Lewis County, Idaho: History
=== Indigenous peoples and explorers ===
Early settlement of Idaho by native peoples occurred around 14,000 years ago. Initially, natives of the region were spear hunters of big game. Documented settlement of Idaho's Camas Prairie by the Nez Perce dates back more than 8,000 years with characteristics of the Old Cordilleran Culture appearing in the region. Characteristics of this culture consist of more sophisticated tools for hunting and the introduction of art forms. The Nez Perce, like their Shoshoni counterparts of southern Idaho, gained access to escaped Spanish horses from the 16th-century exploration and settlement of New Spain that were traded throughout North America. The transcontinental Lewis and Clark expedition's Corps of Discovery encountered the Nez Perce tribe in 1805 and camped near Kamiah in the winter of 1806. They then returned to the main Clearwater River to continue west towards the Pacific Ocean. The majority of Nez Perce County's territory is located within the boundary of the Nez Perce Reservation. The reservation was established in 1859 following the provisions of an 1855 treaty with the four bands of the Nez Perce Tribe. Relations with the Nez Perce were amicable until discovery of gold at multiple locations within the reservation's boundaries created tension starting in 1860. A smaller reservation was negotiated with the Kamiah and Lapwai bands of Nez Perce, with a treaty signed in 1867. The Salmon-Wallowa and lower Snake River bands were not a party to the treaty and efforts to force them to the reservation resulted in the Nez Perce War in 1877 that decisively forced all of the Nez Perce to the Nez Perce Reservation. Settlement of non-natives within the boundary of the reservation was authorized starting in 1894.
With the opening of non-native settlement by agreement of 1894, settlements emerged starting at Winchester in 1896 followed by Craigmont and Kamiah areas starting by 1898. By the 1900 Census, Nez Perce County established precincts for Central Ridge, Cold Springs, Fletcher, and Nez Perce within the territory of present Lewis County. Their combined population at the time was 2,782.
Settlement increased along the route of the Camas Prairie Railroad which reached Reubens in 1906 with operation of the line starting in 1908. The railroad had stops at Nucrag, Reubens, and Craigmont. By 1908, multiple stage lines commenced operation with terminus at Kamiah. At the 1910 Census, Nez Perce established additional precincts for Chesley, Kamiah, Mason, Mohler, and Winchester. Together, all precincts at the 1910 census had a population of 5,037.
Nez Perce Village incorporated in 1903 with Kippen Village following in 1907. Vollmer town was incorporated in 1908 with the villages of Ilo and Kamiah incorporated in 1909. Reubens and Winchester Villages incorporated by 1920. Ilo and Vollmer consolidated as Craigmont in 1920. Kippen Village was dis-incorporated by 1940 as it is absent from that census.