On July 3, 1890, Idaho entered the Union as the 43rd state.
The name of the new state was first used during the 1850s
to designate a region in what is now Colorado that was later
known as Idaho Springs.
The word Idaho is derived from the Shoshone Ee-Da-How,
referring possibly to the ubiquitous purple flowers of the
area, but also translated as “gem of the mountains” or
“behold the sun coming down the mountain.”
Idaho was originally part of the vast northwest Oregon, or
Columbia River, country claimed by Spain, Russia, Great
Britain, and the United States.
In 1818 a treaty provided for joint rule of the area by the
United States and Great Britain. At first limited to ten years,
joint rule was later extended.
In 1846 the United States gained sole possession of the
Oregon country below the 49th parallel.
The American claim to this northwestern area stemmed
primarily from the explorations by Meriwether Lewis and
William Clark (below) in 1805.
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