Fort Lemhi was a mission approximately two miles (3 km) north of present-day Tendoy,

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

, occupied by

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into severa ...

missionaries from 1855 to 1858. Approximately twenty-seven Mormon men left the Salt Lake Valley on May 18, 1855, as instructed by

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as ch ...

with Thomas S. Smith serving as the leader of this group and George Washington Hill as their main Shoshonean language interpreter. The party reached the Salmon River valley (then in

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. O ...

) on May 27 and selected a permanent site for its mission on June 15, 1855. The mission was named Fort Limhi for King

Limhi In the Book of Mormon, Limhi () was the third and final king of the second Nephite habitation of the land of Lehi-Nephi. He succeeded his father, Noah. Led by Ammon (a mulekite) Limhi escaped from the Lamanites with his people to the land of Zar ...

who was one of the kings cited in the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude d ...

. In Mormon scripture, King Limhi organized an expedition that lasted 22 days, the same duration it required the Mormon missionaries to reach the Salmon River Country. Consequently, they named their mission after King Limhi, and Limhi eventually became "Lemhi" . The community grew to over 200 people. The settlers brought stock raising and irrigated farming to the region, and dug ditches which are still in use. At least three of the Mormon missionaries at Fort Lemhi married Shoshone women. Due to high prices for cattle to supply the US Army sent to participate in the

Utah War The Utah War (1857–1858), also known as the Utah Expedition, Utah Campaign, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between Mormon settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the US go ...

and anger at the Mormons aiding their traditional enemies the

Nez Perce The Nez Percé (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning "we, the people") are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who are presumed to have lived on the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest region for at least 11,500 years.Ames, K ...

, the

Bannocks The Bannock tribe were originally Northern Paiute but are more culturally affiliated with the Northern Shoshone. They are in the Great Basin classification of Indigenous People. Their traditional lands include northern Nevada, southeastern Oreg ...

under the leadership of Shoo-woo-koo and some Shoshone acting in alliance with them stole the Mormon missionaries' cattle herd and many of their horses. A few of the Mormons were killed in this process, and the fort was abandoned in about February 1858. Fort Lemhi was reoccupied in 1862 by miners, who grew vegetables there for sale. The name Lemhi became applied to the

Lemhi River The Lemhi River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 3, 2011 river in Idaho in the United States. It is a tributary of the Salmon River, which in turn is tributary t ...

and valley surrounding the mission site, as well as to the

Lemhi Shoshone The Lemhi Shoshone are a tribe of Northern Shoshone, also called the Akaitikka, Agaidika, or "Eaters of Salmon".Murphy and Murphy, 306 The name "Lemhi" comes from Fort Lemhi, a Mormon mission to this group. They traditionally lived in the Lemhi Ri ...

whom the mission served, the

Lemhi Pass Lemhi Pass is a high mountain pass in the Beaverhead Mountains, part of the Bitterroot Range in the Rocky Mountains and within Salmon-Challis National Forest. The pass lies on the Montana-Idaho border on the continental divide, at an elevation ...

and eventually Lemhi County. The site is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

.NPS website

References

External links

History of Fort Lemhi
{{Registered Historic Places Lemhi History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1855 establishments in Oregon Territory History of Idaho Buildings and structures in Lemhi County, Idaho Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Idaho Lemhi National Register of Historic Places in Lemhi County, Idaho

See also

References

External links