Potlatch Historical Society

09/28/2026

09/28/2026

09/22/2026

The Potlatch Mill in Elk River before it phased out during the Great Depression.

LCHS Photo ID: 05-03-036

09/20/2026

The Commercial Historic District in Potlatch was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.This was part of an architectural inventory conducted by Keith Petersen. Seven buildings were included. The district is bordered on the west by an open meadow where the mill was formerly located; on the southwest by open space; on the southeast by a steep include leading to the lower nob Hill residential area; and on the north and east by commercial buildings. The district also includes the Washington, Idaho and Montana Railway engine number 1, resting now in Scenic Six Park and a large boulder monument to William Deary on Sixth Street in front of the gymnasium.

09/11/2026

School is back in session. Before 1950 children living outside of Potlatch attended one of the rural schools near their home. Usually, the buildings housed students in first through eighth grade. Students walked from home to school.

09/11/2026

View of the Potlatch Timber Empire.
Thanks to the research fellowship at Special Collections at the University of Idaho Library, one gets a bird's eye view of the development of the timber industry in the area.

A blog and working collection of the most interesting and unique materials from the University of Idaho Library's Special Collections and Archives.