We wish a Happy 130th birthday to Latah County on May 14. Latah County, located in Idaho’s northern panhandle, is home to the county seat of Moscow where the University of Idaho is also located. The first courthouse for the new county is shown here in 1889 just after construction was complete.

Latah County holds the distinction of being the only county in the United States created by an act of Congress.Originally a part of neighboring Nez Perce County, area residents were tired of making the inconvenient trip to the county seat in Lewiston approximately 60 miles away. The campaign to create a new county failed at the territorial level so leaders took their cause to the national level. With the help of Idaho’s representative in Congress a bill was passed then signed into law by President Grover Cleveland creating Latah County May 14, 1888.

Sources

PG 5-001-11a, PG 6-010-4, Latah County by Julie Monroe, published by Arcadia Publishing, 2006