Idaho is one of our nearest neighbors and we in Eastern Washington travel back and forth to Idaho sometimes daily. The other day I saw a list of Idaho Place Names and jotted down the ones in the Idaho Panhandle….nearest to us. Enjoy…and bet you’ll be surprised at some of these.

Sandpoint  —  In 1809 David Thompson mentions a point of sand here in his journal; a white settlement dates there to 1880.

Rathdrum  —  Originally named Westwood but there were too many of that name so Rathdrum was the name of the Irish birthplace of an elderly resident in 1881.

Athol  —  Said to have been named for an Indian chief in 1895.

Hayden — In 1878 Matthew Heyden and John Hager were playing cards and the winner of the hand got to name the lake. Guess who won?

Coeur d’Alene  —  Name give to the Indians in the area by French fur trappers and traders; had something to do with “heart.”

Priest Lake  —  Was first named Lake Roothaan in honor of Father John Roothaan, a Jesuit, and renamed in 1890.

Post Falls  —  Named in 1887 for Frederick Post’s mill.

Harrison  —  Named in 1891 for President Benjamin Harrison.

Kellogg  —  Was first named Milo where Noah Kellogg found ore; in 1887 was renamed to honor him.

Wallace  —  Named in 1888 for Col. W.R. Wallace, owner of the mine.

Mullan  —  Named in 1886 for John Mullan.

Moscow  —  Named for Moscow, Pennsylvania, AND Moscow, Iowa. “Moscow is from the Finnic tongue signifying “place for washing clothes.”

Source:  Idaho Place Names: A Geographic Dictionary, by Lalia Broone, 1988, accessed at the Hayden Lake Public Library, Genealogy Collection.