The earliest inhabitants of the Coeur d'Alene area were the Salish-speaking Schee-Chu-Umsh Indians, and they lived amid North Idaho's lakes and mountains for thousands of years before any white settlers arrived. When the whites came, they christened the natives the Coeur d'Alenes, meaning "heart of awl." The exact reason why is unknown, although it may have been a tribute to the tribe's savvy trading practices.

Tribal legend holds that a Coeur d'Alene chief, Circling Raven, had a vision in which he learned that men in black robes would visit his people. When the Coeur d'Alene's heard Father Peter DeSmet was visiting the Flathead Indians in Montana in the 1840s, they implored him to come to them, too. The Coeur d'Alene's embraced Catholicism and built missions, first along the Coeur d'Alene River (the present Cataldo Mission) and later along the southern end of Lake Coeur d'Alene.

The next major step in Coeur d'Alene history came in 1862, with completion of the Mullan Road, a major route across the Northwest that served the region for half a century. In 1877, General William Tecumseh Sherman recommended a military post be situated in the area. Fort Sherman troops took part in the Spanish-American War before the post was abandoned in 1901.

Meanwhile, the gold and silver boom was on. Gold was discovered along the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River, and silver was coaxed from the south side of the Coeur d'Alene Mountains near Wallace. The completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad and the development of a spur rail line and steamboat shipping on Lake Coeur d'Alene helped deliver the region's mineral wealth to the world.

The transportation network (which also included an electric train to Spokane, Washington) helped boost Coeur d'Alene's other emerging industries: logging and tourism. Frederick Post established a sawmill on the Spokane River in 1880, and by 1920, many other forestry companies had come to the area to do business. Meanwhile, hotels, cabins, and campgrounds began to dot the shores of Lake Coeur d'Alene and nearby Hayden Lake.

Tourism continued to prosper and is now one of Coeur d'Alene's primary industries. But Coeur d'Alene is also growing its economy through the addition of numerous small businesses ranging from retail and service concerns to small manufacturers. Coeur d'Alene is poised to be a leading city in the Inland Northwest into the 21st century and beyond.

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