Category: Historic Sites

The De Smet Monument in Soda Springs, Idaho is comprised of a bronze bust of Father Pierre-Jean De Smet and four interpretive signs briefly describing the history and exploits of De Smet, a frontier missionary, peacemaker, world traveler and author.

This district is architecturally and historically significant and is one of the regions most diverse and well-preserved urban street scapes. A variety of architectural styles are represented in the district, including Gothic Revival, Romanesque Revival, Sullivanesque and Art Deco, as well as many adaptations of early 20th-century commercial styles with…

Closed in the Winter. The National Oregon/California Trail Center is located near the Clover Creek Encampment of the Oregon Trail in Montpelier at 320 North 4th Street. The trail center depicts the 2000-mile, 5-month journey along the Oregon Trail in daily Living History tours during the summer. Allinger Community Theatre…

Open in the summer only. CHESTERFIELD is an early Mormon settlement 11 miles north of Bancroft, Idaho.  Founded in 1881, it is now unoccupied, but history buffs won’t let it go away.  They formed a foundation to refurbish and maintain 27 original structures now on the National Historic Register.  Many…

The Bingham County Historical Museum is located in the John Brown Mansion, a southern plantation style-home built in 1905, and served as home to the Brown Family before being deeded to the Stewart Hoover American Legion Post to serve as the legion hall until it was deeded to the county…

Sheep Rock was the location of the first split of the Oregon-California Trail. The Bidwell-Bartleson Party and the Hudspeth Cutoff diverged from the main trail here. Oregon Trail Public Park and Marina – This park, on the shore of Alexander Reservoir, features a marina, picnic area and playground, and a remnant of the Oregon Trail.

Open year round. Step into the past with a visit to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Museum. This museum is dedicated to those kind and generous people in our community who see a real need to tell our story from our point of view. With old photographs, displays and exhibits you will…

Celebrate Welsh Culture and History in Samaria Idaho. Malad Valley Heritage Square is a wonderful collection of Pioneer era cabins, an old-fashioned Ice Cream store, covered wagons and farm machinery. It includes the Osmond Family Homestead. Visit their Facebook page for news and events. View a poster of Malad Valley Heritage…

The buildings are open in the summer only. The oldest continually settled town in Idaho, Franklin was founded in 1860 by Mormon pioneers. Several original buildings stand in the historic district: the Relic Hall, the old ZCMI store, the Hatch House, and others. The Old Yellowstone Route is just outside…

Gutzon Borglum was a prolific American sculptor best know for his presidents' sculptures on Mount Rushmore, South Dakota. Borglum was born in St. Charles, Idaho in 1867. His marble head sculpture of Abraham Lincoln is on display in the Capitol Rotunda.

Historic Thomas Mercantile in Swan Lake Idaho has been restored and is now open. They have a convenience store, restaurant, game tables, souvenirs, fresh bakery items and much more! Located on Highway 91 between Preston and Downey. Visit their Facebook page for daily specials and restoration stories and photos.

Olive Osmond, born Olive May Davis, who died in 2004, was born in the cabin in 1925. Olive Osmond was the mother of Marie and Donny Osmond and the Osmond Brothers. The cabin was rebuilt Luke Waldron. It is now part of the Malad Valley Heritage Square. To get to…

The January 29, 1863 Bear River Massacre of 250 or more Native Americans, by Colonel Patrick Connor and his troops, occurred here. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990. The battle became one of the worst disasters for Native Americans in the west.

A Shoshone Indian Chief who gained national notoriety during the struggle between white emigrants and Native Americans. When he died in 1884, he was buried in a deep spring in Idaho along with his clothing, guns, knives and hunting equipment. The city of Pocatello is named in his honor and erected his statue at the Pocatello Visitor's Center.

Corrigan Park or City Park as it is commonly referred to is located in downtown Soda springs right alongside Highway 30. At 11 1/2 acres it is the city's second largest park. View Historical trains on site. Look for the Byway historic maps on the south end of the park….

Fort Hall Replica and Commemorative Trading Post & Pocatello Junction, A Frontier Town Replica The Fort Hall Replica and Commemorative Trading Post is a replica of the historic facility that served pioneer travelers along the Oregon Trail. Enter the massive wooden gates and wander through the Company Hall, Frontier Room,…

This store was built in 1908 and is a last remnant of a small but important livestock community in that time. The once famous Henry Stampede Rodeo and Stockman's Reunion began here in 1918. This mercantile store played an important role in the history of this place, and today, the…

Niter Ice Cave is a hidden underground wonder near in Grace, Idaho. Perfect for curious families and adventurers where you can walk in the footsteps of early pioneers and Native Americans. Feel the immediate, refreshing drop in temperature the moment you descend into the cavern. Volcanic and Geological Origins: The…

This site is the point on the Bear River where water was first diverted by Mormon settlers to develop an agriculture industry in Gem Valley. It was completed in the early 1900's and was an engineering masterpiece for it's time. The Last Chance Canal Company was started with 64 original…

Octagon Spring was a popular gathering place for local residents and for visitors to the famous Idanha Hotel,built in 1887,which was just across the street to the south of the spring.

