Nez Perce County Museum receives rare Idaho Territory document
Posted By: Jennifer K BauerPosted date: June 04, 2014
Early lawmakers met at the territorial capitol in Lewiston.
Two of Idaho's earliest territorial records are now in the possession of the Nez Perce County Historical Society & Museum.
The Journal of the First Session of the House of Representatives Idaho Territory was recently donated to the museum from the Idaho State Law Library and the University of Idaho, College of Law. The 156-page publication contains a record of the proceedings of the first Territorial Legislature, which convened in Lewiston on Dec. 7, 1863, and adjourned on Feb. 4, 1864. The journal is one of only four known to exist.
A DVD of the journal and additional historic documents were also donated. Some of the additions include: The Organic Act of the Territory of Idaho (1863), the Pre-Emption Law (1841), the Homestead Act (1862), the Donation Law (1853), Naturalization Laws (1815), and others.
The society also now owns the 1864 Journal of the Second Session of the House of Representatives of Idaho Territory. That 182-page record of the proceedings was housed in the museum's archives but owned by the Alice Whitman Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, which recently donated it to the society.
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