Entry No. 59 — the Spokane file — filed under: history
Cataldo Mission (Old Mission State Park)
The oldest standing building in Idaho, this 1850s mission church was raised by Coeur d'Alene Tribe members and Jesuit missionaries entirely without nails, using wooden pegs and hand-shaped stone. Its ceiling is stained blue not with paint but with hand-pressed huckleberries, the walls wear hand-painted Philadelphia newspaper, and flattened tin cans were fashioned into faux chandeliers. It is a genuinely strange feat of improvised frontier craftsmanship about an hour east of Spokane.
The story
An hour east of Spokane off I-90, you'll find the oldest standing building in Idaho. But don't expect a polished European cathedral. Built between 1850 and 1853 by members of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe working alongside Jesuit missionaries, the Mission of the Sacred Heart is a masterclass in extreme frontier improvisation.
Because metal hardware was virtually nonexistent in the 1850s Idaho wilderness, the structure was raised without a single nail. Heavy hand-hewn timbers were fitted together with wooden pegs and mortise joints over hand-shaped stone foundations, then finished using a mud-and-straw wattle-and-daub technique. But the real strangeness reveals itself when you step inside and look closer at the decor.
Lacking standard church furnishings, the builders improvised using whatever was at hand. Look directly up at the ceiling: that muted blue stain isn't paint, but hand-pressed wild huckleberries. Examine the walls and you'll find they are lined with hand-painted sheets of 19th-century Philadelphia newspaper. Even the overhead chandeliers are a trick of resourcefulness—fashioned entirely out of discarded tin cans that were flattened, cut, and hammered into shape.
What it's like
When you pull off Interstate 90 into Coeur d'Alene's Old Mission State Park, a quick walk up the hill brings you to the quiet wooden church overlooking the valley floor. Inside, the hall is dimly lit and smells of old timber. Take your time near the altar to spot the newsprint showing through the painted walls, inspect the berry-dyed ceiling beams, and look closely at the light fixtures to see the seam lines of old tin cans. Remember to confirm open hours before making the drive from Spokane, and factor in the Idaho state park day-use vehicle fee.
The move: Tour the nail-free church and hunt for the huckleberry-stained ceiling and tin-can chandeliers up close.
📍 Before you go Idaho state park day-use fee applies; the church interior is best seen during open park hours.
- 📍 Cataldo, ID
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 31732 S Mission Rd, Cataldo, ID (Coeur d'Alene's Old Mission State Park)
Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Bird Aviation Museum & Invention Center — Pair 1850s low-tech timber engineering with a trip up to Hayden to explore the high-tech medical and aviation inventions of Dr. Forrest Bird.
- Idaho Wildlife Museum — Continue your North Idaho history detour in Hayden by shifting from frontier architecture to a massive private assembly of bronze wildlife art and regional mineral specimens.
- Fire Lookout Museum — Follow up one handmade wooden structure in Idaho with a visit to Spokane's north side to see thousands of artifacts dedicated to Pacific Northwest timber lookout towers.
Good to know
How was the mission constructed without nails?
Builders fitted hand-hewn timbers together using wooden pegs and mortise-and-tenon joints, resting the frame on hand-shaped stone and plastering the walls with a wattle-and-daub mixture.
What unique materials were used to decorate the interior?
The builders used hand-pressed wild huckleberries to stain the ceiling blue, lined the interior walls with painted Philadelphia newspapers, and hammered flattened tin cans into decorative chandeliers.
Why is it often called Cataldo Mission instead of its official name?
Its official historic name is the Mission of the Sacred Heart, but it became known informally by the name of the nearby town, Cataldo—named after Father Joseph Cataldo, a Jesuit missionary who later founded Gonzaga University in Spokane.
Is there a fee to visit?
Yes, because the mission sits within Coeur d'Alene's Old Mission State Park, visitors must pay the standard Idaho state park day-use vehicle fee.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Wikipedia · parksandrecreation.idaho.gov · boisedev.com
last checked: 2026-06-24