Cataldo Mission- Oldest Building in Idaho

Hand carved objects and decorations, chandeliers made from tins cans and a huckleberry-stained ceiling… the interior of the Cataldo Mission, the Mission of the Sacred Heart, includes craftwork from skilled hands and the ingenuity of using only local materials to build something lasting and grand.

In the mountain passes of the Idaho panhandle, just off Interstate 90, is Old Mission State Park. After entering the park, you can’t miss the Italian-style, Baroque façade of the hilltop church above the six, tall Tuscan columns flanking the front door. You will be looking at the oldest standing building in the state of Idaho.

The Cataldo Mission was built by 300 Schitsu’umsh, whom the French trappers called Coeur d’Alenes, after their initial location was damaged by flooding. They followed the architectural design of Jesuit priest Father Antonio Ravalli.

Materials were gathered from nearby. Field stones made for a foundation. Clay and water made mortar. Forest timber floated down river and carried uphill to the build site made for structure and trim. From local hemp, workers made rope, which they ran through pulleys to hoist 24-foot tall, hand-hewn pine trees up to then support 80-foot beams across cathedral height ceilings. Because no nails were available, mortise and tenon joints and wooden pegs hold everything together.

To fill the walls, saplings were stacked horizontally between the columns, then packed grass and then a straw-mud mixture was used as binding. In a room behind the altar, one wall was left open to reveal this technique known as wattle and daub. On top of all that, newsprint served as wallpaper.

Up above, arranged across the amazing blue ceiling, hand-carved trim pieces are attached by pegs and glue. Ravalli painted the tri-color altar, carved wood statues and crafted the chandeliers. No pews were installed because tribal members preferred to sit on the floor. A remake of music plays on a loop so visitors can hear the Salish hymn that the Coeur d’Alene sang after the first Christmas mass at Cataldo: “Kaks-en-pee-el-see” or the “Shake Hands Song.”

When the mission was finally completed, just before Christmas in 1852, the land was still part of Washington Territory. The Mission of the Sacred Heart was a settlement that included additional buildings, a parish house and gardens. Father Joseph M. Cataldo, the mission namesake, was assigned there in 1865.

Designated as a National Historic Landmark, the site became Old Mission State Park in 1975. Later, in 2001, the Catholic Diocese of Boise conveyed ownership over to the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, and every year, the Coeur d’Alene make a pilgrimage to the old mission commemorating the “coming of the black robes.”

If you are passing through the Idaho panhandle, look for Cataldo at mile marker 38. Make a stop to see the hard work and craftsmanship of the Coeur d”Alene, a few brothers and one priest.