Lewiston is a city in and also the
county seat of
Nez Perce County in the
state of
Idaho. It is the second-largest city in the
northern Idaho region, behind
Coeur d'Alene and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is the principal city of the
Lewiston, ID - Clarkston, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Nez Perce County and
Asotin County, Washington. As of the
2010 census, the population of Lewiston was 31,894.
Lewiston is located at the confluence of the
Snake River and
Clearwater River, thirty miles (50 km) northwest of the
Lower Granite Dam. Because of dams (and their
locks) on the Snake and
Columbia River, Lewiston is reachable by some ocean-going vessels. The Port of Lewiston (Idaho's only
seaport) has the distinction of being the farthest
inland port east of the
West Coast of the United States. The
Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport serves the city by air.
Lewiston was founded in 1861 in the wake of a
gold rush which began the previous year near
Pierce, northeast of Lewiston. In 1863 Lewiston became the
capital of the newly created
Idaho Territory. Lewiston's stint as seat of the new territory's government was short-lived as a resolution, to have the capital moved from Lewiston to
Boise, was passed by the Idaho Territorial Legislature on December 7, 1864.
Lewiston’s main industries are
agriculture,
paper and
timber products, and light manufacturing. Lewiston is home to
Lewis-Clark State College, a public
undergraduate college. Cultural activities in Lewiston include the Dogwood Festival, Hot August Nights, and the Lewiston Round Up.