Old Mission State Park

State park in Idaho, United States For the park in Michigan of the same name, see Mission Point Light. "Mission of the Sacred Heart" redirects here. For the missionary congregation founded in 1854, see Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.

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Coeur d'Alene's Old Mission State Park
The Sacred Heart Church
Location in the United StatesShow map of the United StatesLocation in IdahoShow map of Idaho
Location	Cataldo, Kootenai County, Idaho, U.S.
Nearest city	Coeur d'Alene
Coordinates	47°32′57″N 116°21′40″W / 47.54917°N 116.36111°W / 47.54917; -116.36111
Area	18 acres (7.3 ha)
Elevation	2,139 ft (652 m)
Designation	Idaho state park
Established	1975
Administrator	Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation
Website	Old Mission State Park


Cataldo Mission
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark

Apse, in 1957
Area	22.9 acres (9.3 ha)
Built	1853
Architect	Antonio Ravalli
Architectural style	Greek Revival, Colonial
NRHP reference No.	66000312
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966
Designated NHL	July 4, 1961

Coeur d'Alene's Old Mission State Park is heritage-oriented in the western United States in northern Idaho, preserving the Mission of the Sacred Heart, or Cataldo Mission, a national historic landmark. The park contains the church itself, the parish house, and the surrounding property. Built in 1850–1853, Mission of the Sacred Heart is the oldest standing building in Idaho. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961, and put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.

History

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In 1831, the Nez Perce and Flathead people had heard of the Bible and wanted more information on Christianity. They sent six men east to St. Louis with four arriving, and in 1842, Father Pierre-Jean De Smet responded to the request and came to the area. Fr. Nicholas Point and Br. Charles Huet came and helped to pick a mission location. The first chosen was along the St. Joe River and was subject to flooding. In 1846, they moved it to its current location.

In 1850, the church was taken over by the Italian Jesuit missionary Antonio Ravalli, who began designing the new mission building. He had the building constructed by the Indians themselves, so they would feel part of the church. It was built using the wattle and daub method and finished some three years later without using nails.

The mission was named after the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the spot was renamed the Coeur d'Alene's Old Mission State Park by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe. A misnomer locally is to refer to the whole mission as the "Cataldo" Mission. This term cropped up in the area due to the fame of Father fr:Giuseppe Cataldo (1837-1928), a Sicilian priest born in the village of Terrasini, who spent most of his missionary Jesuit life in the frontier community and founded Gonzaga University in Spokane. The nearest town to the mission is Cataldo. The mission became a stop and supply station for traders, settlers, and miners traveling on the Mullan Road. It was also a working port for boats heading up the Coeur d'Alene River.

In 1976, a major restoration of the church was chosen as Idaho State's Bicentennial Project to celebrate the nation's bicentennial.

Mission area

Church

The walls were decorated with fabric bought from the Hudson's Bay Company and a hand-painted newspaper from Philadelphia that Fr. Ravalli had received in the mail. Tin cans were used to create the idea of chandeliers. Both wooden statues were carved by Fr. Rivalli with a knife and were intended to look like marble. The blue coloring of the interior wood is pressed huckleberries stains.

Parish house

After being burned down, it was rebuilt in 1887. It is a two-story building, with the upstairs used for sleeping quarters. It contains a smaller chapel, mostly used for daily Mass.

State park

The surrounding property has two cemeteries, a nature trail, and a visitors center. The site became Old Mission State Park in 1975 through a long-term lease with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise.

References

^ "Old Mission State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
"Idaho State Parks Fast Facts" (PDF). Lesson 6: State Park By Design. Idaho Parks and Recreation. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
^ "History: State Lands in Idaho". Idaho Museum of Natural History. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
"Cataldo Mission". NP Gallery Digital Asset Management System. National Park Service. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
"List of NHLs by State". National Park Service. Retrieved October 4, 2018.

External links

Coeur d'Alene's Old Mission State Park Idaho Parks and Recreation
Coeur d'Alene's Old Mission State Park Map Idaho Parks and Recreation

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Related	National Historic Preservation Act Historic Preservation Fund List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
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Protected areas of Idaho

Federal

National Parks	Yellowstone
National Historic Sites & Historical Parks	Minidoka NHS Nez Perce NHP
National Monuments	Craters of the Moon Hagerman Fossil Beds
National Forests	Bitterroot Boise Caribou-Targhee Clearwater Coeur d'Alene Idaho Panhandle Kaniksu Kootenai Nez Perce Payette Salmon-Challis Sawtooth St. Joe Wallowa–Whitman Wasatch-Cache
National Grasslands	Curlew
National Recreation Areas	Hells Canyon Sawtooth
National Wildlife Refuges	Bear Lake Camas Deer Flat Grays Lake Kootenai Minidoka Oxford Slough Waterfowl Production Area
National Conservation Areas	Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey
Wilderness Areas	Big Jacks Creek Bruneau–Jarbidge Rivers Craters of the Moon Frank Church–River of No Return Gospel Hump Hells Canyon Hemingway–Boulders Jim McClure–Jerry Peak Little Jacks Creek North Fork Owyhee Owyhee River Pole Creek Sawtooth Selway–Bitterroot Cecil D. Andrus–White Clouds
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Battle Creek Big Jacks Creek Bruneau Bruneau (West Fork) Clearwater (Middle Fork) Cottonwood Creek Deep Creek Dickshooter Creek Duncan Creek Jarbidge Little Jacks Creek Lochsa Owyhee Owyhee (North Fork) Owyhee (South Fork) Rapid Red Canyon Saint Joe Salmon Salmon (Middle Fork) Selway Sheep Creek Snake Wickahoney Creek

State

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Wildlife
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Areas

Other

Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve

Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation

v t e Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise
Bishops	Ordinaries Louis Aloysius Lootens Alphonse Joseph Glorieux Daniel Mary Gorman Edward Joseph Kelly James Joseph Byrne Sylvester William Treinen Tod David Brown Michael Patrick Driscoll Peter F. Christensen
Churches	Cathedral Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist Parishes St. Mary's Church, Boise St. Charles Borromeo Church, Hailey Holy Rosary Church, Idaho Falls Our Lady, Queen of Heaven Church, Oreana St. Joseph's Church, Pocatello Former Coeur d'Alene Mission of the Sacred Heart St. Joseph's Mission, Culdesac
Education	High school Bishop Kelly High School, Boise
Priests	William Weigand
Miscellany	Mercy Medical Center (Idaho) Old Mission State Park
Catholicism portal

Categories:

Misplaced Pages

History

Mission area

See also

References

Further reading

External links