Experience the Soda Springs Geyser at Geyser Park in Soda Springs, the home to the world's only captive geyser that shoots carbon dioxide-powered mineral water up to 100 feet in the air! Visit the Geyser and Local History Discovered on November 30, 1937, at a depth of 317 feet by…

Open year round. Visitors will discover dinosaurs, ice-age mammals, how to live off the land, and more. They can also experience science hands-on in the Discovery Room! See fossils of animals that used to live right here in Idaho, including whorl tooth sharks and dinosaurs! Children will get excited about…

Emigrants by the thousands entered present day eastern Idaho at this location traveling along the Oregon-California Trail. Emigrants on the trail encountered Big Hill, thought to be the steepest and longest descent found on the trip west. Wheel ruts are still visible today from the locking of wagon wheels. East…

Built in 1892 by Isaac Evans, the Blue Goose was originally a furniture store and Post Office. Clarence Hughes runs this charming store, which was moved to the town park in Samaria to keep it from being torn down.  He sells local crafts, cookbooks, candy and sodas, and has video…

Pioneer Handcart Adventure for groups. Put on a bonnet or hat of the times and pull handcarts to 20 campsites where you learn interesting pioneer history and reenact actual pioneer experiences. For example: scrubbing clothing on a wash board, using body language to negotiate with Native Americans for buffalo jerky,…

Open year round. Both permanent and rotating exhibits about the history of the Lava Hot Springs area and development of the surrounding rural communities of Arimo, Inkom, Downey, McCammon, Virginia and Swan Lake. South Bannock County Historical Center in Lava Hot Springs Brochure

This cabin, one of the first built on the Nine Mile Creek in Marsh Valley, was erected by William Jason and Cyrus Coffin before 1866. Later it was purchased by Abigail Coffin, who with her sons, Nathan, Cyrus, and William were among the first settlers. They used the cabin for…

In 1878, Ben Waldron lost his leg in a threshing accident. The leg was buried on the east side of the cemetery and was given a headstone in the Samaria Cemetery with a leg carved on it, along with the initials “B.W.” and the date. Ben himself did not die…

Open year round. The Idaho Potato Museum celebrates the humble spud and its contribution to humanity. Located in Blackfoot, Idaho, the Potato Capitol of the World, the Idaho Potato Museum explores the history, cultivation and harvesting of potatoes. Displays showcase unique artifacts including the World's Largest Potato Crisp, as noted…

Summer only. This small log and wood frame building over 125 years old, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In Georgetown’s early settlement, it functioned as a local chapel, schoolhouse and general meeting hall. For many years it was a focal point for the female society of…

Free, clear sparkling soda water still is available in a beautiful Soda Springs city park located two miles north from the center of town. A prime attraction for more than 160 years, soda water from these springs was known nationally after rail service reached this resort area in 1882. W.H….

The site is a 7 mile segment of "The Lander Cut-off of the Oregon Trail", the first road commissioned by Congress with funding for location and construction. F.W. Lander supervised the project.The highway on the way to Grays Lake is following the Lander Cutoff of the Oregon Trail, and offers…

The Bear River Heritage Area straddles the Idaho-Utah border where the Great Basin and the Rocky Mountains meet. Come and experience its unique and varied cultural heritage. www.bearriverheritage.com

Red Rock Pass was cut through a sill of resistant Paleozoic shale, limestone, and dolomite, and forms a narrow gap two miles long. At one time the pass was at the shoreline of Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, 300 feet higher. Lava flows in the vicinity of Pocatello diverted the Bear River through Lake Thatcher into Lake Bonneville.

Open year round. The Bannock County Historical Museum houses exhibits, objects, and records relating to Bannock County and Pocatello's history. Exhibit themes include railroad history, early medical practices, general store, the military, Victorian era parlor and  Shoshone-Bannock Indian artifacts. It sits adjacent to the Fort Hall Replica and the zoo in…

Open summer only. The museum features exhibits detailing the history and development of Power County. Visitors take a trip back to the era of the moving of the town to make way for the American Falls Dam. We have pamphlets available with the list of National Historic Place

Over 300,000 emigrants used the Oregon-California Trail between 1840 and 1869. Three ruts are visible at the bottom of the hill, indicating that the wagons and oxen spread out to reduce the dust. The route crossed over this summit heading northwesterly for Soda Springs, and then went on to the…

Register Rock, a historic site within Massacre Rocks State Park, once served as a vital campground for emigrants traveling the Oregon Trail. Driven by the timeless human desire to mark their passage, these pioneers inscribed their names and travel dates into the native basalt boulders. Today, this National Register of…

The Bank of Montpelier was robbed by Butch Cassidy with his Wild Bunch Gang in 1896. They escaped with $5,000 – $15,000 in gold, silver and currency. The museum owners have managed to save and restore the last standing bank in the world which was robbed by Butch Cassidy and…

The first department store in Idaho, the Evans Co-op, which was part of the Mormon cooperative movement, ZCMI, of the 1860s, in which local production and purchasing was encouraged through cooperatives.  The co-op has been used as a bank, a True Value Hardware Store, and others. Visit the Idaho History…

China Hat and China Cap are rhyolite domes that formed around older volcano lava flows. There are many faults located in the area which have had a part in forming these land forms as well as multiple "grabens". This is also a great Bird Watching area. The best bird viewing…

The Academy is a unique 3-story Romanesque stone building, constructed in the early 1890s. It is one of three, out of 35, similar surviving buildings from the days of Mormon Church sponsored education. It was moved from Preston High School to it's current location in 2004.