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Library News »02/26/2013


New digital collection documents 70 years of Priest Lake, Idaho area history

The University of Idaho Library’s Digital Initiatives department announces the release of the Priest Lake Museum Association Collection, a digital collection of historical photographs of Priest Lake, Idaho and the surrounding area. The 380 images span the years 1880 to 1950, documenting the area’s waters, boats, buildings, landscape and people.

The Priest Lake Museum Association built the collection in the early 1980s after putting out a call for historical photographs of their region. The photographs were eventually hand-delivered to the University of Idaho Library's Special Collections & Archives Department, where they were photographed, reprinted, and then returned to the Museum Association for delivery to their original owners.

In addition to striking photographs of Priest Lake and Priest River, the collection features early Idaho images of stagecoaches, timber transport, and homesteading, as well as photographs of silent film star Nell Shipmen’s zoo, moonshine production, and both German and Italian WWII internees.