IDAHO, FLAG OF

U.S. state flag consisting of a dark blue field (background) bearing the name of the state and its official seal. On March 5, 1866, Idaho Territory adopted its first official seal, representing mountains below a new moon, a steamer on the Shoshone River, figures of Liberty and Peace, an elk's head, and agricultural produce. A similar seal, with a rising sun replacing the moon and a miner instead of Peace, was adopted for the new state on March 14, 1891, and appears today in the state flag. The 1891 state seal is the only such American design to have been created by a woman, Emma Edwards (later Emma Edwards Green). Idaho's first state flag, adopted by the legislature on March 12, 1907, was conceived as a simple blue field bearing the name of the state. A representation of the seal was subsequently added by C.A. Elmer, a brigadier general in the National Guard. The design then conformed to the general pattern of state flags, which were based on regimental colours of the Union army during the Civil War. Elmer's design was legalized on March 15, 1927, and a standard pattern for the seal was adopted in March 1957. Whitney Smith History Early history and settlement Before the 1840s, when the buffalo herds disappeared and the wagon trains of settlers who were bound for California began to arrive, Indians had lived in the Idaho region for at least 10,000 years. In the north were the Kutenai, the linguistically identical Salish (Kalispel), the Coeur d'Alene, and the Nez Perc. Northern Paiute lived in the west central region, while the western Shoshoni and the northern Shoshoni occupied most of the southern lands. Most of these groups lived in small villages, consisting largely of family groups that moved according to the fishing, hunting, and gathering seasons, and the ties between them were weak. The tribes still live in approximately the same areas, some on the several reservations that are located within the state. When the Lewis and Clark Expedition reached Idaho in 1805, about 8,000 Indians lived in the region. A trading post was erected on Pend Oreille Lake in the north in 1809, and fur traders were followed by missionaries. Gold seekers by the thousands poured through the area on their way to California in 1848, but many returned eastward after gold was discovered in northern Idaho in 1860. The settlers who followed wanted land and political stability, which had hitherto been uncertain; and slowly agriculture acquired economic dominance. Territorial period Idaho originally was in Oregon country, which was claimed first by Spain and then by Russia, Great Britain, and the United States; after the latter two had settled on the 49th parallel as the northern U.S. border, the Oregon Territory was created in 1848. It included the present state of Idaho, as well as what is now Oregon, Washington, and part of Montana. From 1853 to 1859 Idaho was divided between the Oregon and Washington territories. It then was part of Washington until it was organized separately as the Idaho Territory in 1863. From a population of fewer than 17,000 in 1863, the territory expanded to nearly 90,000 at the time of statehood in 1890. Many new arrivals were Confederate refugees who, in the years following the Civil War, often dominated the legislature and opposed the Republican governors who were appointed by the federal government. Political strife and vigilante committees were elements of frontier life during the territorial decades. Among the events and trends that coloured the state's political and social life were the religious conflicts between the polygamous Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and other sects; a strong sectionalism that divided various regions of the territory; a pioneer democracy that emphasized the rights and achievements of the individual; the completion of railroads, which fostered economic and population growth; the beginning of lead and silver mining in the mountains; and the creation of the University of Idaho in 1889 by the last territorial legislature that was convened prior to statehood. The northern Mountain region. Idaho State University public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Pocatello, Idaho, U.S. It comprises colleges of business, education, engineering, pharmacy, health-related professions, and arts and sciences and the School of Applied Technology. The university offers a wide range of bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional degree programs. It includes the Idaho Museum of Natural History. Total enrollment is approximately 10,000. Idaho State University began in 1901 as the Academy of Idaho. In 1915 the name was changed to Idaho Technical Institute. In 1927 it became the Southern Branch of the University of Idaho, reflecting the school's broadening curriculum. It was made a separate institution in 1963 and renamed Idaho State University.