Moving History Forward: Why name a Park McEuen? Part 1

The field on the north side of Tubbs Hill was used for rodeos, fairs and carnivals in the 1930s.
Photo courtesy of THE MUSEUM OF NORTH IDAHO

by RICHARD SHELDON/Special to The Press
| April 23, 2022 1:00 AM

“Lives of great ‘Persons’ all remind us we can make our lives sublime,/And departing leave behind us footprints in the sands of time.”

— Longfellow

The area near the Coeur d’Alene lakefront that is now known as McEuen Park has evolved greatly in the 135 years since the incorporation of the city in 1887.

During the first 50 years of the city’s existence, the site was privately owned and used for industrial purposes that supported the needs of North Idaho’s logging, mining and water transportation operations.

In the intervening 85 years to the present, the area has slowly come under public control and has become a center point for the city’s recreation and tourism industries.

In 1936, the city of Coeur d’Alene purchased the 34-acre Coeur d’Alene Lumber Mill site for the price of $19,000 ($385,372 in today’s dollars). The sale included the land from Front Street south to Tubbs Hill and the waterfront. The city council had been authorized to do so by Lake City voters in a public vote on the expenditure. The former mill site was then referred to as Mullan Park by the city residents.

To improve it for use, the property was filled in and leveled after the mill buildings were torn down. The city’s refuse and other fillable materials, including old cars, were used. Then the fill was covered with soil and leveled.

During World War II, the land became a temporary military camp referred to as the Mullan Park Housing Project. The camp was built when more living quarters were needed for the Farragut Naval Training Base near Bayview. All but one of the buildings were demolished in 1956. The lone remaining structure was used for years as the city’s recreation office.

The land also saw use as the Kootenai County Fairgrounds and the fair hosted horse and car races there for several years. Other uses included being the site of several circus and rodeo performances, as well as competitions and exhibitions that were part of the city’s summertime Forest Festival community activity.

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Part 2 of this story will be published in this space in two weeks. In the meantime, take time to visit McEwen Park and marvel at the 1903 J.C. White multifloored mansion that now sits at the upper part of the park. This is the Museum of North Idaho’s (MoNI) new home under development that will provide this vigorous and exciting city a much needed visual of our past, present and future.