Clearwater River is a tributary of Snake River in Idaho, and is located 5 kilometers away from the mouth of Lapwai. It is named
after its chief characteristic of being clear and transparent. The original name given
to the river was Koos-koos-kia by the Nez Perce Indigenous tribe.1
Clearwater River was and is a major population centre for the Nez Perce. The first European encounter of the river was by Lewis and Clarke
on their 1805-06 expedition.2 The first missionary, farm, and sawmill in Idaho were established on the Clearwater
River in the 1830s and 1840s by Reverend Henry and Eliza Spalding. The Spaldings established their mission near the Southbank of
the river at the mouth of the Lapwai Creek.3
By 1860, gold was discovered on the tributaries of the Clearwater River. The land that surrounds
the river was, and arguably still is, described as a paradise.4