City of Lewiston Nez Perce County, Idaho
Mapped Location
City of Lewiston: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.
Information
General information on City of Lewiston
- Feature Type: Incorporated
Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for City of Lewiston
A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| City of Lewiston | Official |
| Lewiston | Official |
Origin Notes and History of City of Lewiston
References to City of Lewiston that document the origin of its place name
NEZ PERCE.—Named for the Nez Perce Indians (q.v.). The county seat is Lewiston, named for Capt. Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark expedition, 1804-6.
LEWISTON, Nez Perce County.—It was Vick Trivit in June, 1861, who named the city at the forks of the river "Lewiston." The way he came to name it Lewiston was when there were five or six of us sitting on a log near where Trivit had a tent, which was at the junction of the Snake and Clearwater rivers. Several names were suggested by our party for the town to be built here and Silcot wanted to name it after some Indian chief. During our talk about the matter Trivit came out of the tent and said: "Gentlemen, why not name this place Lewiston, after Lewis and Clark?", and the suggestion was accepted at once by us. What is now called Snake River Avenue was first known as Clarksville.—BEALL, Idaho Librarian report 1915-16
Related Catalog Titles
A Bibliography for City of Lewiston, Nez Perce County, Idaho
Lewiston/Clarkston by Samuel D. Hunter
"LEWISTON: Alice and Connor sit by their roadside stand selling cheap fireworks while developers swallow the land around them. Promised a condo in the new development, their future is secure. Enter Marnie, Alice's long-lost granddaughter, proposing to buy the land to save her family's legacy. Marnie and Alice will become reacquainted with each other's deeply held secrets, uncertain pasts, and hopeful futures. Hunter, a 2014 MacArthur Fellowship recipient, explores the emotional frontiers of a family struggling to make a home in the vastness of the American landscape with affection, poignancy, and a profound sense of empathy."-- Back cover
161 pages ; 21 cm.
CIRC [ 1 ]
Lewiston country an armchair history by Margaret Day Allen, Ladd Hamilton
Co-authored by Margaret Day Allen and Ladd Hamilton, Lewiston Country: An Armchair History chronicles the rich heritage, geographic crossroads, and frontier development of Idaho’s first territorial capital. The book traces the region's evolution from ancestral Nez Perce homelands into a bustling steamboat and mining hub where the Clearwater and Snake rivers converge. Through engaging historical narratives and archival imagery, the text captures the colorful cast of merchants, miners, and riverboat captains who anchored civilization at the gateway to the inland empire. A keen insight drawn from the work is how river confluences function as natural magnets for geopolitical and economic control; by examining how Lewiston leveraged its strategic waterway access to dominate regional supply lines, the narrative highlights how the geography of river junctions dictated the terms of colonial dominance and urban survival across the Pacific Northwest.
vi, 253 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm
CIRC [ 1 ]
The Clearwater of Idaho by Cecil P. Dryden
I write about a river I feel close to, having known it for well over a half century. My father's "benchland" ranch was just over the ridge from the narrow valley through which the Clearwater plows its urgent way to sea level. I have observed this river in all its vagaries; its spring rampagings which have set ferries adrift, lifted bridges from their piers, washed out trackage, and inundated highways; its summer somnolence; and its colorful September thinness which brings into view all the sumacbedecked islands, including "turkey-man's paradise," made safe by two channels against marauding coyotes. Although I know something about the land carved by the river, for this story I have relied in large measure on the works of numerous scholars whose research has left a legacy rich in Idaho lore. The book owes a special debt of gratitude to the following: Sister Alfreda Elsensohn for her monumental two-volume History of Idaho County; the late Robert G. Bailey, who produced the indispensable River of Not Return and Hell's Canyon, and his son, R. G. Bailey, Jr., for granting permission to use the photographs from River of No Return. Further, I am indebted to Potlatch Forests, Incorporated, for making available information and photographs. This book is an informal history of the Clearwater drainage area, including borderlands whose history naturally interweaves. I have not attempted to follow in detail all the threads of growth from their beginnings, but have stressed origins and directions in a setting of unfolding dramas. If certain characters and events have been omitted, the reason lies in the selective process that has had to be employed. -The Author, Cecil Dryden
258 pages illustrations 21 cm.
CIRC [ 1 ]
Nez Perce County
- Agatha
- Arrow
- Beeman
- Big George
- Bundy
- Cameron
- Cherrylane
- Chesley
- City of Culdesac
- Eugene
- Fairburn (historical)
- Forebay
- German Settlement
- Gifford
- Gurney
- Hatwai
- Jacques
- Joseph
- City of Lapwai
- Leland
- Lenore
- Leon
- City of Lewiston
- Melrose
- Myrtle
- North Lapwai
- City of Peck
- Slaterville (historical)
- Snow (historical)
- Southwick
- Spalding
- Sweetwater
- Taney (historical)
- Taplin
- Waha
- Webb
- Willola
- Woodside
- Zaza
Political Boundaries
Last updated: 2025-09-23