Welcome to Rathdrum Traditional Cache
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Welcome to the
City of Rathdrum
Settled in 1861 and officially platted in 1881, 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.
Present day Rathdrum is the crossroads for State Highways 41 and 53, linking the Rathdrum area with Northern Idaho and Eastern Washington.
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." The Hudson Bay and Pacific Fur trading companies traversed the Rathdrum Prairie in the early 1800’s, followed by the Jesuit missionaries in the 1840’s.
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 1800’s, 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, built in 1901 it is the oldest brick church in the state of Idaho.
In 2009 a geo-caching family calling themselves Martin 5 placed a green bison on the Welcome to Rathdrum sign as you enter town from the South. Sadly it was muggled and replaced with a 35mm canister. Can you find it?
Rathdrum is home to geo-cachers such as Rathdrumid, Idahorfd, Princess0109 and Spudknocker.
| If you are a Geocacher in eastern Washington or northern Idaho, please join the Inland Empire Chapter of the Washington State Geocaching Association. This is a great way to get the most out of Geocaching in our region. Simply go to the WSGA Web Page for details! |
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