Nez Perce National Historical Park Administrative History

CHAPTER ONE:
Origins of Nez Perce National Historical Park

The Non-Indian Preservationists

The small delta at the confluence of Lapwai Creek and the Clearwater River was the site of some of Idaho's earliest recorded history, and so it appealed strongly to non-Indian Idahoans with an interest in commemorative local history. The idea that this site should be preserved initially drew support from such organizations as local pioneer associations, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Presbyterian Board of Missions. Later it gathered adherents from county historical societies and state universities. Although the movement evolved through more than four decades, its vision remained essentially the same: to develop the Spalding site in order to provide Idahoans and out-of-state visitors with a better appreciation of the Nez Perce role in U.S. history.

As early as 1920 a few non-Indian valley residents proposed that the state or federal government establish a park to commemorate the Spaldings and their activities among the Nez Perce. A Clarkston fruit grower by the name of E.A. White wrote a letter on behalf of a local pioneers association urging officials in Washington, D.C. to preserve the site of the Spalding mission and school. Whether this letter was directed to the National Park Service is unclear; it may have been the first proposal for a national historical park in the area. [8]

In 1922 the state regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Mrs. James Babb, created a stir when she successfully opposed a plan by the Idaho State Highway Department to build a new bridge and approach road directly through the historic site. Apparently Mrs. Babb drove to the site and bodily positioned herself in the way of the surveyors, "calmly informing [them] that if they put that bridge across the site they would have to put it over her because she was going to stay right there." The surveyors agreed to relocate the highway fifty feet to the east. [9]

Inspired by Mrs. Babb's protest, the Alice Whitman Chapter of the DAR now spearheaded the park movement. About 1923 it succeeded in having a memorial placed at the Spalding home site consisting of a large rectangular rock on which was mounted a bronze tablet. Displaying a degree of ethnocentrism that later generations would find offensive, the DAR's memorial proclaimed that the Spalding mission site represented the "first home" in Idaho. In 1935 the DAR marked the site of the Spalding home with two piles of stones, erected an iron fence around the site, and identified it with a second memorial plaque. The following year the Alice Whitman Chapter of the DAR achieved its initial objective when Governor C.C. Moore of Idaho dedicated a large acreage surrounding the homesite as Spalding State Park. In the following months, the Idaho State Highway Department developed the site with an arboretum, picnic grounds, and winding foot paths (see Chapter Six). [10]

The next goal of the Alice Whitman Chapter of the DAR was to establish a museum at Spalding. A few DAR members, notably Mrs. John Alley, wife of the physician in charge of the Nez Perce Indian Tuberculosis Hospital at Lapwai, collected artifacts. Their intent was to display them in a public museum eventually. Beginning in 1949, the DAR prevailed on Idaho's Senators Glen Taylor and Henry C. Dworshak and Representative Compton I. White to introduce bills that would appropriate funds for "an Indian museum." Senator Taylor's bill called for an appropriation of $85,000 for the Secretary of the Interior to establish a museum at Spalding "for the purpose of preserving, classifying, and displaying relics and artifacts of the American Indian, and historical material relating to the early history of the Northwest." Senator Dworshak's bill called for a $50,000 appropriation and assigned the development of a museum to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Although the DAR organized a letter-writing campaign in support of these various bills, none of the bills was passed. [11]

Despite that disappointment, the DAR succeeded in generating enough local interest in the museum proposal to call a public meeting on May 29, 1953, which led directly to the formation of the Spalding Museum Foundation, Inc. In the fall of that year, Marcus Ware, a Lewiston attorney, headed the new organization, assisted by DAR member Virginia Leckenby. Other charter members included Joseph Blackeagle of Lapwai, J.E. Buchanan, president of the University of Idaho, and fifteen others, most of whom were residents of Lewiston or Clarkston. [12]

Proponents of the Spalding State Park and a Spalding Museum probably always saw some economic benefit in their efforts, but it was not until about 1960 that tourism development became a major part of their arguments. At least two factors were at play in bringing about this change. First and most importantly, Idahoans discovered that tourism had become a major factor in the state's economy. A 1960 tourist survey revealed that in the previous year tourists had spent approximately $120 million in the state, making tourism Idaho's third largest industry after agriculture and timber. Governor Robert E. Smylie requested the legislature to create a state parks department. The legislation failed in 1961 and 1963, but passed in 1965. Meanwhile, the Commissioners of the State Land Board concluded that outdoor recreation was "fast assuming a prominent role in the economy of Idaho," and pressed for more development of Idaho's scenic and historical resources. [13]

A second factor in the changing orientation of the movement for a historical park was the expectation of increased tourist traffic along the Clearwater River corridor stemming from new federal highway development. In 1962, the federal government completed U.S. Highway 12 between Lewiston and Lolo, Montana. Called the Lewis and Clark Highway because it roughly followed the same route taken by the explorers, the road pierced a large stretch of wild country and was extraordinarily scenic. The Lewis and Clark Highway joined U.S. 95 across the Clearwater River from Spalding, making Spalding a logical center for tourist information.

Perhaps a third factor contributed to the movement's higher profile in the early 1960s. Dams were under construction or being planned at several points above and below Lewiston on the Snake and Clearwater rivers. Many of Idaho's river canyons still looked essentially the same as they had in the time of Lewis and Clark. Although Idahoans have generally shown little support for the creation of national parks in their state, the spate of dam building at this time appears to have made many area residents poignantly aware of Idaho's recreational and historical resources and more sympathetic to preservation. [14]

During this period, the Spalding Museum Foundation provided continuity and assumed several important tasks in the coalescing movement for a national historical park. It took over the DAR's role of lobbying for a congressional appropriation with which to establish a museum, promoted the museum idea locally and raised funds from private donors, acquired property (a small parcel of land adjoining the southwest corner of Spalding State Park) with the intent of donating it to the park, and coordinated the effort of collecting and storing artifacts for future display in a museum. The Spalding Museum Foundation remained active even after it was largely subsumed by the campaign to establish a national historical park. In 1963, it paid for an appraisal of the Evans property, a key parcel of land in Spalding on which stood the Sacajawea Museum with its eclectic assortment of historical artifacts. [15] Even after the park was established, the Spalding Museum Foundation continued to lobby senators and congressmen for the necessary funds to build the park's visitor center.

By the early 1960s, booster organizations like Advance Idaho and the Lewiston Chamber of Commerce had developed a keen interest in the area's historical resources. It began to appear that Idaho's historical and recreational resources could be developed together. The idea arose that Idaho's overall character — scenic, rustic, and pristine — could be preserved and marketed in a single package. This called for a wider conception, something like "Nez Perce country" or "Nez Perce historic country." Beginning about 1961, some of these individuals began to work with Nez Perce tribal representatives on a plan to establish a national historical park.