Discover History

History & Culture

photo of a man leading a team of horses past a ramshackle mining building

Our Heritage web pages tell at least in part the story of the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. You will find historic photographs, documents, and articles outlining our varied and long history.

Historic Preservation

black and white photograph of a group of people in 19th century garb in front of a building in the snow

School children in the mining town of Florence, Idaho during the winter of 1898.
Ace Barton Collection

A vital component of the Forest Service mission is to protect, preserve and enhance cultural resources for public benefit. These nonrenewable vestiges of your past are aging and easily damaged. You can assist in preserving this legacy by respecting the fragile state of these remains and leaving in place all artifacts and relics. Congress has recognized the importance of these resources and has passed laws to ensure their long-term integrity. Help the Forest Service manage these sites by reporting illegal collecting and other damaging activity. And remember…a land without ruins is a land without memories.

Brochures and Displays

Here are some materials you might be interested in:

Historical and Cultural Brochures

Historical and Cultural Publications

Nez Perce National Historic Trail

Link to the Nez Perce National Historic Trail Web Page.

Over 10,000 years have passed since humans first inhabited the area known as the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. The Forests' signature landscape of rolling and rugged mountains bounded by deep river canyons has provided the economic basis for generations of central Idaho inhabitants. From American Indian use over the millennia, the explorations of Lewis and Clark, fur trappers and traders in the early 1800s, gold seekers in the mid to late 19th century, early 20th century homesteaders and the Forest Service—the Forest hosts thousands of known historical and archaeological sites.