Harrison, ID

Harrison is a city in Kootenai County, Idaho, on the east shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene where the Coeur d’Alene River enters the lake. The 2020 census counted 233 residents. Highway 97 and the Lake Coeur d’Alene Scenic Byway lead south from town, while the lake, marina, public beach, and Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes keep the shoreline at the center of local life. The Crane House Museum occupies the first house built in Harrison.

ATTRJon Roanhaus / CC BY-SA 4.0

Silas Crane and his sons settled the site in the 1890s, and Harrison incorporated in 1899 after growing around steamboat, railroad, lumber, and mining traffic. Before roads took over, paddle-wheel boats carried workers and supplies along the lake and river; the railroad reached town in 1890 and connected Harrison with Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, and the mining district. The city was once much larger, with mills and hotels along the water. Harrison today is small, but the old transportation map remains visible in the museum, lakefront, rail corridor, and roads around the southern end of Lake Coeur d’Alene.