Old Mission State Park

The Coming of the Blackrobes

In the early part of the 19^th century, the Coeur d’Alene Indians heard that a neighboring tribe had "medicine men" with great powers and decided they wanted this power for themselves. They traveled east and invited the "Blackrobes" (or Jesuit priests) to live among their people.

In 1842, Father Pierre-Jean De Smet responded to the Coeur d'Alenes' request and traveled to present-day Lake Coeur d’Alene to meet with the tribe and select a mission site. Later that year, Father Nicholas Point and Brother Charles Huet arrived to help establish the mission. The first mission building was constructed along the St. Joe River, about 35 miles south of the present location, and was christened the Mission of St. Joseph. The river repeatedly flooded the Mission site, however. In 1846, the St. Joe location was abandoned in favor of a high, grassy knoll overlooking the Coeur d’Alene River, its present location.

Building the Mission

In 1850, Father Antonio Ravalli arrived and began designing the new mission building for its new location. Together, the Indians and Jesuits used large, hand-hewn logs that were cut near the site which were then latticed with saplings, woven with grass and caked with mud. This process, known as “wattle and daub,” created walls over one-foot thick and a building constructed without nails. Evidence of this technique can still be seen today. When finished three years later, the building was christened Mission of the Sacred Heart.

Both the Mission building and its decorations attempted to evoke the eloquence of European cathedrals. The interior walls were decorated with hand-painted newspapers that Father Ravalli received in the mail and cleverly recycled. Fabric purchased from the Hudson Bay Trading Post at Fort Walla Walla (Washington) also adorned the walls. Classic European chandeliers were copied, using emptied tin cans, and gilded crosses were carved from local pines. Wooden altars were carefully painted and veined to resemble marble.

For over a decade, the Mission served primarily as a place of worship for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. Later, it became an important crossroads as a hospitality and supply station for settlers, miners and military personnel moving into northern Idaho and the Pacific Northwest. It also was a working farm and a disembarkation point for boats heading up the Coeur d’Alene River carrying miners and later railroad and pipeline workers. It was also a Jesuit novitiate and was the site of a labor dispute between union and non-union miners. Many colorful people, cultures and activities converged at this important spiritual, historic and cultural site in the Idaho Panhandle.

The Mission Today

The Sacred Heart Mission continues to have great spiritual meaning and historic significance. While the function of the mission shifted over time, its original purpose has always remained the same: to serve as a place of worship and spiritual connection for the Coeur d’Alenes. Thus, the Mission, and the land on which it sits, is a living site and the tribe’s connection to it has continued through the generations despite the nineteenth century creation of a reservation 60 miles away. The area around the Mission is revered as the ancestral homeland for many of today’s reservation families and is visited each year in mid-August by tribal members to observe the Feast of the Assumption.

In 1962, the Sacred Heart Mission was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark. In 1975, the mission and surrounding acreage were designated as a state historic site and park.

Today, the Coeur d’Alene’s Old Mission State Park consists of the 1853 Mission building, an 1887 Parish House, two cemeteries and a 1,900 square foot visitor center that holds displays about the history of the Mission, the region and the Coeur d’Alenes. A walking trail with interpretive panels and audio stations meanders throughout this peaceful setting. All of these features combined create a fascinating and educational snapshot of historic Idaho and the tribal people of the region.

A Bright Future for a Facinating Past

The Association for Sacred Encounters, a non-profit organization that works closely with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Idaho Parks & Recreation and local citizens, is in the process of planning a new 9,000 square foot visitor center and other capital improvements for the park. The group is also planning to install the award-winning exhibition “Sacred Encounters: Father De Smet & the Indians of the Rocky Mountain West” to help tell the fascinating story of the Mission, the tribe and the missionaries who created it.

For more information on how you can help, please contact Lonnie Johnson, Park Manager, at (208) 682-3814.