On the way to our getaway in Coeur d’Alene to celebrate my birthday we made a stop in Rathdrum for our lunch. While we were in The Westwood Brewery for our meal we read some interesting history which included this church that is the oldest brick church in Idaho. After lunch we drove by the church for a photoshoot.
Settled in 1861, the City of Rathdrum is located in the Pandhandle of Northern Idaho, 12 miles northwest of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and 25 miles east of Spokane, Washington. In the late 1860’s, a pony express relay station was established in Rathdrum and in 1882, the first Northern Pacific rail line was laid allowing ore from the Silver Valley to be shipped by rail to the mills.
Rathdrum is one of the oldest towns in North Idaho. From the beginning, Rathdrum has been an important crossroads, the Indians referred to the area as the “Great Road of the Flatheads.” Hudson Bay and Pacific Fur trading companies traversed the Rathdrum Prairie in the early 1800’s, followed by the Jesuit missionaries in the 1840s. Originally named “Westwood” after Charles Wesley Wood, local pony express rider, rancher and land developer, the city became the County seat for Kootenai County in 1881. In 1908, electors voted the County seat to Coeur d’Alene. In the late 1800s, the city’s name was changed from Westwood to Rathdrum after Rathdroma, Ireland, the birthplace of a local businessman.
Present day Rathdrum is a thriving community of 6,500. In spite of three major fires, the earliest in 1884 and the last in 1924, many historical buildings still stand including Saint Stanislaus Church, the oldest brick church in the state of Idaho.
I thought it was fun to have our St. Patrick’s Day meal in a town named after a town in Ireland.
The restaurant’s version of corned beef and cabbage with mashed potatoes, gravy and rye bread. Greg ordered the fish and chips. My mocktail was a March special. Blue Curacao with pineapple juice and sprite.
After lunch we drove a few miles to Coeur d’Alene stopping at UGM Thrift store before we checked into our Inn. More about our Inn in another post.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 
It is great that the church survived those fires.
Your meal looks yummy!
Take care, have a wonderful day!
…it looks like you had a yummy day.
I enjoyed reading the history behind the town and church. I love the era of history when the Pony Express was in operation!
Your food looks amazing! We went out for lunch yesterday for St. Patrick’s Day and I had fish and chips, just like Greg. The restaurant’s special was a Reuben sandwich in honor of the Day, but Carroll thought that the waitress said that they were all out, so he ordered something else. I didn’t realize why he made the choice he did until afterwards. I would definitely have preferred all of the fixings of a Reuben served up the way your plate was served to you so that I didn’t have the gluten to deal with.
That would be a great description of that meal, a deconstructed Reuben sandwich! Thanks Dianna. 🙂
That looks like a lot of food. 🙂 Interesting reading about the town.
Very cool. Hope you have a wonderful birthday.
We drive through Rathdrum all the time, but have never heard about this beautiful old church! Now, I must investigate myself! Thank you for providing the history of Rathdrum. How interesting that its name used to be Woodward! The church is beautiful! Your lunch looked fabulous – so yummy! Happy anniversary to you both! Can’t wait to hear about the rest of your visit to CDA!
Sorry – happy birthday to you, not anniversary!
Marilyn, thank you for stopping by and for my birthday wishes. It’s fun to know we travel some of the same roads!