Frontier History Along Idaho's Clearwater River: Pioneers, Miners & Lumberjacks

The
Clearwater River runs deep through northern Idaho’s history. The Nez Perce
tribe made its home along the river.
Lewis and Clark’s journey west took them through the Clearwater. In fact, the
Nez Perce made the expedition’s voyage from
the Clearwater River to the Pacific Ocean possible by teaching them how to make
dugout canoes from ponderosa pine logs. Fur traders like John Jacob
Astor and William Ashley financed the first
American commercial activity on the river, bringing trappers to the area
and paving the way for the Oregon Trail. Later came the first gold rush, the
Nez Perce war, statehood, homesteaders and the beginning of the logging
industry. Join author John Bradbury as he recounts a time when native tribes, explorers, trappers, preachers, miners and
lumberjacks made a life along the Clearwater, establishing the area for
future generations.