History Series Looks at Military Milestones

The entrance to Fort Sherman with the post hospital in the

background about 1890. Photo from the Museum of

North Idaho archives.

The role of the military in North Idaho – from the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Farragut Naval Training Station – will be the next subject for the Inland Northwest Milestones history series at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library Thursday, May 25 at 7 p.m.
The free series is offered in partnership with the Museum of North Idaho and is presented by the museum’s Director of Programming and Marketing, regional historian Robert Singletary.
It is often overlooked that the Corps of Discovery, under the command of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, was structured and operated as a military unit. Other military influences on the region included the creation of the Mullan Road, designed to link army posts, created under the command of Capt. John Mullan, and the establishment of Fort Sherman, which in many ways led to the development of the community of Coeur d’Alene.
During WWII the Farragut facility on the banks of Lake Pend Oreille at Bayview saw to the training of thousands of sailors and gave North Idaho a major economic boost. Even today, Bayview is the site of a U.S. Navy facility for testing submarine designs.
The featured exhibit for the 2017 season at the Museum of North Idaho, “The Military and Community,” also examines the subject. Located at 115 Northwest Blvd., in front of the City Park, the museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., through Oct. 31. The museum library and office are open by appointment year round.
The Milestones series is offered in the Community Room, usually on the fourth Thursday of each month, except for the final program which will be presented on Nov. 30 due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Upcoming programs in the series will be:

► June 22: Farragut College and Technical Institute.
► July 27: Coeur d’Alene Regattas.
► Aug. 24: Farming in North Idaho.
► Sept. 28: Inland Empire Electric Line.
► Oct. 26: Kirtland Cutter: Spokane’s Master Architect.
► Nov. 30: History of Skiing in North Idaho.