website
• Lewiston Chamber of Commerce
• Lewis Clark State College
• Dogwood Festival
• Photos of Lewiston, ID & Surrounding Areas
• Lewiston, ID Real Estate Market Statistics
• Idaho Home Price Statistics for Lewiston and surrounding cities
• Lewiston Hot August Nights
• The Lewiston Tribune Online
• Nez Perce County Historical Society
• Old Spiral Highway at SundayMorningRides.com