Doors open at 6:30 at the River of History Exhibit (204 Main Street)
Keith Petersen, Idaho historian and former Idaho State Historian, will discuss his most recent book on the geographic boundaries of Idaho: The West is a land of rectangular states. And then we have Idaho. What happened? Drunken surveyors? Corrupt politicians? The story of Idaho’s borders begins with international intrigue in the early days of America. It continues through the Civil War, when politicians who had never seen Idaho sealed its fate as a land of perplexing contours. It lingered into the 20th century as northern Idahoans contemplated seceding. And it affects every Idahoan today, living with consequences of an odd configuration complicating connections between north and south. Just how Idaho got this way is a fascinating story of diplomacy, politics, luck, and a congressional obsession with straight-line boundaries.
Books will be available for purchase and signing at the presentation.