Coeur d'Alene

History

The city was named for the Coeur d'Alene Indians, a Salish people who lived along the rivers and lakes of the region, in a territory of extending from eastern Washington to Montana; these tribes primarily located their villages and camps near food gathering or processing sites. The city experienced significant growth from the timber boom and the development of the railroads, steamboats, and tourism that accompanied it; Coeur d'Alene incorporated as a city on September 4, 1906, and by 1908 it had become the county seat. From 1900 to 1915, there were hundreds of homes constructed across 70 newly platted additions. With the advent of the automobile and the internal combustion engine, trucks and chainsaws, the felling and transporting of trees became more productive and efficient and lumber production reached its height in the late 1910s and 1920s; in 1925 there were seven lumber mills operating in the area and they were producing 500 million board feet of lumber. After the 1929 stock market crash and during the Great Depression, the lumber industry demand began to wane and by the mid-1930s about half the woodworkers in North Idaho were laid off and the surviving mills were producing only 160 million board feet of lumber per year. Although it was a tough time, accomplishments during the Depression years included the establishment of Coeur d'Alene Junior College (North Idaho College) in 1933, the construction of Northwest Boulevard through the Works Progress Administration program in 1937, and the building of the popular Playfair Pier amusement park on the lake in the early 1940s. The Playfair Pier opened on July 4, 1942 (and existed until 1974) in City Park and included a variety of rides and attractions such as a miniature roller coaster, a Ferris wheel, a carousel,…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Coeur d'Alene is east of downtown Spokane, Washington, and east of Seattle. The city is part of the Spokane–Coeur d'Alene combined statistical area and the Inland Northwest region, consisting of eastern Washington, northern Idaho, northwestern Montana, and northeastern Oregon. The city is located on the north shore of Lake Coeur d'Alene, near the outlet of the Spokane River, and is in the Northern Rockies ecoregion. Lake Coeur d'Alene is a natural dam-controlled lake that is long and to wide and fed by the Coeur d'Alene and Saint Joe rivers. Lake in the Spokane Valley and Rathdrum Prairie, were formed by the Missoula Floods, which ended 12,000 to 15,000 years ago. The Coeur d'Alene Mountains of the Bitterroot Range rise to the east of the city to a maximum elevation of at Cherry Peak. The wooded lands east of the city, the Coeur d'Alene National Forest, have been designated for protection and management by the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. These thick forests include groves of ancient western redcedar and host over 300 wildlife species including woodland caribou, Canada lynx, grizzly bear, and northwestern wolf. The large lakes in the Idaho panhandle attract birds on the Pacific Flyway, and bird watching is popular on Lake Coeur d'Alene, especially from November to February when bald eagles come annually to feed on the spawning kokanee. The Cougar Bay Nature Preserve on the northeast portion of Lake Coeur d'Alene is the closest and most accessible nature preserve for wildlife viewing, as it is located a few minutes from downtown Coeur d'Alene. Environmental concerns have come as a result of upstream hardrock mining and smelting operations in the…

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• POST FALLS HIGH SCHOOL
  High · POST FALLS · 1,565 students · 21.4:1 ratio
• COEUR D'ALENE HIGH SCHOOL
  High · COEUR D'ALENE · 1,548 students · 20.1:1 ratio
• LAKE CITY HIGH SCHOOL
  High · COEUR D'ALENE · 1,539 students · 20.8:1 ratio
• LAKELAND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · RATHDRUM · 839 students · 18.2:1 ratio
• WOODLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · COEUR D'ALENE · 821 students · 19.1:1 ratio
• POST FALLS MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · POST FALLS · 800 students · 18.6:1 ratio
• CANFIELD MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · COEUR D'ALENE · 746 students · 19.1:1 ratio
• LAKELAND MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · RATHDRUM · 643 students · 18.4:1 ratio