What’s in a name:
Coeur d’Alene is a small city in northern Idaho with an exotic name. This lilting French phrase refers not only to the city but also to a lake, a river, and a tribe of Native Americans in the area. How did that happen? The answer goes back to the turn of the 19th century, when trappers and fur traders from French Louisiana made their way here in search of pelts. They found a spectacularly beautiful lake, thick evergreen forests, rugged mountains, and a tribe of Native Americans who lived along the lake and called themselves ‘the people discovered here’ in their Salish language. The French found the tribe to be highly skilled traders, shrewd in business skills. Their name for them was coeur d’alene, ‘heart of an awl,’ which is a sharp tool used to pierce leather. Over the years, the French name won out.
A bit more history:
In the latter half of the 19th century, Coeur d’Alene became a freewheeling town catering to the rough-and-tumble miners and loggers who worked the region’s two most important industries. Soon trains transporting silver from mines to the east and steamboats plying the 25-mile-long lake became common sights. As is true of all booms, this one didn’t last forever, and by the mid-20th century, Coeur d’Alene was a quiet community frequented by Spokane vacationers in summer months.
A recreational mecca:
City Beach looking toward Tubbs Hill
Today, Coeur d’Alene sits at the eastern edge of the greater Coeur d’Alene / Spokane Valley / Spokane metropolitan area. Lovely lakefront homes half-hidden by evergreens line the jagged edges of the centipede-shaped lake. The downtown district encompasses the city park and beach, an elegant resort, a large grassy park, and a nature trail circling a protected hill that juts into the lake. Virtually any sort of lake activity – from boat cruises to para-sailing to hitting a golf ball on the world’s only floating green – can be found here. The city’s main street features trendy restaurants, shops and galleries. As an aside, the street is named for the Sherman who marched to the sea during the U.S. Civil War and came west afterwards: a fort of the same name was established on the banks of Lake Coeur d’Alene, present-day site of the University of North Idaho. Biking, hiking, and jogging trails extend around the lake and to points east and west. A chain of lakes along the Coeur d’Alene River attracts fishermen and kayakers. The formerly named Silver Valley in the mountains to the east still has a couple of working mines, but it is now better known for several world-class ski resorts.
In 1970, some 15,000 people lived in Coeur d’Alene. Today, there are 50,000 strong. The Lake City is growing. For more information, go to Visit Coeur d’Alene.
