Lapwai is a city in
Nez Perce County,
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
, United States. Its population was 1,137 at the
2010 census, and it is the seat of government of the
Nez Perce Indian Reservation
The Nez Perce (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region ha ...
.
History

The area that is today Lapwai was the home of Hin-ma-tute-ke-kaikt, also known as Big Thunder and later as James. It was here that
Henry Spalding established a Protestant mission among the
Nez Perce
The Nez Perce (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region h ...
in 1836. This was also the general region that
Bill Craig settled, since his wife was James' daughter.
The city's predecessor,
Fort Lapwai, operated on the site from 1863 to 1884. The village of Lapwai was incorporated in 1911,
with a model rural school.
The word "Lapwai" means place of the
butterflies
Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
, as the area had thousands in early summer in earlier years.
Lapwai is part of the
Lewiston, ID-
WA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Lapwai is located at (46.404388, -116.804376).,
at an
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...
of
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water.
Lapwai is located on the floor of a valley carved by Lapwai Creek, roughly 3 miles south of its confluence with the
Clearwater River. The hills to the east and west of the city rise dramatically more than 600 feet in less than a mile from the city.
U.S. Route 95
U.S. Route 95 (US 95) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Highway in the western United States. It travels through the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho, staying inland ...
passes through Lapwai.
Transportation
Highway
*

-
US 95 - to
Lewiston (north & west) and
Grangeville (southeast)
Railroad
The city is served by the
BG&CM Railroad, a freight carrier which operates on the former Second Subdivision line of the
Camas Prairie Railroad
Camas Prairie Railroad Company was a short line railroad in northern Idaho jointly owned and operated by Northern Pacific Railway and Union Pacific.
Parts of the former railroad are now operated by the Great Northwest Railroad and the BG&CM Rai ...
.
Education
The public schools in Lapwai are operated by Lapwai School District #341, led by
Lapwai High School.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 1,137 people, 369 households, and 272 families living in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 397 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 16.6%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.4%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 78.1%
Native American, 0.1%
Asian, 0.7% from
other races, and 4.1% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 4.0% of the population.
There were 369 households, of which 46.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.2% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 26.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 11.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 26.3% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.08 and the average family size was 3.58.
The median age in the city was 30.8 years. 31.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.9% were from 25 to 44; 24.6% were from 45 to 64; and 9.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.7% male and 51.3% female.
2000 census
At the 2000
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
,
there were 1,134 people, 339 households, and 270 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 364 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 16.14%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.53%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 81.39%
Native American, 0.62% from
other races, and 1.32% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 4.32% of the population.
There were 339 households, out of which 48.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 27.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.1% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.35 and the average family size was 3.68.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 39.8% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,800, and the median income for a family was $30,417. Males had a median income of $31,382 versus $22,109 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $10,159. About 20.5% of families and 23.7% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 30.5% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.
Notable residents
*
Lillian Disney
Lillian Marie Disney ( Bounds; February 15, 1899December 16, 1997) was an American ink artist at the Walt Disney Animation Studios and the wife of Walt Disney from 1925 until his death in 1966. Born in Spalding, Idaho, Disney graduated from hig ...
, wife of
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
*
Chaske Spencer
Chaske Spencer is an American actor. He gained prominence through his role as List of Twilight characters#Sam Uley, Sam Uley in the ''The Twilight Saga (film series), Twilight'' films (2009–2012). For his performance in the BBC and Amazon Prim ...
, played
Sam Uley in the Twilight series
See also
*
List of cities in Idaho
Idaho is a U.S. state, state located in the Western United States. According to the 2020 United States census, Idaho is the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 13th least populous state with inhabitants but the List of U.S. states ...
*
Fort Lapwai
*
Nez Perce Horse
*
Nez Perce people
The Nez Perce (; Exonym and endonym, autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwes ...
*
Nez Perce War
The Nez Perce War was an armed conflict in 1877 in the Western United States that pitted several bands of the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans and their allies, a small band of the ''Palouse'' tribe led by Red Echo (''Hahtalekin'') and ...
References
External links
*
Lapwai School District #341University of Idaho Library- digital archives - Lapwai
University of Washington Libraries- digital archives - Lapwai
{{authority control
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Seats of government of American Indian reservations
Cities in Idaho
Cities in Nez Perce County, Idaho
Lewiston–Clarkston metropolitan area
1911 establishments in Idaho