Among the Native Americans tribes who lived in what is now Idaho were Bannock, Cayuse, Coeur D'Alene, Flathead, Kalispel, Kutenai, Nez Perce, Paiute, Piegan, Salish, Shoshone.

Exploration and settlement increased after the arrival of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark at Lemhi Pass in 1805. Great Britain established a trading post in 1809, built by explorer David Thompson and others for the Northwest Fur Company. The first American trading post, Fort Henry, came a year later, built by the Missouri Fur Company. Other trading posts and explorations followed. In 1813, John Reid opened a trading post, which was overrun by Bannock the following year. Major players in the fur trade were Great Britain's Hudson's Bay Company and America's North West Company, driven by Donald Mackenzie.

Great Britain and the United States worked out a treaty of joint occupancy in 1818; the result was that the Oregon Territory, including what is now Idaho, was open to settlers of both nations. A treaty between Spain and the U.S. set the southern boundary of the territory at the 42nd parallel.

Among the explorers in Idaho in the 1820s and 1830s were Kit Carson, Alexander Ross, and Jedediah Smith. The first crossing of the Rocky Mountains in covered wagons, led by Captain B.L.E. Bonneville, arrived in 1832. Logging became a big industry as well.

Developments in the 1830s included the establishment of forts (Fort Boise and Fort Hall) and the establishment of missions (Christian and Mormon) and schools. The Oregon Trail passed through Idaho, beginning in the 1840s.

The U.S. took over sole ownership after the Oregon Treaty of 1846 and created the Oregon Territory in 1848. When Oregon became a state in 1859, Idaho was included in the Washington Territory. The oldest town still standing in Idaho, Franklin, was founded in 1860, the same year as the founding of a famous school, by Hannah Cornish.

The first permanent American settlement was at Franklin in 1860, established by members of the Mormon faith. In that same year, gold was discovered at Orofino Creek and prospectors inundated the area. Settlers came from Africa, China, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Mexico, and Spain.

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